Inside the Paint: Miami Will Not Win Over 72 Games This Season

(Home teams first.)

Boston 88 Miami 80: So much for those 72 wins predictions for the Heat. They look like they could barely win 25 games against the Celtics. Okay I'm laying the sarcasm kind of thick there, but the Heat looked like a mess. They had no chemistry and at one point late in the first quarter had more turnovers than field goals (The Heat would finish the night with 17 turnovers.) LeBron finished the night with 31 points, but the rest of the Heat didn't pick up their game. (The new leading scorer was Dwayne Wade with 13 points.) I know the season is just a game old, but the Heat have problems. They have no depth, no point guard options, and their front-court lacks seize and skill. They'll still be one of the teams to beat, but they'll have problems in the playoffs against Boston or Orlando.

Charles Barkley Quote: Charles speaking the truth about the Heat's point guard problem, "No disrespect to Carlos Arroyo, but they need a different point guard."



Portland 106 Phoenix 96: This game was actually close late in the fourth quarter, then Portland scored 7 points in a minute span and blew out the Suns the rest of the way. Nicolas Batum scored 19 points for Portland to go along with Brandon Roy's 24 points. Steve Nash had an unusual game. Nash actually had more turnovers (9) than assists (6). Besides Jason Richardson, no other Suns player scored more than 11 points. Going to be a long season in the Valley of the Sun.

Los Angeles 112 Houston 110: Believe it or not, but the Lakers were saved last night by Shannon Brown (16 points, including 14 of those points in a 6.5 stretch of the fourth quarter) and Steve Blake who hit the game winning three-pointer with 18.8 left in the game. Yao Ming finally made his return to the Rockets after missing all of last season. Yao only played 23 minutes, scored nine points and fouled out of the game midway through the fourth quarter. Not the greatest return, but he was really friendly with the crowd.

Craig Sager Suit of the Night via Jose30/30

Shaq + Full Steam Ahead = Look out (Via Jose30/30)