Game 65: 2013-14 NBA Season
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Miami Heat (2000 - 2006)

28-36 (12-20 road)
Series 0-1
44-18 (25-5 home)
March 14th, 2014
AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami, Florida
5:30 PM MT
Altitude / 950 AM
Ty Lawson PG Mario Chalmers
Randy Foye SG Dwyane Wade
Wilson Chandler SF LeBron James
Kenneth Faried PF Shane Battier
Timofey Mozgov C Chris Bosh
Notes
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Danilo Gallinari (knee) is out, JaVale McGee(leg fracture) is out, Nate Robinson(ACL sprain) is out Injuries None
Kenneth Faried has been having a spectacular March, averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds on 64% shooting. Facts Dwyane Wade’s 19.3 points per game average is his lowest since his rookie season.

 

The Nuggets‘ make their annual sojourn to Miami to take on the Heat, arguably the most polarizing team this side of the Los Angeles Lakers for most NBA fans. ” While this Denver team has had their struggles this season, they do tend to elevate their game for the top tier teams. They’ve already won games against Indiana, Oklahoma City, Golden State, and the Los Angeles Clippers; they’ve also lost to Philadelphia, Utah, and Sacramento.

The Heat are commonly referred to as a "super team." They're the NBA's equivalent to a blockbuster movie, something that's must-see viewing whenever your team is playing them. In that spirit, this preview is going to compare all the major players in the game to upcoming summer movies – with accompanying trailers! Let's pull a Bill Simmons and dip our NBA chocolate into some pop culture peanut butter.

LeBron James

Any discussion of the defending champion Miami Heat begins and ends with James, the 4-time MVP who is basically considered to be one of the top two players in the league, alongside Kevin Durant. However, James has proven himself with back-to-back championships and the aforementioned MVP’s, both things Durant has yet to achieve. While that may change this season, for now James remains the biggest fish in the NBA pond.

Therefore, it only makes sense that if he were a summer movie, he'd be Godzilla. The American reboot was directed by Gareth Evans, who also made The Raid: Redemption and it's upcoming sequel. If you are a fan of action and martial arts films, I highly encourage you to check out The Raid; it's one of the better ones I have seen in recent years.

Like the titular giant monster, James looms over all things NBA, for better or worse. I don't mind him and I do think he is the best player in the league, but plays like this are why so many fans can't stand him.

 

Wilson Chandler

The man they call Ill Will played very well in his last game against the Magic, but that followed up the stinker he had in Charlotte. He’s much better playing with Ty Lawson (every Nugget is) but sometimes, you just don’t really know what to expect out of him.

That's why he's the new Ninja Turtles movie. Much like Michael Bay's warily anticipated reboot, Chandler could be really good; he could also miss the mark entirely. I tend to be more of a glass-half-full guy, so I think they'll both be up to snuff. This is despite the fact Chandler will expend a lot of energy on the defensive end guarding James and that supposedly the turtles are aliens in the remake. Guess that's why they had to drop the Teenage Mutant part of the title.

Chandler is a known cartoon fan so hopefully he'll be content with this comparison. Unfortunately the trailer for Ninja Turtles won't be seen until the new Captain America movie opens in a few weeks, so here's one for the original 1990 adaptation.

Dwyane Wade

It has been a trying season for Wade. His stats are down, albeit only from his normal lofty standards. He's had to sit out games to rest his ailing body, ravaged from years of hard drives to the basket. No doubt Wade wishes he had Wolverine's healing factor on the days he wakes up with knees the size of grapefruits. Or maybe he wishes there was a way to travel back in time, so he could relive his glory days where he was able to spring right back up after falling down instead of writhing in pain like a fish out of water

It's for these reasons that Wade is X-Men: Days of Future Past. The new mutant movie will feature a huge cast and a complex plot involving time travel and alternate timelines. And Sentinels, finally!

Kenneth Faried

The Manimal has been having himself a March, becoming a more reliable scoring option and even showing some flashes of defense. His recent improvement has been one of the few bright spots in the latter part of the season. While Faried's offensive game and style is unorthodox, as of late it's getting harder to question the results.

He is sort of like the ragtag gang from Guardians of the Galaxy. This obscure group of superheroes will have their story told by James Gunn, who manned the criminally underrated Slither and the bizarre Super, starring Rainn Wilson. Office fans will never look at Dwight quite the same way after seeing that one.

Chris Bosh

Bosh is averaging about 17 points per game, which is right around what he has done since he arrived in Miami. Where he has stepped his game up this season is from behind the three-point line. Bosh is shooting 38% from beyond the arc this year; he hadn't averaged more than 28% since joining the Heat.

Bosh is Transformers: Age of Extinction because of duh, Dinobots.

Ty Lawson

As the straw that stirs the Nuggets' drink, Lawson has been under a lot of pressure this season. He's handled it superbly and has emerged as the team's best player as a result. He has really learned how to use his speed and elusiveness to maximize his offensive potential, and is averaging a career-high in points and assists.

The way Lawson blows by opponents and and finishes acrobatic drives to the rim reminds me of everyone's favorite webslinger, Spider-Man, who'll be back on the big screen in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The first film in the hastily rebooted series was decent enough, and without having to rehash the pesky origin story this sequel should have plenty of action.

 

Apologies for only making comparisons to movies that were reboots, sequels, or based on a comic book but hey, I have to work with what Hollywood gives me.

One last one for you – The other working title was Air Wolf: The Jan Vesely Story.

 

Go Nuggets!