This game was nowhere near as close as the final score was.  The Heat were winning 97-65 after three quarters before calling off the dogs.  The Heat outrebounded the Mavericks 51-31 and they turned up the D holding the Mavericks to only 37.8% shooting from the floor.  LeBron James had a monster game to lead the way for the Heat with 37 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots.  Dwyane Wade also rocked the house with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Udonis Haslem was a beast off the bench for the Heat in his game with 9 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot in 32 minutes.  The Heat are now 1-0 on the season.

The Heat have signed 33-year old SG/SF Shane Battier to a 3-year, $9 million dollar deal.  Battier played in 82 games (59 starts) for the Rockets & Grizzlies last year and he averaged 29.0 minutes, 7.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  He has now played in 767 games (619 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 32.9 minutes, 9.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  Battier will add defense to the Heat and he is also a pretty good shooter.

The Heat have signed 29-year old center Eddy Curry to a 1-year deal.  Curry last played in the NBA back in the 2009-2010 season with the New York Knicks.  He has played in 511 games (410 starts) in his NBA career so far and he is averaging 25.4 minutes, 13.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  Despite having good size, Curry is shy around the basket.  He has been overweight the last three years which has led to physical problems which have kept him off the court.  I think this was a bad signing for the Heat.

The Heat have re-signed 38-year old F/C Juwan Howard to a 1-year deal.  Howard played in 57 games (0 starts) for the Heat last year and he averaged 10.4 minutes, 2.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Howard has now played in 1,173 games (898 starts) in his NBA career so far and he is averaging 31.0 minutes, 13.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.  Howard will likely be sitting near the end of the bench for the Heat once again in 2011-12.

The Miami Heat will be without 33-year old shooting guard Eddie House for several weeks due to a knee injury.  House played in 56 games (1 start) for the Heat last year and he averaged 17.5 minutes, 6.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  He shot 38.9% from three point range, so the Heat will miss his instant offense off the bench a little bit.

UPDATE:  (12/25/2011) – The Heat have waived Eddie House.

The Miami Heat have re-signed 25-year old point guard Mario Chalmers to a 3-year, $12 million dollar deal.  Chalmers played in 70 games (28 starts) for the Heat last year and he averaged 22.5 minutes, 6.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  He has now played in 225 games (133 starts) in his first three years with the Heat and he is averaging 26.7 minutes, 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game.  This was a nice move for the Heat, as Chalmers will likely be the team’s starting point guard.

31-year old small forward James Jones has been re-signed to a 3-year deal with the Heat.  Jones played in 81 games (8 starts) for the Heat last year and he averaged 19.1 minutes, 5.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  He nailed an amazing 42.9% from three point range for the Heat last year.  Jones has played in 447 games (73 starts) in his NBA career now and he is averaging 18.9 minutes, 6.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  This was a good move for the Heat as Jones is a solid backup for LeBron James at small forward.

The Miami Heat didn’t get much production out of the center position.  They would be happy with a guy who just plays defense and rebounds, as they have more than enough scorers on the roster right now.  29-year old Joel Anthony didn’t do much last year.  He played in 75 games (11 starts) for the Heat last year and he averaged 19.5 minutes, 2.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game.  He has now played in 244 games (56 starts) in his first four years with the Heat and he is averaging 17.8 minutes, 2.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game.  23-year old Dexter Pittman might get a real chance to earn some minutes for the Heat this year.  He played in only 2 games (0 starts) for the Heat last year and he averaged 5.5 minutes, 1.0 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.  If Pittman can get into good shape, he does have a solid upside.

The Miami Heat need 27-year old power forward Chris Bosh to muscle up and get back to the player he was with the Raptors.  He isn’t helping the team by shooting 20-foot jumpers.  Bosh played in 77 games (all starts) for the Heat last year and he averaged 36.3 minutes, 18.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.  He has now played in 586 games (574 starts) in his first 8 years in the NBA and he is averaging 36.9 minutes, 20.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game.  31-year old Udonis Haslem will get playing time at both power forward and probably center this year for the Heat.  Haslem played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Heat this year and he averaged 26.5 minutes, 8.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  He has now played in 530 games (386 starts) in his career with the Heat and he is averaging 30.8 minutes, 10.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  The Heat will welcome Haslem’s hustle and toughness when he’s in the game.

26-year old small forward LeBron James put up good numbers in the regular season last year, but he disappeared for the most part in the NBA Finals.  He remains the King without a ring!  James played in 79 games (all starts) for the Heat last year and he averaged 38.8 minutes, 26.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game.  He has now played in 627 games (626 starts) in his first 8 years in the NBA and he is averaging 40.1 minutes, 27.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  James needs to put his money where his mouth is when the games get big instead of going into a shell.  After all, he was the one bragging out winning 6, 7 or 8 championships in Miami.