The Miami HEAT have annouced today that they have signed free agent Rafer Alston. Alston, part of the Eastern Conference Champion Orlando Magic one year ago will now rejoin the Miami HEAT after a brief stint in Miami during the 2003-2004 season.
Alston will hit the ground running. Many are speculating he will start as soon as Sunday versus the Clippers in LA.
Skip-To-My-Lou will give the HEAT the spark they have been missing all this year, he will bring a skillful playmaking abililty that Arroyo and Chalmers have lacked all this season, and most importantly, he will bring the defesive mindset of the Miami HEAT organization.
After last night’s Celtics game the HEAT and it’s fans needed a boost and Alston is just that. Now, many people are filling my twitter account wit comments saying how the HEAT must really suck if we are excited to have Rafer Alston.. the answer to that is no, we don’t suck, our point guards do. Alston is nearly averaging 10ppg, and 4 asp. Chalmers is averaging 8ppg and 4apg as well. Arroyo is averaging 5 ppg and 2apg. So clearly, signing Alston is clearly an upgrade from our current point guards, who by the way have been doing a horrible job.. So much so that Erik Spoelstra has been going with Wade at the point guard position.
No on puts it better than Riley himself. Riley told the AP today, “We are thrilled to have Skip back in a Heat uniform, as he brings another set of skills and experience to the point guard position. From his time in Miami, we know both his game and him as a person, and we had a great experience with him in the past. We are very happy to have Skip back in the HEAT family.”
The second overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft is in the hottest of seats this season. Coming off the lowest point in his life during the summer at rehab, Beasley is ready to prove the doubters wrong. Beasley averaged 14 points in 25 minutes of play last season as a rookie sixth man. That doesn’t seem like a lot but not many players in the league can produce that much in such a limited role. No matter what people say, Beasley is an enormous part of the Heat and hopefully he can get his act together on and off the court.
I believe Wade has the power to produce another type of season like last season. The problem this time around is will he want to do it alone? This year Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers are not rookies anymore and Wade should be expecting more help from them. The fact that Beasley was the second overall pick in the 08 Draft makes him a target for success.
According to heat.com, The Miami HEAT annouced today that they have signed Carlos Arroyo to a One-Year 1.1 Million dollar deal. Really? We sign Arroyo but not Tinsley? Arroyo, 6’2”, 200 pounds, has appeared in 433 regular season NBA games (113 starts) and averaged 7.0 points, 3.3 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 18.2 minutes while shooting 43.2 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from three-point range and 80.1 percent from the foul line. Arroyo has spent his seven-year NBA career with Toronto, Denver, Utah, Detroit and most recently the Orlando Magic. according to HEAT.com,Arroyo started his colligate career in Miami at Florida International University, he became just the second player in school history to score at least 1,600 career points. He finished his FIU career setting school records with 459 assists and 177 steals. He also ranked second in school history in three-point field goals made (174), third in field goals made (562) and third in free throws made (302).
and Arroyo’s contract are not guaranteed but they were invited to pre-season. Lucas seems on his way out, I don’t like the way he has been playing and it seems that with the Aroyo acquisition, Lucas III could possibly be on his way out.
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