Breakdance

If anyone doubts that basketball can be a brutish game — or that Shawn Marion is something of a space cadet — consider that he didn’t realize until after the game that he broke his nose in the Heat’s Nov. 1 loss to Charlotte. That the Matrix has a busted beak isn’t as alarming as the last part of that sentence, though, since the Heat is apparently still the sort of team that can’t win a road game against the likes of the Bobcats, even with Dwyane Wade supposedly back in top shape. Except maybe he’s not. Could be because he’s running an offense through two rookie starters, or that he’s still reacquainting himself with NBA ball after spending so much of last season injured, or that he’s upset that “King of the Hill” has been canceled. Whatever it is, he claims not to have any “rhythm” yet this year, and it’s a fair bet that the Heat are going to suck again if he can’t regain his under-the-basket jazz hands.

The Raptors, by contrast, have a superstar in Chris Bosh who started November as the second coming of Charles Barkley, and their seven-foot Italian, Andrea Bargnani, is playing downright awesome for a girl. Course, despite the given name, he’s not actually a girl. But, you know. If he were. He’d be awesome. See if the Heat can get its groove back against the Canadian team at the American Airlines Arena (601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets begin at $10. Call 786-777-4667 or visit heat.com.
Wed., Nov. 19, 2008