VisionsofAStar STARALOGIC: February 2010

HEAT vs BULLS TONIGHT !!

Dwyane Wade admitted following the Miami Heat's last game that they just aren't at the same level as some of the NBA's elite.

However, Wade has made sure they've matched up pretty well against the Chicago Bulls over the last two seasons.

The Heat look for their sixth win in seven games against the Bulls when they visit Chicago on Saturday night, trying to avoid a fifth straight loss.

Miami has dropped six of seven overall, and is coming off back-to-back losses to the top two teams in the East, suffering a five-point loss at Boston on Wednesday before falling 102-86 at Cleveland on Thursday.

The Heat (24-26) have been held to 86 or fewer points in three of four games during the skid. Wade scored 24 points Thursday, but was held to six in the second half as the Cavaliers took control.

"This team is just better than us," Wade said. "You have to be realistic. I understand (Cleveland) has NBA championship aspirations. We don't have that. We're focusing on trying to get to the playoffs and this team is trying to get to the championship. It's totally different."

Wade is averaging 24.5 points in the last four games while committing 20 turnovers. In the previous five contests, he averaged 29.6 points while finishing with 11 turnovers.

The slump has dropped the Heat from fifth place in the Eastern Conference to a tie with the Bulls for seventh. This is Miami's longest losing streak since a seven-game slide March 26-April 6, 2008.

While Miami had trouble against two of the NBA's contenders, it played well against Chicago earlier this season. The Heat won 95-87 on Nov. 1, led by 25 points from Wade, who is averaging 31.0 points in his last six games against the Bulls (23-25).

Derrick Rose, the reigning rookie of the year averaging a team-high 19.8 points per game, scored eight on 4-of-15 shooting in that contest.

The Bulls come in having dropped three in a row. They lost 91-81 at Atlanta on Friday, missing all 10 3-point attempts - the first time they've gone without one since Dec. 30, 2006.

The Bulls, who led by six entering the fourth quarter, were missing center Joakim Noah (foot) and were outrebounded 44-40 while giving up 48 points in the paint. For the season, Chicago is among the top 10 in the NBA in defending the paint, allowing 39.6 points per game, and is first in rebounding with 45.5 per game.

Noah isn't expected to return until after the All-Star break because of plantar fasciitis. Brad Miller started in his place and had 10 points, all in the first half.

"We wasted, I thought, a pretty good effort,'' said coach Vinny Del Negro. "Too many (Hawks) rebounds. Too many second shots. We hung in there. But in the fourth quarter they showed why they're one of the better teams."

Rose, who finished with 19 points, has failed to reach 20 points in three of the last four games after averaging 26.3 in the previous seven games.

CAVS VS HEAT FEB 5 2010

LeBron James outshines Dwyane Wade as Cavaliers whip Miami Heat
LeBron James was too much for the Heat, taking over at point guard and scoring 36 points as the Cavaliers extended their winning streak to 10.
The Heat knew it faced a tall task when it carried a three-game losing streak into Thursday's game against the NBA's hottest team on the second night of a treacherous back-to-back set.

But Miami had no idea it would prove to be this tall. With Daniel Gibson at a local hospital to be with his pregnant fiancée, R&B singer Keyshia Cole, the Cavaliers were forced to make a big lineup change.

LeBron James essentially took over as a 6-8, 250-pound point guard and was flanked on the perimeter by 6-6 swingman Anthony Parker and 6-9 shooting guard Jawad Williams. Gibson returned for the second half.

The Heat simply couldn't stack up and fell to the Cavaliers 102-86 Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena. Miami (24-26) extended its season-long losing streak to four games and has dropped six of seven.

James set season highs for free throws made and attempted by going 17 of 21 from the line. He finished with 36 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to lead Cleveland (40-11) to its 10th consecutive victory and ninth in its past 10 games against the Heat.

Dwyane Wade countered with 24 points, nine assists and three rebounds, but had six turnovers for the second time in as many nights.

The Cavs opened the fourth quarter with a 15-7 run to push their lead to 96-80 with 6:07 left in the game. The Heat, which lost 107-102 on Wednesday in Boston, didn't have the legs to mount much of a finish as it fell to 2-8 this season on the second night of a back-to-back set. Miami was also outscored 20-2 in fastbreak points on Thursday.

Even before Cleveland made the last-minute lineup change, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra had already braced for the prospect of James handling the ball at the point.

``An interesting dynamic,'' Spoelstra said before Thursday's game. ``It shows you how gifted and talented James is. He can turn his mind-set into being a playmaker -- and he's playing an intellectual, bait-you-in game.''

It's the kind of possum game James has excelled at since he was forced to handle more of the playmaking responsibilities with point guard Mo Williams out with a shoulder injury.

James was happy to get the best of his good buddy Wade yet again.

``To a fan's eye, it may seem like it is one-on-one, like I'm matching D-Wade and D-Wade is matching me,'' James said entering Thursday's game. ``But we do have teammates out there and we try to keep them in the flow. But at the same time, we don't like to lose to each other.''

Miami used as many as four defenders in an attempt to slow James. The Heat could have used twice that many and it wouldn't have mattered with the way the James has played lately.

``You think he's trying to set up to score, and he's really just baiting you to try to create opportunities for his teammates,'' Spoelstra said of James.

``It shows he's got a point-guard mentality even though he's always among the leaders in scoring.''

Wade tried to keep up but was on the bad end of two humbling plays. Cavs forward J.J. Hickson emphatically dunked him on in the first half and then had his dunk blocked by Hickson in the second.

Michael Beasley had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat, which is 0-2 on its three-game trip that wraps up Saturday in Chicago.

Wade said the weight of the Heat's losing record is heavy, but not so much that it has become an emotional distraction.

Although Wade has held his own in the matchups with James, he knows the teams are playing for different stakes.

``You've got to be realistic,'' he said. ``His team has NBA championship aspirations. We don't. We don't have that. We're focusing on trying to get to the playoffs. They're trying to get to the championship. that's totally different.''

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