http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketball/heat/ sfl-skolnickearly22apr22,0,6863320.column?coll=sfla-sports-heat Sports columnist -------------------------------------------------------------- Ethan J. Skolnick SKOLNICK: Hey Heat, just finish the job Published April 22, 2004 MIAMI -- Now, Heat, finish them. Finish New Orleans because that's what good teams do to wounded opponents, especially ones bleeding like these Hornets are, spotting just about every spot on the floor. Finish them because you'll be doing them a favor, as well as their beleaguered coach, who they've tuned out as if he's an accountant telling them not to buy those fancy rims for all their fancy cars. Finish them because there's no reason to give them any more reason to care any more than they half-heartedly do, about anything but watching the Heat dancers while Tim Floyd is trying to address them. Finish them because they seemed to lose not just Game 2, but also their will, and certainly their desire to play for the man who replaced the popular coach who was fired last offseason. Finish the Hornets by doing exactly what you did in Wednesday night's resounding 93-63 victory for a 2-0 series lead, by attacking and battling and sharing and pushing and scrambling and defending, until you had five starters with at least 13 points, and the Hornets had missed 75.6 percent of their shots and scored fewer points in a playoff game than all but one team before. Asked if he had ever been on a team that shot so feebly in a playoff game, former Heat forward P.J. Brown nodded: "We had some here." He was told his Hornets had just shot a shade under 25 percent. Now he shook his head: "Wow. No, I guess not." "They played hard," Hornets guard Darrell Armstrong said. "We got what we deserved tonight." "It's going to come down to hard work and hustle," Brown said. "Those guys are playing hard -- they're bringing it." Finish the Hornets because it's about more than your superior effort. You're better than they are. Many might have been fooled by the closeness of the first encounter in this series. These teams are not that close right now. "It's a confidence booster," Heat guard Eddie Jones said. "You have to believe you can do this again. You have to believe you can do this on the road." It's easier to believe when you know what you're doing. Caron Butler said that before Game 1, the Heat was "too hyped up," but "got the jitterbugs out" and got a close victory. Wednesday, it jitterbugged past the Hornets from the start, starting with Dwyane Wade's steal and layup, continuing with his behind-the-back pass. "Today it felt more like it's just a game," Butler said. "Where the first one, there was a lot of extra energy going on." Brian Grant has played on teams where "if you sneeze, everybody looks at you. `What are you doing sneezing?' Because it's so tight. But here, it's loose, but not too loose. It's loose but focused. I'm almost glad [teammates] haven't been there, because they're loose. I love that." The Hornets? They look like they've been around the block too many times. They could use some of that energy the Heat needed to channel. They could also use another offensive option, so that Brown isn't stuck with the ball at the end of the 24-second clock so often. "They've got two All-Stars over there," Butler said. "They're capable of doing anything." What the Hornets have is a dynamic point guard with a damaged ankle, a streak shooter at off guard, an aging role player at small forward, a power forward who is not used to being asked for so much offense, and a center who hardly looks like an All-Star. They have a bench full of players who were at their best in the last millennium. They don't have the one player who can really help them now. Whatever you think of Jamal Mashburn, you can't get around thinking this: This series was over when he declared himself out. They need another player who can get a shot, or create one for someone else. They need Mashburn's game. They need some life. But if the Heat jumps on them early in Game 3, as it did Game 2, it could take what's left out of them. Of course, some Hornets said they needed something else, their home crowd for inspiration, with Brown saying "we can get energy from them." But only one team drew fewer fans to its building this season. And how spirited will New Orleans fans be, with their team limping in like this? With a coach in crisis? With an offense in the 60s? With a spirit that seems wounded? "Good teams are able to put this behind them," Brown said. But now, the Heat looks like one. It's time for it to put the Hornets away. Copyright c 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel --

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