http://www.palmbeachpost.com/heat/content/shared-gen/ap/ General_Basketball_News/BKN_Heat_Hornets.html Playoffs Have Changed Little for Heat By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer NEW ORLEANS — The Miami Heat can no longer be doubted because of youth or lack of playoff experience. Miami is demonstrating newfound wisdom off the court. The Heat are almost taking their 30-point victory and 2-0 lead over the New Orleans Hornets in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in stride. In fact, Heat players on Thursday said little to enflame their downtrodden opponent before Game 3 on Saturday in New Orleans. Center Brian Grant called New Orleans "a great team." "They got our best effort defensively," Grant said of Miami's 93-63 victory on Wednesday night. "They had an off night shooting. They will compete." Hornets coach Tim Floyd said the only motivation his players need is the shame of a 30-point playoff loss. "We were a team that got embarrassed, and these guys are professional athletes, and you respond to that embarrassment if you've got an ounce of pride in you at all," Floyd said. Miami rolled into the playoffs having won 17 of 21 games, but a big question was whether the Heat's lack of postseason experience would be a liability against New Orleans, a team that boasts players with playoff experience. A fresh start in the postseason offered New Orleans — a team with two All-Stars in Baron Davis and Jamaal Magloire — a chance to erase memories of regular season disappointments, including three losses in four games against Miami. Now, the Hornets' are near elimination. If they don't sweep their next two home games, they'll have to win twice in Miami, where the Heat won their last 14 games. Hornets veterans David Wesley and P.J. Brown were disgusted with their recent play, but showed no sign of panic on Thursday. Instead, they stressed that it's not uncommon for a visiting team to drop the first two games of a best-of-seven playoff series. "It's been done before. We can come back," Brown said. Wesley said he and his teammates were embarrassed by the lopsided loss in Game 2. "But when it's all said and done, they held serve. That's the way it goes in the playoffs," he said. "Now our job is to do the same thing and maybe a little embarrassment will help us to come back and play just a little bit better." Floyd was quick to point out every team that opened the playoffs on the road this season dropped its first two — except Milwaukee, which won at Detroit on Wednesday night. The play of the Hornets has been difficult to predict this season. They have looked like conference title contenders in taking three of four games from Detroit, handed the Los Angeles Lakers their first loss of the season and won at San Antonio with an injury-depleted lineup. "A veteran team with a lot of pride," is the way Miami coach Stan Van Gundy described New Orleans. "You get teams like that with their backs against the wall, you almost always get their best performance." Miami guard Rafer Alston was surprised by the Hornets' 24.4 percent shooting in Game 2. "I don't think for one minute they'll continue to miss wide-open shots like that," he said. Now it's Miami's turn to go on the road, where the Heat went 13-28 this season. "We haven't quite risen to the level of being able to win consistently on the road," Van Gundy said. "We haven't proven that yet. So we need to get better." ___ April 23, 2004 - 7:40 a.m. Copyright 2004, The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP Online news report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. --

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