http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketball/heat/ sfl-heatnb27apr27,0,4347606.story?coll=sfla-sports-heat Jones vows more accuracy in Game 4 By Harvey Fialkov Staff Writer Posted April 27 2004 MIAMI -- Much of the focus on the Heat's loss in Game 3 has been shined on rookie guard Dwyane Wade, who was completely taken out of the picture by the Hornets rugged defensive game plan. But even with Wade's two-point outing and Lamar Odom's five-minute absence in the fourth quarter due to a cut eye, the Heat might've avoided the 77-71 loss if its regular-season leading scorer, Eddie Jones, had not missed 11 of his 13 shots for his second single-digit point total (5) of the series. Jones, who bounced back from a quiet first game (3 of 5 shooting) with a solid effort in Game 2 (19 points and 8 rebounds), didn't credit the defense of former teammate David Wesley, who at 6-foot-1 is five inches shorter than him. "The shots I'm getting are good shots," said Jones, who led the Heat in scoring for the fourth straight season despite shooting a career-low 40.9 percent. "I've got to drop those. For some apparent reason I didn't make them the other night, but I know, come [tonight], I'm going to make them." Jones, who averaged 18.8 points on 44 percent shooting against the Hornets in four regular-season games, said he could shoot over Wesley any time he wants. Wesley, who was Jones teammate in Charlotte for parts of two seasons (1999-00), believes his quickness enables him to sneak past screens and beat Jones to his favorite spots. "It allows me to get where he is when he catches," Wesley said. " Being taller, his advantage might be on the block, but that's not what they do. So they haven't really exploited it a whole lot." Heat coach Stan Van Gundy felt that Jones wasn't forcing his shots and that despite his 11-of-32 shooting numbers (34.4 percent), has been helping out in other critical areas. "He's got to be a little more aggressive in terms of the way he moves and gets open for shots," Van Gundy said. BUTLER SPOTTING Because Caron Butler has been playing his best basketball of the season, backup forward Rasual Butler has been missing in action, playing a total of five minutes in the first three games, or a minute less than seldom-used forward Malik Allen. If the Heat's shooting woes continue tonight after Saturday's pitiful playoff franchise-low 32.9 percent clunkfest, expect Van Gundy to call Rasual Butler's number. Butler led the Heat in field-goal percentage (47.6) and 3-point shooting percentage (46.3), albeit on a limited basis, this season. BUTLER II Caron Butler returned to practice Monday after taking a day off to cool down a barking right Achilles' heel. If the Hornets continue to double Wade and Odom, while leaving Butler open on the weak side, he'd welcome the challenge. "Their defensive scheme is like that with everybody," said Butler, who is averaging a team-leading 18 points and 9.7 rebounds (tied with Brian Grant). "I don't think anybody in their right mind will put all the pressure on me and say, We're going to let Caron Butler beat him.' "Because I'm a winner. If you want me to beat you, I'll beat you." PLAYOFF LAYOFF = PAYOFF Van Gundy seemed tired of answering the same questions regarding the NBA's deal with television that could result in the Heat's first-round playoff series taking 20 days to complete. "Both teams have the same time off between games so you can't use it as an excuse, but nobody likes it," Van Gundy said. "Any coach or player complaining about that needs to go look at their paychecks on the first and 15th and we need to thank [Commissioner] David Stern, the NBA office and TV networks for what they negotiated. And we'll play according to their schedule and we'll do it gladly." Harvey Fialkov can be reached at [email protected]. Copyright c 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel --

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