Miami was beaten senseless last night by the Nets, losing 100-88 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate. The Heat did make a little bit of a run late, but the outcome was never really in doubt. New Jersey started shooting hot early in the game, and they didn’t look back.

The bad news for the Nets is that Richard Jefferson sprained his ankle, and the Nets really can’t do without him. One thing they aren’t is deep. For example, they had a player get 16 minutes tonight, who I’ve never fucking heard of. Seriously. I follow the NBA pretty closely, and I have no idea who the fuck John Thomas is.

Anyway, if Jefferson is out, that brings LaMond Murray into the starting line-up… which is not good. With RJ in, however, the Nets can do a lot of things to make the Heat uncomfortable. They can penetrate, which is something Miami can’t stop. And if they can collapse the defense and move the ball back out, and they’re hitting their jumpers… the Heat are in trouble. Of course, they’re not always going to shoot as well as they did tonight, but they’re going to keep getting the looks.

I like what Nenad Krstic can do, too. He hits jumpers, and he can drag Shaq/Alonzo Mourning out away from the basket. And a lot of times last night, Miami brought Shaq out on a double team, and Vince Carter just beat the double-team easily anyway. It’s going to be very difficult for the Heat to find a way to keep Shaq out of foul trouble without opening up a free lane to the basket.

The Heat will play better, though. They didn’t shoot the ball well at all last night, which happens to them fairly frequently. Antoine Walker and Jason Williams are both pretty streaky shooters. And, New Jersey, in my opinion, though they have better bigs, doesn’t get after it on defense quite like Chicago did. They’re certainly not a bad defensive team, by any stretch, but Miami missed a lot of open looks. Maybe this had something to do with the fact that it was a blowout from jump, and effort waned on both sides as the game went on. We’ll see.

Carlos Boozer and Mike Dunleavy were both at the game, in the stands… and I found it odd that they were both dressed in white, participating in the Miami crowd’s lame “white out,” which they stole from the Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes. I just found it odd. I think Boozer also had a pair of Thunder Stix, a Shaquille O’Neal action figure, and a copy of Kazaam that he wanted to get autographed. Kenyon Martin was at the game, too, seeing his most extensive action of the postseason.