By: Pedro Heizer It’s been a while since Heat fans watched Dwyane Wade take over an NBA playoff game. At 31, it looks like father time has finally caught up with Wade, who staggered during Miami’s championship run last spring and wasn’t called upon to carry the Heat in any of their conference finals or Finals games, LeBron took care of all that. You have to go all the way back to Games 4-6 of Miami’s 2012 second-round series against the Pacers to find a playoff stretch when Wade looked like Wade. The peak was a 41-point, 10-rebound performance in

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By: Pedro Heizer

It’s no secret that Chris Andersen has clearly been not only a huge boost to the Miami Heat, but he’s also become a fan favorite.

The Birdman has been providing Miami the energy and size off the bench that they have been missing since the days Alonzo Mourning came off the bench for Shaquille O’Neal.

In the 2013 postseason so far, Andersen is averaging 10.3 points, 6.3 rebounds per game on 14.3 minutes per game.

Andersen, who averaged 4.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game on 14.9 minutes per game in the regular season, is a veteran player who can literally fly across the court, defend the rim, grab rebounds, and even score when needed. Andersen is the full package, and it will benefit Miami if they can resign the 34-year old center.

So far in the 2013 postseason, Andersen is averaging 10.3 points, 6.3 rebounds per game on 14.3 minutes per game.

The problem Miami will run into when they want to resign Birdman will be money.

As we know, Andersen was picked up mid-season on a minimum contract and is an unrestricted free agent this summer. Ideally he wants to stay with the Heat, according to reports by Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida.

Mark Bryant, agent for Chris “Birdman” Andersen, said his client wants to re-sign with the Heat this summer.

“We’re certainly hopeful,’’ Bryant told FOX Sports Florida about Andersen re-signing with the Heat. “But he’s going to finish this task first (of trying to win a title with Miami). But, absolutely, he has embraced (being with the Heat).’’

However, as with everything in the world of sports, it comes down to money. As taxpayers, the most the Heat likely will offer him is the taxpayer’s midlevel of about $3.2 million. Another team could come over the top and bid more than that. If it’s significantly more, he would have to consider it.

Then again, we can’t forget that Miami has a knack of signing players at a bargain (ie. Ray Allen, Udonis Haslem, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh) with the promise of winning the ultimate prize.

In the end, the Birdman has made a nest down here in South Beach on a team where his role is defined and he can win rings.

He stays with the Heat.

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By: Pedro Heizer

Dwyane Wade has made a living out of proving people wrong. He’s been doubted from High School to the Pros, and all those times he has come out on top and proved his doubters wrong.

Remember when the season started and ESPN disrespectfully placed Wade at number eight in their NBA Player Ranking? Remember when Wade was coming back from his offseason knee injury and the so-called experts said he was past his prime? Remember when fans decided to turn their back on our beloved MV3 and proclaimed him a liability and should be traded for younger pieces?

At the start of the season, Wade was averaging career lows in almost every category, 17.1 points per game, 4.8 assists per game, and 4.5 rebounds per game.

What people didn’t understand was that this was to be expected from a 31-year old coming off a knee surgery, but fans wanted results, and quick.

Since that dismal first month of the season, Wade’s numbers have steadily gone back to Wade-like numbers and quietly, Wade is having his most efficient shooting season of his career.

During the 19-game win streak, Wade is shooting a career-best 54 percent and averaging 24.2 points and 5.6 assists per game. Wade has also been especially clutch late in games, shooting 61 percent in the fourth quarter since the start of February.

Wade also extended his streak of games with at least one steal to 23 in a row last night.

Because of his terrific week, Wade was awarded by the NBA as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the first time this season.

During the week of March 4-10 Wade averaged 25 points per game on 60 percent shooting from the field and 88 percent shooting from the line. The 10-year NBA veteran also averaged five assists, four rebounds and 3.5 steals over that stretch.

The former Finals MVP started the week off with a 32-point, 10-rebound performance in Minnesota March 4. He then finished with 24 points and six rebounds in Miami’s dramatic win over Orlando March 6 before scoring 23 points on Sunday against Indiana.

At 31, Wade has been able to evolve his game without sacrificing his aggressive style that made him one of the most explosive players in the league early in his career. “My role is just different now. I ask myself would I rather do great things on a bad team and average 27 points per game or average 22 and be on one of the best teams.”

Wade has never been the type of player to play all 82 games in a season. Due to his aggressive style of play, he’s bound to be bruised up on a nightly basis. What must be noted is Wade’s resilience and willpower to always come back stronger than the previous time.

During the 2007-2008 season in which Heat fans saw Miami go 15-67, Wade was shut down with more than two months to go on the season because of injuries.

People had counted him out then, but with the help of his personal trainer Wade played in the 2008 Olympics and led the “Redeem Team” in scoring.

He came back to the Heat for the 2008-2009 season and had an MVP-type season.

“There are moments that you never want to be doubted,” Wade said. “For the most part, I go through a point like that every year the past few years. I understand that for me when I’m healthy, there’s not much you can say because I can affect games in many different ways.”

So far in March, Wade is having the best month of the season, averaging 23.7 points and six assists per game while shooting a season, and career best 57 percent from the field. Needless to say, Dwyane Wade is back.

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By: Pedro Heizer

When Miami signed Chris “Birdman” Andersen to his first 10-day contract about two weeks ago, Miami knew what they were getting. A player ready to prove all the doubters wrong, something the Miami Heat as an organization has been doing for a while now.

Andersen, 34, has been out of the job since early July, when the Denver Nuggets, the team in which he started his NBA career, parted ways with him – and the $9 million still owed him.

Andersen has had a troubled past in the NBA, from January 2006 to January 2008 Andersen was banned form the league for violating the league’s banned substances policy.

After a short stint with the New Orleans Hornets, Andersen once again found a home with Denver, where he would be known simply as Birdman and notable for his distinctive hand-to-neck tattoos. Andersen quickly became one of the top per-minute rebounders and shot-blockers in the league.

From 2008 through the end of last season, Andersen, who with his hard-nosed work on the glass was averaging between 10 and 11 rebounds per 36 minutes in each of his four seasons, was one of Denver’s most vital parts off the bench.

However, last May, Andersen’s home was searched during an investigation of an Internet crime and although he was never charged, the bad press and changing roster dynamics led the Nuggets to part ways with the fan favorite.

Since then, the Birdman has been looking for a new nest.

Enter the Miami Heat, a team facing challenges in rebounding (26th in the league in overall rebounding rate, a 20-spot drop from last season) and overall defense (Miami is 11th in the league in defensive efficiency, seven spots off last year’s pace).

Andersen, who is long, athletic and active, enticed the Heat’s brass as he would potentially offer help on both fronts.

Once again, Pat Riley hit the nail in the head.

The acquisition of the Birdman not only rejuvenated the 34 year old – who recently told the South Florida’s Sun Sentinel that he is not at 100 percent just yet, stating he’s only at “six feathers” out of a total eleven – but has also rejuvenated the Miami Heat.

In contests where Andersen has played more than 10 minutes, Miami has averaged 9.2 offensive rebounds.

When Miami first signed Andersen, no one expected him to even crack the rotation, some went as far as to say Andersen was this season’s version of Eddy Curry. But, in the past few games, Andersen has been putting up very good numbers.

In fact, Andersen’s offensive efficiency is another bonus. Andersen’s range is limited to at or near the rim, but his career effective field goal percentage (which accounts for free throws) of 55 percent is a significant upgrade over Anthony’s career mark of 50 percent.

In six game with the Heat, the Birdman has put up 3.7 points and is snatching four rebounds per game, all in 10.8 minutes per game.

Andersen has earned his place in Miami and the Heat should reward him by signing him for at least the end of the season.

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