IN THE LANE
FROM THE BENCH: Among things most Heat followers never expected to see were Dwyane Wade as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Wade as a reserve. The Heat will see both firsthand on Tuesday night, when they play at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs have taken off with Wade’s switch to the second unit. “I enjoy it. I think we all do,” Wade told Cleveland.com. Wade essentially has become Cleveland’s LeBron James of the second unit. “Him being [on] the second unit, being able to control that second unit, be aggressive and we run everything through him,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “That gets him in a better rhythm. I think he understands it and he enjoys it.” He does, especially when taking the long view. “It’s a fun unit for us and I think it’s going to be a very important unit for us as we get deep into the season and in the playoffs,” Wade said. “That’s the reason I wanted to come here and be a part of it.”
ON THE BENCH: Among those the Heat also will see on their four-game trip is former Heat forward Michael Beasley, who has gone from contributor at the start of the season for the New York Knicks to spectator in recent games, with 16 minutes of action over a five-game span entering the weekend. “I think everybody wishes they played more -- except the guys playing 45 minutes a night,” Beasley recently the New York Post. “But I’m not here to say what I need or want personally. Whatever the team needs. If they need me to play 40 minutes, I’ll play it. If they want me to clap on the bench, I’ll do it.”
STILL AT IT: Love of country and love of the game have former Heat center Joel Anthony back on the court, this time with Canada’s qualifying roster for the World Cup. With countries left to scramble for non-NBA talent amid the in-season scheduling windows, the Montreal native is working alongside the likes of Anthony Bennett and former Florida State guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes after being among the final preseason cuts of the Milwaukee Bucks. The timing of the event has precluded participating by Heat center Kelly Olynyk. “To have a chance to go to the Worlds, and in this format, to have the potential opportunity to play in the Olympics, that’s really the biggest goal,” Anthony told the Canadian Press. Anthony has worked on and off for the Canadian national team since 2005.
BETTER THAN BUST: That failed move by the Heat to Shabazz Napier in the 2014 NBA draft? Perhaps merely premature judgment. The former UConn point guard has recently found a comfort zone in a three-guard Portland Trail Blazers rotation with Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. “Sometimes you need somebody to give you -- I don’t want to say praise -- but somebody to notice you,” he told the Oregonian, after uneven stints with the Heat and Orlando Magic, “notice that you do work your butt off. I’ve been in the right position at the right time and I’m able to flourish in it.”