IN THE LANE
FINESSE VS. FORCE: As the Heat continue to play in the absence of Hassan Whiteside, Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone offered an interesting postgame perspective on how the Heat instead thrived late in the teams’ double-overtime game by being able to utilize Kelly Olynyk and James Johnson against Nikola Jokic. “You put Nikola on Olynyk, they put him on all the action,” Malone said. “You put Nikola on James Johnson, they put him on all the action. Those guys were able to make big plays for them.” For Jokic, the evening would have been far more basic had Whiteside not been sidelined with his hip issue. “That’s how their team works,” Jokic said. “We tried to post me up. I didn’t score a couple times.” The upshot could be Whiteside retuning as somewhat of a situational presence, even as a starter.
JOEL VS. HASSAN: The Washington Post had an interesting take from Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown in a piece about players’ obsessions with their phones, when it came to Joel Embiid’s Twitter beef with Whiteside earlier this season. “If you can, find a way to not dismiss it and educate them on the pitfalls of social media, of which there are many, then, you know, you’re just not living with your head in the sand,” Brown said. “It’s the world we live in.”
RAY VS. CELTICS: Speaking of beefs, Ray Allen, in his new book — “From the Outside: My Journey through Life and the Game I Love” — offers his counter to those who took issue with his free-agency jump from the Boston Celtics to the Heat in the 2012 offseason. In the book, due for Tuesday release, Allen says he did not view it as turning to the enemy, “So the Heat beat the Celtics two straight years in the playoffs? You need more than two years to establish a rivalry.” He reiterated that it also wasn’t about the money, having turned down a two-year, $12 million package in favor of a one-year, $6 million deal. Of Kevin Garnett then snubbing him when the Heat opened 2012-13 in Boston, Allen wrote, “KG would have snubbed his grandmother if she signed with another team.”
RAY VS. RONDO: Allen’s book also chronicles the sour and dour relationship with former Celtics teammate Rajon Rondo, who claims he has moved on — now playing for the New Orleans Pelicans — and wishes Allen had, too. “Obviously, that man is hurting,” Rondo told the Boston Globe. “I don’t know if it’s financially, I don’t know if it’s mentally. He wants to stay relevant . ... He’s looking for attention. I’m a better human being than that.”
BEASLEY VS. BOREDOM: Give Michael Beasley credit, he finds a way to keep himself entertained even when another of his seasons is going south. Thursday it was when the New York Knicks forward found himself unable to save a ball from going out of bounds in front of Heat owner Micky Arison. No matter, instead taking a moment amid the action to shake hands with his former boss. “I love Micky. Micky was one of my favorite people when I was here. Just saying, ‘What’s up?’ to him. He told me to cool off at that point,” the Heat’s 2008 first-round pick said, with the play coming during Beasley’s 20-point first half in what would turn into a 119-98 Knicks loss.