Heat vs Rockets

Who cares who wins an exhibition game? But it was fun to see Shaq out there, and hey, there were winners and losers. Let's get to it!

Power Forward - The need for Christian Laettner became clear right away, as Udonis Haslem and Malik Allen took 18 shots in 39 minutes. Allen had more luck, going 4 for 7 and showing a nice mid-range jumper, while Haslem went 3 for 11. Of course, Haslem outrebounded Allen 5 to 1. The Heat made a nice first have run with Allen in the lineup though, so we'll give the nod to him.

Small Forward - Rasual Butler put up some nice numbers - 3 for 5 with 5 rebounds and 5 assists in 22 minutes - but continued to be less than impressive defensively. Wesley Person shot only 1 for 4 but had 5 rebounds.

The Rookies - Yikes! Between them, Dorell Wright and Matt Freije played 16 minutes, grabbed 2 rebounds, missed 5 shots, and committed 3 fouls. Not to be outdone by the kids, Eddie Jones didn't hit a shot in 25 minutes, and Wang Zhi Zhi went scoreless in 9.