Die Allianz T-D-P » beginning.The 10-point win over Australia

MIAMI -- Florida pro basketball is bad right now -- really bad.On the eve of Tuesdays game between the Orlando Magic (12-17) and the Miami Heat (9-19) at AmericanAirlines Arena, lets take stock in the fortunes of these two organizations.First, though, some perspective: Of the four states with multiple NBA teams -- a list that also includes California, Texas and New York -- only Florida lacks at least one team with a winning record.In addition, there are only two teams worse than the Magic and Heat in the 15-team Eastern Conference -- the Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers.The Magic havent been to the playoffs since 2012 and havent won a postseason series since 2010 -- both feats accomplished during the tenure of coach Stan Van Gundy.Orlando fired Van Gundy in May of 2012 despite the fact that he had made the playoffs in each of his five seasons. Since he was terminated, the Magic have dismissed three coaches -- including one interim -- in four years.New coach Frank Vogel is in his first year in the land of Mickey Mouse.But whats really troublesome to Orlando fans is the fact that despite four straight losing years -- all with 35 or less wins -- the Magic has failed to capitalize in the draft. Of the 16 selections they have made in the past decade, only one -- Aaron Gordon -- is producing even modest numbers for Orlando.Gordon, taken with the fourth pick in the 2014 draft, is a 6-9 forward averaging 10.4 points and 4.3 rebounds.Worse yet for Orlando, the Magic are coming off a horrible home loss, falling 100-79 to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.We have guys who are not giving us enough and are selfish, Magic center Bismack Biyombo told the media after that game in a very telling statement. We are playing selfish basketball, and that is not going to get us anywhere.Bad drafts, unstable management and a lack of effort is a putrid mix for Orlando.But even with all that, the Magic still has a better record than the Heat, and that has to really bother a Miami franchise that had been among the best in all of pro sports during their four-year run with LeBron James.The Heat do have stable management with team president Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra, a proven winner now in his ninth season as the head coach, including two NBA titles.A lot of Miamis problems have to do with injuries. They started the season with shooting guards Josh Richardson and Wayne Ellington injured for numerous games. Shooting guard Dion Waiters got hurt, and so did forward Justise Winslow.Ellington, perhaps Miamis purest shooter, came back and is now hurt again with a hamstring injury. Waiters has missed 12 straight games, although he could be back soon.Im running as hard as I can -- as close to game speed as possible, Waiters said. Its up to (the Heat) whenever they think Im ready.But heres the thing with the Heat: Even if they were to get healthy and remain that way for the rest of the season, its doubtful they have enough talent to make a run for the playoffs, especially considering the hole they have dug.The Heat have two upper-echelon talents, and both are still in the primes of their careers: 27-year-old center Hassan Whiteside, who is averaging 17.6 points, 14.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks; and 30-year-old point guard Goran Dragic, who is averaging 19.1 points and 6.7 assists.But where the decline of the Heat is truly evident is on the wings. Gone are Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron, who have been replaced by the likes of players such as Rodney McGruder and Josh McRoberts.If you compile a list of Heat players who have made at least nine starts this season and yet shoot less than 40 percent from the floor, it will be lengthy, with names such as Waiters, Winslow, Luke Babbitt, McGruder, McRoberts, Richardson and Derrick Williams.Winslow, a lottery pick last season who plays terrific defense, is a keeper. He should still be a junior at Duke and is only 20 years old.Richardson, 23, could still turn things around. Both players need to hone their jump shots, however.James Johnson and Tyler Johnson -- no relation -- have been productive bench players for the Heat. But until they are able to surround Dragic and Whiteside with quality shooters, their demise will continue. Vans Old Skool Clearance Sale . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. White Sk8 Hi Vans Shoes . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. http://www.cheapoldskoolwholesale.com/ . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. Wholesale Vans Authentic . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. Slip On Vans Discount . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Written in Portuguese on one wall above center court at Carioca Arena is the phrase Um mundo novo. Translation: a new world.It didnt seem that way in mens Olympic basketball -- until now.Threatened by Australia in its previous game, the U.S. mens team survived a heart-racing final seconds to defeat disciplined and experienced Serbia 94-91 on Friday night and extend its winning streak in international tournaments to 49 games.No. 50 is no given, and suddenly, a gold medal that seemed a formality just a few days ago is anything but certain.The Americans, boasting a roster stuffed with NBA All-Stars, elite outside shooters but only two former Olympians, look very vulnerable and somewhat lost on the worlds hardwood stage.We do have more talent, said U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski, who has been warning about overconfidence since his teams arrival in Brazil. We have to get our talent playing even much better as a team.Despite a ferocious start, the Americans couldnt put away the underdog Serbs, who ran their cut-and-cut-again offense with precision and had a chance to tie it in the final seconds. But guard Bogdan Bogdanovics 3-pointer from the left wing was a little long and Kevin Durant secured the rebound and the relieved Americans walked off the floor with their streak intact but their standing shaken.Kyrie Irving scored 15 points and Durant and Carmelo Anthony added 12 apiece for the U.S. team, which arrived in South American lauded as the latest version of an American super squad. However, after their 10-point win over the Aussies earlier this week and now a nail-biter against the Serbs, the rest of the field might be starting to believe the U.S. can be taken.We got in our own heads, Durant said. We had a great start, great start. We were up almost 20 points. We should have held the lead and we just got sidetracked by stupid stuff, from the calls to the physicality, the extra plays. We got to stay with it. Thats the way its going to be out here.Nikola Jokic, who plays for the Denver Nuggets, scored 25 and Milos Teodosic and Miroslav Raduljica 18 each for the Serbs, who fell to 1/3 but left the building feeling confident after making the Americans sweat.Paul George said Serbias systematic offense was unlike anything he and his teammates have faced.Once again, we relied on natural talent, George said. This is why thesse guys are special in our league.dddddddddddd These international guys really know how to move and really know how to cut. Its more about how theyre running their offense. Its wearing us down.Its like they dont get tired.It was the first Olympic game between the nations, and a rematch of the 2014 Basketball World Cup championship won by the U.S. 129-92. However, this never resembled that track meet as the Serbs slowed the tempo and forced the Americans into turnovers and rushed possessions. The worlds best team certainly didnt look or play like it for long stretches.The U.S., which will wrap up preliminary-round play against France on Sunday, led 94-87 with 2:11 left on a basket by Anthony. But the Serbs got a basket by Jokic and two free throws Teodosic to get within three.Durant, who only attempted four shots, misfired with eight seconds left giving Serbia one last chance. After a timeout, the ball wound up with Bogdanovic, who had a great look from 22 feet but was just off the mark.We are that kind of a team that we never give up and we showed this today, said Teodosic, one of Europes craftiest guards for the past decade. This is third game in a row that we have a very bad beginning, and especially [against] the teams like the United States, its very tough to get back in the game when you are losing by 10 or 15 in the beginning.The 10-point win over Australia -- just the fifth time the U.S. has won by 10 or fewer since 2006 -- raised the possibility that this American team might not be as golden as previous ones.Krzyzewski, though, insists there is more global balance in hoops.We dont give enough credit to the talent level on the other team, he said. Australia is talented. Serbia is talented. They are one of the top teams in the world, but theyve played together for a long time. We played them two years ago and had a great game and everything went well for us. All of those guys are back and Im sure they wanted to make up for that, too.Our guys are playing as a team, and I think we just havent had that experience of playing that long together and hopefully these games will help us and the game against France will also.The Americans had better learn or theyll be going home with a less shiny medal. ' ' '