It’s put up or shut up for the Miami Heat.

As we dive head first towards the second half of the 2011 NBA basketball season, it will be homestretch time for the big three of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James as they go after the franchise’s second NBA title.

Coach Erik Spoelstra said that it’s the final 26 games, basically a 50-day push for the Miami Heat, after the team’s 90-minute workout. “We want to reach another level or another two levels, which we’re capable of, and I think that makes us unique than most of the teams contending, because we don’t necessarily know what our ceiling is.”

Miami Heat forward LeBron James knows that, too. He knows that, even as “we played some good basketball” in the season’s first two-thirds, good won’t be sufficient for the Heat to either capture the top seed in the East or stand atop the league in June.

“We have to continue to get better, because there are teams out there that are better than us right now,” James said during All-Star Weekend. “We are moving at a cheetah’s pace, we are trying to move as fast as possible to get to where we want to get to compete at the highest level.”

Here’s what the Heat needs to continue to improve…

Hopefully, he can lead the Nets to their first win since acquiring him from Utah.

It hasn’t been smooth for the Nets lately after making the trade to get Deron Williams for the 2011 NBA basketball season. Yes, they haven’t won anything yet after making the trade, losing Williams’ first two games as a member of the Nets.

The New Jersey Nets lost to the San Antonio Spurs in D-Will’s first game out of Utah, then they lost again, to the Houston Rockets, despite a double-double from their new point guard.

On Monday night, Deron Williams will make his home debut in New Jersey as the Phoenix Suns come into town. And in case you haven’t noticed, D-Will badly needs to win this one in front of his new fans from Jersey. I reckon three straight losses since the trade and six straight overall won’t fare well to these fans one bit.

Unfortunately for D-Will, the Phoenix Suns will have Steve Nash come game time, arguably one of the best point guards in the league STILL despite his age.

It’s obvious that Williams is still looking to get comfortable after he was the focal point of the stunning trade where Utah sent him to New Jersey (17-42) for point guard Devin Harris, rookie Derrick Favors, two first-round draft picks and $3 million in cash.

Averaging a career-high 21.1 points this season, the two-time All-Star…

This one was a surprise.

Sure, we all knew of the problems Deron Williams has been having with the Utah Jazz this 2011 NBA basketball season, leading to the departure of what was once the longest tenured coach in the NBA, Jerry Sloan.

However, the trade the Utah Jazz and the New Jersey Nets completed just 24 hours ago as of this writing, was a surprise, considering that nobody knew the Nets were interested in landing the disgruntled guard with their onslaught to land Carmelo Anthony hogging all the spotlight.

When the New Jersey Nets got the crushing news that their all-out bid to get Carmelo Anthony had failed after the Denver Nuggets decided to trade Anthony to the rival Knicks, the figured they needed to rebound.

And boy, they did, in the biggest way imaginable, after acquiring Deron Williams, arguably one of the best point guards in the league today, from the Utah Jazz.

In a stunning move that caught most of the league by surprise, the Nets acquired All-Star point guard Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz, trading point guard Devin Harris and rookie power forward Derrick Favors, plus two first-round draft picks and cash, believed to be $3 million.

Acquiring Williams, who has averaged 21.3 points and 9.7 assists for…

If you’ve been following the NBA, then you’ll realize hoops fans already had their fair share of some madness this year.

Of course, the madness in college hoops don’t officially begin not until the 2011 March Madness gets here. Yes, it’s coming and business officially picks up right after the highly anticipated Selection Sunday.

The 2011 NCAA national championship will be determined during a month-long battle of skill, determination, and dazzling performances by top competing college teams leading up to the Final Four games played April 2 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.

This year, the number of teams participating in the tournament jumps from 64 to 68. With the tourney expanding to 68 teams, the final four at-large teams and final four automatic qualifiers will play in the “First Four” round in order to advance into the traditional 64-team bracket.

In addition, the round after the “First Four” is now officially called the “second round” (formerly known as the first round) which consists of 32 games. These will be followed by the “third round” (formerly known as the second round) of 16 games — a.k.a. the Sweet Sixteen.

Confused? Don’t worry, all you need to know is which team you should be betting on when March Madness…

As the NBA trade deadline fast approaches, every team seems to be on the verge of making a move.

This 2011 NBA basketball season, the Carmelo Anthony saga has finally ended after the Denver Nuggets traded him to the New York Knicks. But if you thought the madness is over, we still have more than a few rumors that will definitely change the face of the league as you know it.

All of the rumors are bound to drive fans crazy, if the whole Carmelo Anthony saga hasn’t driven you mad already, and even if the trades don’t happen, some people’s mindsets will be beyond repair. The anticipation is simply becoming too much. So which teams in the league will likely shake things up a bit in the NBA?

First we have the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks need a point guard and a center. The deal that can they strike is to send F Josh Smith, PG Mike Bibby, C Zaza Pachulia and C Jason Collins to Golden State for PG Stephen Curry, C Andris Biedrins, C Dan Gadzuric and G Charlie Bell.

Most executives around the league aren’t expecting any major moves from Atlanta, but the fact is, the Hawks are a very good team that doesn’t quite have the pieces to break through to the next tier. So they should go for…

Well, for what it’s worth, at least Melo didn’t announce his move to NYC on national TV like that other guy did right?

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the second half of the 2011 NBA basketball season. And thanks to the New York Knicks, we’re kicking the second half in style after convincing the Denver Nuggets to let their superstar go in exchange for, well, virtually nobody.

In case you didn’t get that, Carmelo Anthony was finally traded by the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks. Amazing huh? And that left the city of Denver a mess.

Sure, they got players like Danilo Gallinari and Raymond Felton but come on, they just let go Melo. And to make things worse, they also decided to ship Chauncey Billups with him to the New York Knicks.

You read it, in order for the Denver Nuggets to stop being held hostage by disgruntled forward Carmelo Anthony, they had to sacrifice hometown hero Chauncey Billups in a blockbuster trade with the New York Knicks. There is relief in Denver, but no joy.

In a thankless task that has consumed every waking minute of every day since being hired, new Denver Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri made the best of a lousy situation, getting a haul of young talent and a No. 1 draft choice from the Knicks. Like every one who loves basketball in Denver, his emotions were rubbed raw by the deal.

“Carmelo Anthony is one of the NBA’s fantastic scorers and…”

We all saw it coming. It was only a matter of time. But when I heard of the news, my initial reaction was still: WOW.

A New York Knicks revival that began last July and took hold in the fall is about to receive another significant infusion of star power this 2011 NBA basketball season. Carmelo Anthony is bound for New York.

After weeks of haggling and intrigue, the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets finally agreed in principle on a blockbuster trade Monday night that will bring Carmelo Anthony, one of the NBA’s brightest stars, to Madison Square Garden.

”I would say it’s virtually done,” said a New York Knicks executive involved in the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been announced.

In addition to Anthony, a supremely athletic 6-foot-8 forward, the Knicks will receive the veteran point guard Chauncey Billups and three nominal bench players, forwards Shelden Williams and Renaldo Balkman and guard Anthony Carter.

In exchange, the Denver Nuggets will obtain four of the Knicks’ top players…

The rumors about a potential reunion between Bill Belichick and Chad Ochocinco are flaring up again.

According to the Boston Herald’s Ian Rapoport, Chad Ochocinco has indicated that he’s interested in joining the New England Patriots after the team obviously needed a receiver when they lost to the Jets in the divisional round, putting an abrupt end to their road to Super Bowl XLV.

All this started when Chad Ochocinco sent a tweet to Rapoport that read “PePe and Bill #EPIC.” PePe is one of the receiver’s many nicknames.

During Week 1 of the 2010-11 season, the unlikely pair revealed their mutual respect for one another leading up to the Bengals-Patriots matchup. Belichick caught his first glimpse of Ochocinco (then Chad Johnson) during his collegiate days at Oregon State.

The New England Patriots head coach got an even closer look at Ochocinco when he coached the wide receiver in the Pro Bowl.

“I like Chad — I like him as a player. I like him as a person,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. “I like his enthusiasm and the fun he has with football, and I like how he competes on the football field. I have a lot of respect for that.”

Ochocinco also gushed about his relationship with the Patriots’ coach back in September.

“It became a relationship beyond just a football player and a coach. He became a friend of mine,” Ochocinco said. “He has a lot of respect for me in my game and I have a lot of respect for him in everything he’s done as a coach.

Last season Ochocino had 831 receiving yards and four touchdowns…

At least for now.

With all the drama surrounding Carmelo Anthony this 2011 NBA basketball season, he will still suit up for the Denver Nuggets this Tuesday to take on the Memphis Grizzlies.

At least for now, Carmelo Anthony is still a member of the Denver Nuggets, but with the trading deadline just around the corner, you just know it’s only a matter of time before he suits up a different uniform.

In case you didn’t know, the ‘Carmelo Anthony trade’ is coming down to the wire, with the New York Knicks the likely target of a deal that is expected to go down soon.

When interviewed during the second half of the 2011 NBA All-Star Game, and asked if he would be playing for the Nuggets on Tuesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, Melo said, “I’ll be there in a Denver uniform, yes.” Anthony had eight points and seven rebounds in the All-Star Game.

The New Jersey Nets remain in the running for the all-star forward, and Anthony met with Nets’ owner Mikhail Prokhorov here late Saturday. Anthony, however, has never indicated he would sign a three-year, $65 million contract extension to make a trade with New Jersey work and Prokhorov indicated today he was meeting only to drive up the price that the Knicks would have to play.

Anthony would sign the extension to play for the Knicks, the team he…

And not even Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, or anybody from the league can argue that.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s exactly how the Boston Celtics have fared in the first half of the 2011 NBA basketball season. Believe it.

Not even Amar’e Stoudemire going to NYC or the acquisitions made by Miami were able to faze the Boston Celtics one bit. For some reason, they were able to once again, cheat Father Time, on their way to becoming the team to beat, not only in the East, but in the entire league as well.

It has become cliche to say the Bostonians are one of the most, if not the most, hated teams in the NBA. (Although they can thank LeBron James for deflecting several degrees of heat to the Heat.) But those who have to play against them offer respect. And it’s not even of the grudging variety.

“Boston, if they stay healthy, I think they’re probably the best team in the league,” said Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki. “They’ve got legitimate playmakers on the offensive end. They’ve got (Rajon) Rondo running the show, and he’s the best passer in the game. So they’re very legit if they stay healthy, and they’re going to be the team to beat in the East.”

Miami came into the season as clearly the most hyped team on the planet, but after losing to the Celtics in all three meetings thus far, the Heat see the Shamrocks as the largest boulder in their path.

“No question,” said Dwyane Wade. “We’ve said before that…”