Following the win over Houston last night, the Miami Heat now look like a team on the rise. They seem to be regaining their former (in 05-06) glory, capturing their third win of the season so far. Ever since the return of Dwyane Wade and the sudden resurgence of Shaquille O’Neal (after being criticized by Wade), the other players on the Heat roster seem to be regaining confidence.
Opening the season, the whole game plan of the Heat was to slow down the tempo and try to gut it out for a victory. Since their center was under-performing, Ricky Davis was looked upon to be the go-to-scorer. This obviously did not work because Davis is known for being inconsist
ent and unreliable at times. Coaches would never know what they would get from him. Now that Wade is back, and coach Pat Riley has somebody who can be counted on to run the game and control the tempo, Miami is looking very dangerous offensively. Davis will thive offensively with Wade on the floor since Wade is very good at drawing multiple defenders, and this will open up more spaces for Davis to work in. Wade is also very skilled at drawing fouls and getting to the line, as well as drawing a double team and finding an open teammate for an easy basket. These two traits stabilize the Heat offensively. On Friday night, “Flash” scored a season-high 31 points and added 5 assists. That is what the Heat have been waiting for while Wade was injured. But, the even more surprising fact is the emergence of Shaq in the win. He chipped in with 26 points and 14 rebounds (as well as 5 combined steals and blocks). From the Big Daddy, these are Lakers-esque numbers, and the Heat will have a third scoring option if he is able to keep it up. If you flash back to the Finals, where Shaq was at the center of the Miami attack, you will find that this team can put points up on the board. I expect him to (if he can avoid any serious injuries) put up close to 15 PPG and 8 RPG from now on. Those numbers, and hopefully a couple of blocks, will benefit the team greatly in their title quest.
To go along with the fact that their two stars performed at their potential, Miami also proved that they can beat a powerhouse from the West. Do not forget that Houston is one of the top five teams in the league, with Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, Shane Battier, Bonzi Wells, and the merging Luis Scola in their lineup. A few analysts even think that Houston has enough firepower to continue playing through the month of June. If the Miami Heat are hoping to contend for the championship, they will have to continue to play well against these talented teams from the West. Looking at this game (and the form Flash is in), it should not be that hard.