No team was more successful than the Heat last season, as they ended with a
championship under their belt. To repeat their success, however, the Heat will
have to dedicate themselves to winning one game at a time once again.
There is no doubt that the great strength of the Heat is that they have two
superstar players. Shaquille O'Neal has long been one of the best centers in the
league. His numbers since joining Miami have been dwindling, and one of the keys
to the Heats success may be how productive Shaq can be. After only playing 59
games and averaging 20 points per game, his lowest mark of his long career,
O'Neal has a lot of work to do to prove critics wrong about his apparent decline
as an elite player.
The other superstar the Heat boasts is Dwayne Wade. Unlike his big
counterpart, Wade is one of the youngest superstars in the league and will look
to continue his consistent improvement over his first three years in the league.
As long as he is able to stay healthy and can pour in his usual 25-30 points per
game and 6-7 assists per game, there is no doubt that the Heat can win the
Southeast division for the third straight year.
Of course, no team can win games with only two players. The Heat will
therefore look for key contributions from forward Udonis Haslem and role players
Jason Williams, Antoine Walker and James Posey. Haslem is a young big man who
compliments Shaquille nicely on the defensive end of the floor and brings
toughness to the squad. The other three players, all acquired in the 2005
summer, are aging veterans who can score points and shoot the long ball. Another
bench player who could have a sizable impact is Alonzo Mourning, who substituted
nicely for O'Neal last season. It is important that all five of these players
continue to perform as they did last season.
On the sidelines for the Heat is NBA legend Pat Riley for the second straight
season. Riley is a top-calibar coach who will expect nothing less than a second
championship and will aim to keep his team focused on their new goal.
The Miami Heat have championship rings and all of their key players and
coaches back for the 2006/07 season. But they will also have a bull's-eye on
their backs for the entire season and they will really have to play their best
basketball to return to the Finals for the second straight season.
