HoopWatch

It’s been a while since the Miami Heat have been treading on the path to their title defense. With center Shaquille O’Neal missing all but four games this season, the Heat have not been as impressive as last season’s title campaign. They even appear to be heading to the lottery. They are below .500 at 17-20 as of this writing, and only Dwyane Wade has remained the bright lone spot for them.

After being embarrassed by the Phoenix Suns, the Heat appear to have their groove back. Thanks mainly to the comeback of Dwayne Wade (from injury), and the stellar games of reserves Jason Kapono, Alonzo Mourning and Dorrell Wright. They have won four games in a row before bowing down to a stellar Los Angeles Laker team, who are one of the two biggest surprises in the West. (The other team being the Utah Jazz).
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Kapono have had career-highs of 28 and 25, while Wright, who has been in the reserve list for two full seasons, is also having a career-year. They will even be a lot stronger in a couple of games as former MVP Shaquille O’Neal will be back from knee surgery. Slowly, the Heat will start its title defense this month, and will be in full throttle after the All-Star break.

In an unpredictable Eastern Conference, Miami is currently striding in the ninth and tenth spot. Cleveland leads all teams in the East, and is the only team in the top 8 NBA teams. It will be hard for Miami to take that top spot from the Cavaliers, but they will be in the playoffs.

Although, for now, my bold prediction is that Miami will lose in the Eastern Conference Finals to Cleveland. I don’t see in them the same heart that they had last season. Wade can only do so much.