| Can The Heat Contend In The East? Authored by Patrick Kaas - February 19, 2009 - 11:58 am
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Miami fans are said to be thrilled about the freshly-acquired duo and are more optimistic about this season. The Heat now have a legit option at center, a luxury they haven't had since Shaquille O'Neal left somewhat over a year ago. Some feel as though the Heat can make a run for the Conference Finals with their current roster, but is it realistic to call them contenders all of a sudden?
At the moment, the East standings are very tight and seeds four through ten are only separated by eight games. It's an absolute priority for the Heat, currently fifth, to keep performing well every night to secure a favorable playoff spot.
The race for the fourth seed will especially be interesting to watch, because it provides home court advantage in the first round. At the moment, the Hawks occupy fourth place and are 3 1/2 games in front of the Heat. Miami has the talent needed to capture the fourth seed even without O'Neal on the court.
Superstar Dwyane Wade is the best player in the NBA not named Kobe Bryant or LeBron James, and can decide the outcome of games by himself if he wishes. Wade has almost singlehandedly carried the Heat to a 28-24 record, and now has a sidekick. O'Neal, when healthy, can be a very dangerous second option and gives Miami a legit inside presence.
Jermaine O'Neal had been the face of the Pacers franchise for eight years before he was traded to the Raptors last July. Over those eight years, he put up roughly 19 points and 10 rebounds per contest. Indiana eventually parted ways with O'Neal because of numerous injuries. He has played 76% of regular season games in his career, but only managed to play in 65% of his games over the last five seasons.
While O'Neal is already is in his twelfth NBA season, he is only 30 years-old. Miami needs to make sure O'Neal will stay healthy throughout the last third of the season by limiting his minutes to about 20-25 a game.
Obviously, it's important that O'Neal is healthy for the playoffs because a fresh and healthy O'Neal can easily average 20 and 10 a night.
The acquisition of O'Neal also frees up additional minutes for rookie Michael Beasley. With attention going to O'Neal in the paint, Beasley will get more room to operate and provide better offensive production. The presence of O'Neal will also help sharpshooters Daequan Cook and Chris Quinn get more space to shoot.
Overall, the Heat have done a good job swinging this trade.
It might appear like a 'make or break' move when you look at O'Neal's injury history, but it's also a trade to get Beasley more playing time. The Heat are a good team with an injured O'Neal, but if he avoids injuries the Heat could go far in the playoffs.
If asked whether or not the Miami Heat are a contender in the Eastern Conference, my answer would be "Yes, they are." |
