Last week I wondered if Shaq had enough left in the tank at 35 and if could he lead the Heat to the playoffs without Dwayne Wade. I also wondered if he could still give some of those vintage 30 point 15 rebound games. The answers so far are simply, yes, yes and once again yes. Shaq did more than enough to impress the entire NBA and myself getting the Heat back over .500 with a 3-0 week. He started off with a 23 and 10 performance in a win against Washington and ended with a 14 and 7 game in limited action against the Hawks. But the big story of the week was his amazing performance against the Eastern conference elite (or so we thought) Detroit “Basketball” Pistons scoring 31 points, grabbing 15 boards and dishing out 6 dimes. Perhaps the Pistons might actually end up missing Ben Wallace if they have to meet the Heat in the playoffs. Note to the rest of the NBA: You still have to double Shaq.
Shaq’s play of late begs this new question. Can the Heat be a serious contender for the title with Shaq playing like he is now and if Dwayne Wade can come back healthy for the playoffs? My answer is a big yes. By the way, don't rule out the Heat for winning the Southeast division with the Wizards play of late.
While Shaq might be back to his old self, Vince is back down to earth. Last week I talked about Vince Carter’s amazing play of late and how the Nets might be a team to make a run in the East. Well that play sizzled in a big way. The Nets lost both their games last week against the lowly Celtics and 76ers. Carter had a streak of 18 straight missed shots spread out through both games. Against the 76ers, Carter shot a putrid 4-20. And how about the importance of getting to the free throw line? Vince didn’t go a single time against those 76ers. Typical hot and cold Vince. That’s the kind of play that won’t see the Nets playing in May even with Kidd giving it his all with triple double games.
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