Heat gearing up for playoffs

Injuries to its two biggest stars threatened to derail Miami’s season both at the beginning and the end, but the club fought through and clinched the division with a win over Washington last Wednesday. It marked the Heat’s third straight division crown and seventh since the 1996-97 season.

More significant was that Dwyane Wade was in the lineup, and Shaquille O’Neal could have been. O’Neal, though, was late getting back to Miami after his grandfather’s funeral the previous day.

O’Neal missed 32 games of the season after left knee surgery on November 19. Rehab kept him out of the lineup until January 24.

Yet, O’Neal has still been a force this year, averaging 17.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in 39 contests this year. O’Neal is netting just under 19 points per outing over his last 19 games.

That’s important because it showed O’Neal was able to step up when Wade went down with a shoulder injury that almost cost him his season. Wade missed 23 games before returning to the lineup on April 8.

He showed he was back to form on Friday when he netted a team-high 23 points against Indiana.

In fact, the Heat players have missed 179 total games due to injury and that doesn’t even include the time head coach Pat Riley missed due to a hip ailment.

Having O’Neal and Wade on the floor at the same time makes the Heat very dangerous and capable of winning a wide-open Eastern Conference. The Heat have won 18 of their last 19 home games, which is key because the team is currently seeded fourth in the East.

Since January 30th, the Heat are tied with the top-seeded Pistons for the best record in the conference at 25-11.

Miami hosts Boston on Monday before closing out the regular season in Orlando on Wednesday.