By Warren Blatt, NBA Editor
2003-04 FINISH: 42-40
OFFSEASON ADDITIONS: Michael Doleac (C) - Free Agent; Keyon Dooling (G) - Free Agent; Damon Jones (G) - Free Agent; Christian Laettner (F) - Free Agent; Albert Miralles (F) - Trade with Toronto; Shaquille O’Neal (C) - Trade with LA Lakers; Wesley Person (G) - Free Agent.
OFFSEASON SUBTRACTIONS: Rafer Alston (G) - Signed with Toronto; Caron Butler (F) - Traded to LA Lakers; Brian Grant (C/F) - Traded to LA Lakers; Lamar Odom (F) - Traded to LA Lakers; Samaki Walker (F) - Signed with Washington; Loren Woods (C) - Selected by Charlotte in Expansion Draft.
2004 DRAFT PICKS: 1. (19) Dorell Wright (F, South Kent Prep); 2. (47) Pape Sow (F, Cal State Fullerton) - Traded to Toronto; 2. (53) Matt Freije (F, Vanderbilt).
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: PG Dwyane Wade, SG Eddie Jones, SF Rasual Butler, PF Udonis Haslem, C Shaquille O’Neal
COACH: Stan Van Gundy
(Basketball News) - The Shaquille O’Neal frenzy will hit a fever pitch when the Miami Heat open the 2004-05 regular season on November 3 at Continental Airlines Arena against the New Jersey Nets. O’Neal is scheduled to debut in front of the Miami fans the next night, as the Heat host LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The 32-year-old O’Neal, who spent eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, was traded by the Lakers to the Heat on July 14th for forwards Lamar Odom, Brian Grant and Caron Butler along with a first-round draft pick. The 7-1 All- Star center averaged a career-low 21.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in 67 regular- season games for the Lakers in 2003-04.
O’Neal, who played eight seasons with fellow All-Star Kobe Bryant, will now team with 22-year-old point guard Dwyane Wade, who had a sensational rookie season for Miami. The Heat’s new center has had experience in teaming with star guards. In O’Neal’s first four seasons in the NBA he formed a dynamic duo with Anfernee Hardaway in Orlando.
Wade, who was selected out of Marquette by the Heat, who lost in six games to the Indiana Pacers in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals after managing to win 42 games despite starting the season with seven straight losses, in the first round (fifth overall) of the 2003 NBA Draft, played in 61 games for Miami last season and averaged 16.2 points, four rebounds and 4.5 assists. During the playoffs, Wade participated in all 13 of the Heat’s contests and netted 18 points and dished out 5.6 assists per game.
"I told Dwyane, lets just get it going," said O’Neal at the press conference where he was introduced as a member of the Heat. "John Wooden, when I first met him, I was with Coach Dale Brown, he told me, ’Shaquille, obviously you are a great player, but being great isn’t about putting it between your legs, scoring 50 or 60 points. Being great is how you help your other teammates to strive. That is what being great is about.’ I took that; I have always been the type of big man that keeps my guys along.
"Dwyane had it pretty hard last year because he was a rookie and they started seeing his game. Now it’s going to open up, it’s going to open up more room for him. I expect him to be the number one or number two guard in the Eastern Conference because last year he impressed me. I usually don’t get impressed by a guard, but he impressed me. Not because of the dunking and all of the stuff that he did, but because he still kept his guys involved and he still did what he did."
O’Neal will make it easier for his new teammates, as 32-year-old Eddie Jones, who will be 33 on October 20, will be one of the many who will benefit from the simple presence and girth of Shaq. Miami’s opponents will key on O’Neal down low, which will help open up the court for the other Heat players. Wade and Jones, who averaged 17.3 points for the Heat during the 2003-04 regular season, should be able to take advantage of the space, as both are capable of knocking down the open jumper and are not afraid to go inside.
With the addition of O’Neal, the Heat have decided to drastically change their style of play from the small-ball approach to get the ball down low to their new dominant force in the middle. Miami head coach Stan Van Gundy, who deserves a lot of credit for the Heat’s turnaround last season, will have to implement a new system which will put his coaching abilities to the test. O’Neal is not a youngster anymore and Miami management knows that the time to win is now.
BACKCOURT
Wade and Jones are going to play huge roles if the Heat hope to have a chance at knocking off the other top squads in the East like the world champion Detroit Pistons and Pacers, who won 61 games during last year’s regular season. Wade and Jones give Miami an athletic backcourt that excels at both ends of the court. They will both need to pickup their production offensively, as O’Neal will not be able to carry the load single-handedly.
The Heat lost reserve point guard Rafer Alston, who signed with the Toronto Raptors as a free agent. Alston gave Miami a competent backup lead guard and a three-point threat off the bench. Replacing Alston will be Damon Jones, who spent last season with the Milwaukee Bucks and decided to sign with the Heat as a free agent, and former Los Angeles Clipper Keyon Dooling, who also landed in Miami through free agency.
Twenty-eight-year-old Damon Jones averaged seven points and 5.8 assists in 82 games for the Bucks last season, while Dooling netted 6.2 points and handed out 2.2 helpers in 58 contests for the Clippers.
Wesley Person, who signed with Miami as a free agent, will backup Eddie Jones. The 6-6 Person, who can also play small forward, is entering his 11th year in the league. The Heat will be Person’s sixth different team, as he spent the 2003-04 season with Memphis, Portland and Atlanta. Person has the ability to get hot from the outside and will be asked to provide a spark off the bench for Coach Van Gundy.
FRONTCOURT
O’Neal is the key to Miami’s success up front. However, he is just one man and Shaq does not makeup a starting frontcourt. Power forward Udonis Haslem and small forward Rasual Butler should get the opportunity to help Shaq form a respectable starting frontline. The Heat’s opponents will key on O’Neal down low which will allow the forwards to get good looks at the basket.
The 24-year-old Haslem, who was a rookie last season, averaged 7.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in 75 contests for the Heat in the 2003-04 season, while Rasual Butler, 25, played in 45 games and chipped in 6.8 points and pulled down 1.4 boards in his second year in the league. Rasual Butler and Haslem have shown a lot of promise during their brief careers, and playing alongside Shaq could be just the thing that could help these two youngsters reach their full potential.
Rookie Dorell Wright, who was selected in the first round (19th overall) by the Heat in the 2004 NBA draft, should see immediate playing time at small forward, while 6-10 Malik Allen will compete with Haslem for playing time at power forward.
Veterans Michael Doleac and Christian Laettner could prove to be important acquisitions, as both players were signed in the offseason as free agents. The 6-11 Doleac, who averaged 4.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in 72 games for the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks last season, gives the Heat a veteran backup to O’Neal who can make an outside jumper, grab some rebounds and is capable of filling in down low while Shaq rests on the bench. Laettner gives Van Gundy a veteran who is solid down low and could be productive in short stretches.
OUTLOOK
The Heat will go as far as Shaq can take them. When O’Neal was acquired, Miami made the commitment to win now. If Miami’s All-Star center stays healthy, plays like a man on a mission and jells with Wade, the rest of the Eastern Conference could be in trouble. However, the lack of depth will be a problem if Miami faces the Pacers or Pistons in a best-of-seven series in the playoffs.
Miami Heat 
