Game 3: Road test for Heat

Make no mistake, Game 3 against New Jersey is going to be a tough, tough test. It is always dangerous going into the lion's den and cornering him in order to slay the beast. In fact, it is down right suicidal. But slay the beast the Heat must in order to advance. Necessity demands that the Heat face this test over the next two games and go into New Jersey to take on a once proud Nets team. The Nets are well-coached but under-manned. Still, they believe that they can play better and just might find a way to do it in front of the home crowd.

Stan Van Gundy has already proclaimed that the Diesel will be running at full throttle if needed. And you can expect that Shaq will be needed tonight. The Heat have won by throwing everything else at the Nets and they haven't been able to answer. Tonight, it may take a little more to get the job done.

EJ's continued brilliance at the SF position is certainly going to be a requisite as well. The defensive pressure he has put on Vince Carter so far in this series has not been reflected in his scroing average, but in his FG%. Right now, Carter is shooting .378, down from his .462 regular season average. The only thing saving Carter right now is his 3 point percentage (.571). You can expect that to cool off, naturally.

In fact, as a team the Nets are shooting .397 while the Heat are shooting .534. The Heat's D is there and is tightening the noose on the Nets, but the opportunities are being created, ironically, by the Heat's super-efficient offense. The more efficiently the Heat score, the more opportunities to score for the Nets.

This means the Heat may have to slow things down a bit on the road - and this means even more importance for Shaq's inside presence.

You can expect that the Nets will try to hover in the passing lanes and create turnovers. They dont have the depth to wear down our frontcourt, and they certainly dont have the depth to play pressured defense for an entire 48 minutes. Nonetheless, they are at home and that may give them just the lift they need at times to take the lead. There have been lapses for the Heat where the Nets would go on a run and the Heat would not score. This may shift to NJ's favor at home and the Heat have to be very careful not to give anything to the Nets to hope for. Slam the door shut and seal it tight. Lock it down. And that must happen tonight if the Heat have any hopes of 'taking care of business'.

Game 3 will be a very good test and an excellent barometer for the Heat's championship potential. Win tonight, and silence the critics. At least for one more night.