Get MEAN Shaq

Enough is enough. Alice Cooper said it best - 'no more Mr. Nice Guy'. This is precisely the advice Shaq has to incorporate into his mammoth sized game. Because his thigh bruise is not a part that can help. The only way to snap out of it is to play mean and fierce.

Zo is doing it. Zo doesn't care what you think. You dont like his bicep-flexing? Too bad. You don't like his growl, sneer or bark at the crowd? Or the way he screams and throws his arms up in the air as if to launch the entire crowd up into the sky? Tough. And Shaq needs to follow in Zo's footsteps.

There was a time during the season when you could see Shaq playing fierce. The chip on his shoulder the size of Kobe. The monkey on his back looked a lot like Dr. Buss. A time when after Shaq dunked, he would run back on defense at a full spring staring at his mighty right hand as if it had committed some horrific crime. The thigh bruises that he has suffered have all but taken that away it seems.

Dwyane Wade, after struggling during a game against New Jersey in the playoffs, said Shaq gave him some words of advice. Friendly words. He said Shaq told him to go out and be the best player on the court. Just like Wade truly is.

Now, it is time for Wade to return the favor and for Shaq to listen.

Shaq, go out and be the most dominant force that the game has ever seen. Play physical, clear out and dominate. Dunk and don't stop dunking until you have brought the very roof of the Palace down. Snarl. Growl. Bark. Scream. Be like brother Zo and play without abandon. Let that mighty right hand of yours bring thunder and fire and shake the hearts of every Piston fan and player with fear. Game 3 is your showcase.

Get mean Shaq, or go home.

Start Dooling

This is the playoffs. This is win or go home time. This time of year is all about adjustments and about creating matchups.

The Pistons took game 1 in Miami because they played their game flawlessly. The Heat had their moments and showed signs of life but the fact is the Heat never overcame the deficit that seemed to grow from the 30 points the Pistons dropped in the third quarter.

There are a lot of things to be positive about, even in this loss for the Heat. Like the Pistons will not typically have 30 point quarters, for example, nor will Rasheed Wallace go 4-5 from three point range. Then again, will Rip Hamilton really go 7-20 in the rest of this series? No, more like 9-20.

The problem for the Heat was that they were not able to attack enough. Wade was left with forcing up shots and trying to create off the dribble. He alone was left with that task, that is until Keyon Dooling entered the game. All Dooling did was play 22 minutes of high energy basketball that clearly affected the Pistons' defense and their confidence. The Heat made their biggest run with him on the court in the mid-4 quarter. And Dooling showed promise by continuing his hot playoff run (.608%) by going 4-7 in 22 minutes.

With Damon Jones's heel bothering him, is it time to make yet another adjustment to the starting lineup? The last time this happened, inserting DJ in as the starting PG, the Heat went on a tremendous run that enabled them to finish with the best record in the Eastern Conference. Right now, they have to prove they are the best team in the East by beating last year's champs. Dooling's energy and defensive intensity, coupled with his length and his ability to penetrate might be just the prescription the doctor ordered. And I dont mean Dr. Buss who already gave us a re-fill on championship aspirations with the Diesel this offseason.

Dooling owns Arroyo. He also gave Billups fits because, unlike DJ, Dooling wont get posted up as easily because he is longer and can contest Billups in the post and on the way to the basket. Billups also cant be as physical with Dooling as he can with DJ. Not to mention on the offensive side, Dooling will challenge whoever his defender is with his ability to penetrate and score. If not start him, we need to see more minutes from him.

This series will not be determined by who plays the better defense, but by who plays the best offense. Who will execute the best. The Heat had plenty of defense last night to win and there is room for improvement. But their offense needs to be tweaked in order to win this series and not just a game. Dooling may provide just that.

Heat face Pistons (and refs) next

Some of you out there will find fault with what I am about to write here. And that is fine - no one likes a cry-baby. Least of all before there is really anything to cry about.

But I fear this series with the Pistons. Not because I feel the Pistons are a better team, no. Not at all. They are a very good team with a solid cast but they do not have the depth they had last year nor are they even playing the level of team defense that they were last year. I fear this team because they benefit from the refs a little too much and that has been what has saved them all season long.

The Heat were 1-2 against the Pistons this season. And they averaged 79.3 points per game in those contests. That was 22 points less than their 101.5 regular season average.

Of course, the Pistons style of play is a very physical and grinding half-court oriented game. Much like the Heat teams of the late 90's which used similar tactics against their twin, those storied Knicks of that same era. Those games are always ugly and slow paced, filled with the incessant blowing of a whistle. Those games also always seem to favor the attacker. Just like in a fight, the one who reacts gets called, rarely the instigator.

And such it is with the Pistons. They will push you, tug you, set moving screens and will clutch and grab and frustrate you. And all you will do is get frustrated and react. Then the refs will hit you with fouls. And that is how the Pistons grind you down.

The Heat averaged 23.3 personal fouls in this series and shot 26.7 free throws in this series. During the season, the Heat averaged 22.1 and 30.1 in both those categories, respectively, against the rest of the league. That is one more foul and about 4 less free throws. The Pistons, in this series over the course of the regular season, averaged 21.3 and 25.3. That is 2 less fouls than the Heat and 1 less free throw.

Doesn't seem like staggering differences, but the scoring also plummeted 22 points. How? Wade shot .463 against the Pistons but Shaq shot just .447 against them. It would seem that the key is Shaq ability to be more efficient - at least as much as Shaq and his regular season .601 would indicate.

You have to give some credit to the Pistons' defense. Surely. But what exactly are they doing to limit Shaq? And how is it that almost every statistical category is down for the Heat when they play the Pistons?

Keep your eyes on the men with the whistles. I feel Jeff Van Gundy was right in part and this series should be watched very closely. The Heat's task just got a whole lot harder.

Making Wizards disappear a team effort

This one is for all the doubters. For all the media pundits that have continuously viewed this Heat team as a two-man show and not good enough to excel at this level. And for all the haters - like Hubie Brown who could not hide at all his cheerleading on ABC for the Washington Wizards and Tom Friend of ESPN.com fame (if there is such a thing). Count this game 4 win as a bitch-slap of righteousness from the Miami Heat.

Thanks for coming out, but you "best" recognize what this team is about.

Let's take a detailed look at the biggest plays of Game 4 and, more importantly, who was creating them.

What was the biggest play of game 4, you may ask? Quite easily, the three nailed by Eddie Jones in the 4th quarter to put the Heat up 97-95. Dwyane Wade, in the midst of probably the quietest 42 point night ever, dished out a pass that seem less intended for an assist and more for a bail out from his teammate. All Eddie did was step back and pop a three to make everyone in Washington get indigestion.

But it wasn't just the shot, the timing or the theatre that made this a huge play for the Heat. Or as Shaq might put it, the 'hugestest'. It was what happened next.

This shot allowed Stan Van Gundy to do what any good coach does in this league - create and anticipate with matchups. All he did was trot Zo out there to play center on the next offensive play for the Wizards. And all Zo did - plagued by foul trouble from some very quarrelsome refs - was block the biggest shot of the game and probably of the Heat's playoff run thus far. Blocked it so masterfully, that the ball ended up falling back on its shooter, Larry Hughes, who could only watch it roll down his chest and off of him as he fell out of bounds.

In disbelief and among a distant cry of victory the Wizards season came to an end. Denied by a much better and more determined team.

You see, all you 'haters' and doubters out there - it takes a team to win a championship. The Heat may have begun to demonstrate they were just that with Shaq sitting these past two games - the Big Fella turning into the Big Adornment for the time being. But they also showed that they are a team of great players and that there is a plan at work here. There is chemistry mixed with execution and great coaching. All the elements are in place.

It wasn't Wade saving the day by himself, but the quiet and steady work of Eddie Jones that built this win. It was the small contributions of a frustrated and shackled Mourning that shut this game down in the end. It was the precise and deadly delivery of threes from Damon Jones that pushed this series towards a sweep.

And we still haven't even talked about Haslem's timely rebounding or Dooling's ridiculous field goal percentage and energy off the bench.

This is a team. It took a team to win and it continues to demonstrate it is a team to the finish. The Wizards, to their credit, didn't lay down and roll over for Miami after losing game 3. They came out and took it to the Heat and tried to take at least one game from them. But it was to no avail. The Heat could have very easily took the night off and saved it for game 5. They didn't. They wanted to end the series now. And they did.

And they did it as a team.

With one hand behind our backs

I have been going around and telling people, perhaps brashly, that the Heat will beat the Wizards in three games. Yes, I know it is a best of seven, but that is how much the Heat has dominated the Wizards this year and how confident I felt that this team was going to cruise through Washington.

And if that is even possible, last night's Game 3 proved it can happen - the Heat has beaten the Wizards in just three games. There is no way the Wizards can come back now.

Everyone is making a big deal about the Heat winning without Shaq. They forget Laettner didn't play either and forced Haslem to go for 40 minutes. 40 minutes from one of the most underrated and undervalued players on the court since...well, Eddie Jones.

Sitting Shaq was equivalent to the Heat saying they will take on the Wizards with one hand tied behind their back. Or the Justice League taking on some evil foe without Superman. Or Caesar without his Praetorians.

The beauty of the game of basketball is it is a team game, defined not by one player but by five. People seemed to forget that there was a time when Alonzo Mourning lead Heat teams into playoff battle. Or that Dwyane Wade is an exceptional talent. Or that this Heat team is just that, a team full of unselfish players who know their roles and what is at stake. And they all execute like the finest pieces of an orchestra - complete with all the tension and release of a perfectly concocted drama.

This also proves that the Heat are not just a playoff team but worthy of a great goal. Also, beating the Wizards - and yes, we know that there is one more game still to be won - sends a message not only to the young Washington team but to the rest of the league:

Light the fires and sound the alarms. Take cover in your basements and shelters. If you are a city with championship aspirations, the Miami Heat are coming and you will be under siege. They take no prisoners save one, a trophy that will be both the culmination and the symbol of their journey. And they will not be denied.

Sit Shaq

My fellow Heatians,

Before you burn me at the stake, hear me out. The Heat have a 2-0 lead over a very inconfident Wizards team. Game 3 is tonight in Washington, sure, but I think the Heat have more than enough to win this series without Shaq.

Let's face it, Shaq is not healthy and was mostly unproductive in Game 2. He played 37 minutes and was 6-11 from the field and 4-8 from the free throw line. Solid all around for Shaq and pretty much typical in terms of efficiency for Shaq.

The problem though is that he dropped a lot of passes and his timing was oh so very off. His patented tornado spin to the hoop, finishing with a thundering dunk, was more like a yo-yo spiraling out of control. Entangling everyone around him.

I propose that Shaq sits. We need Shaq to beat the elite teams, not the Wizards. And more importantly, we will need a healthy Shaq against the anticipated Pistons (if they escape to meet us in the next round).

Again, the Heat can beat the Wizards without Shaq. And they most certainly can with Zo and Doleac getting the lion's share of minutes at the center position. Ironically, Zo is healthy and Shaq is not. Let's use Zo passion on the defensive end to fuel us this round. We may not win in 4, but most likely in 5 or even 6.

There are other things to consider. Shaq was labored intensley for positioning on both offense and defense. He had to battle for offensive position and for rebounds. In fact, Shaq had only 7 rebounds in those 37 minutes while Zo had 3 in 8 minutes. Of course, Zo had 4 fouls, too - which is a concern. But it cannot be overlooked that Zo's interior defense changes the way the Wizards approach the game offensively. Just ask Gilby Arenas - who saw himself get blocked three times by Zo in Game 1. Shaq, as big as he is, is vulnerable to being driven on and attacked in the paint. And as thin as the Wizards' frontcourt is (remember, no Kwame Brown) this could be an opportunity for the Heat to flex its muscle while resting Shaq. Sharpening guys like Doleac and Zo some more and getting contributions from Laettner and Haslem.

The Wizards are a perimeter team and rely on those players to score in order to win. They run the infamous 'Princeton offense' which doesn't dictate the Heat using the Big Bowling Ball to bludgeon them to death. Just have the perimeter defenders step up and out on Hughes, Arenas and Jamison and filter them towars Zo and his shot blocking artistry. That can be another formula to win.

Stan Van Gundy cited the Heat's poor free throw shooting and turnovers as keys to keeping the Wizards in game 2. None of those things instantly improve by sitting Shaq, and in fact, my argument is not made with stats in mind. Just concern as we head forward in the playoffs where it will become even more imperative that we have a healthy Shaq.

Actually, my argument is made regarding stats - the most important of all - wins. And a healthy Shaq in the future increases those stats and pushes us further towards the ultimate goal.