The Heat Rest While the Rest are in Heat

Raise your hand if you picked the Heat to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

Raise your hand if you picked the Heat to be the first team from this year's playoff pool to reach their conference finals.

Still got your hand up? Well, raise your hand if you picked the Cavs/Pistons series to last at least 6 games and possibly go 7.

That should leave no one with an arm raised. Not even among the Heat faithful would anyone have realistically picked this scenario.

At best, I saw the Heat beating the Nets in 6 games and going to Detroit to face a Pistons team that was ready after dispatching their young opponents in 5 games. Got that wrong, didn't I?

The major media outlets have totally overlooked the Heat. They have discounted their talent and questioned not only Pat Riley's moves, but even the integrity of the new guys on occasion. The X-men, as Shaq refers to them, have been able to face the fire and prove themselves. They have become tempered by the playoff pressure and have risen.

And now, the Heat can breathe easier. They got back to the ECF, the main goal for this franchise since they lost game 7 last season, mostly due to some key injuries. Riley reshuffled the deck. He upped the ante. He got more depth for this team, because by his estimation that was the missing ingredient from last season.

And Riley was right. Want more proof?

Look at this Cavs/Pistons series. Most will cite this as an upset. Most will point out that the Cavs are just too young and inexperienced to beat the Pistons. And most of these detractors haven't gotten it. They didn't watch the '03 Marlins play without abandon for their opponents. They played without fear. So do the Cavaliers.

But let's not go abstract on this. Let's take a hard look. The Cavaliers have a lot of depth - in the front court they have Gooden, Ilgauskas, Varejao, Marshall. Guards? James, Jones (from last year's Heat squad), Murray, Hughes, Snow. That is nine players that are key to this team's success. Alan Henderson and Ira Newble can easily fill in on any given night.

The Pistons? They have relied on the Wallaces, Billups, Rip, Prince, McDyess and Lindsey Hunter for the last three seasons. 7 deep, if you want to count Hunter. But all season they relied on the health of their starters and played them around the 40 minute night EVERY night.

You don't think they are a little bit gassed right now?

And don't blame Flip. His job is to coach this team. He doesn't have a very strong bench at all. Who is he supposed to play, Delfino? Evans? Kelvin Cato - who couldn't cut it in Orlando? Darko? Oh, wait...they traded him. They have Tony Delk, but they also have Hunter - both do the same basic thing, be defensive pests.

Whether or not the Pistons come out of this series, the key thing to notice is that they are a tired team. They played all season at a high level, but they did it themselves with the core of this team getting most of the minutes. Impressive, but they don't have the depth to also survive the harsh reality of a playoff run.

And this brings us back to the Heat. They lost DJ and EJ, let Dooling sign elsewhere and traded Rasual Butler away. They got back Antoine Walker, James Posey, Jason Williams and Gary Payton. They re-signed Zo and let him get healthy. They scooped Derek Anderson off of the scrap heap. Shandon Anderson is ready to go.

This series with the Nets showed the Heat's depth as they were forced to help carry the load and win games for the Heat. Walker supplied fireworks. Posey sucked the life out of the opposing offense. GP played tough perimeter D and stuck the open three like an assasin. Williams propelled the offense into a higher gear.

And because of the changes, because Riley gambled, the Heat dispatched their second round opponents, the Nets, for the second year in a row.

And the Heat rest. While the Pistons struggle.