| No team was more successful than the Heat last | | | | doubt that the Heat can win the Southeast division |
| season, as they ended with a championship under | | | | for the third straight year. |
| their belt. To repeat their success, however, the | | | | Of course, no team can win games with only two |
| Heat will have to dedicate themselves to winning one | | | | players. The Heat will therefore look for key |
| game at a time once again. | | | | contributions from forward Udonis Haslem and role |
| There is no doubt that the great strength of the | | | | players Jason Williams, Antoine Walker and James |
| Heat is that they have two superstar players. | | | | Posey. Haslem is a young big man who compliments |
| Shaquille O'Neal has long been one of the best | | | | Shaquille nicely on the defensive end of the floor and |
| centers in the league. His numbers since joining Miami | | | | brings toughness to the squad. The other three |
| have been dwindling, and one of the keys to the | | | | players, all acquired in the 2005 summer, are aging |
| Heats success may be how productive Shaq can be. | | | | veterans who can score points and shoot the long |
| After only playing 59 games and averaging 20 points | | | | ball. Another bench player who could have a sizable |
| per game, his lowest mark of his long career, O'Neal | | | | impact is Alonzo Mourning, who substituted nicely for |
| has a lot of work to do to prove critics wrong about | | | | O'Neal last season. It is important that all five of |
| his apparent decline as an elite player. | | | | these players continue to perform as they did last |
| The other superstar the Heat boasts is Dwayne | | | | season. |
| Wade. Unlike his big counterpart, Wade is one of the | | | | On the sidelines for the Heat is NBA legend Pat Riley |
| youngest superstars in the league and will look to | | | | for the second straight season. Riley is a top-calibar |
| continue his consistent improvement over his first | | | | coach who will expect nothing less than a second |
| three years in the league. As long as he is able to | | | | championship and will aim to keep his team focused |
| stay healthy and can pour in his usual 25-30 points | | | | on their new goal. |
| per game and 6-7 assists per game, there is no | | | | |