The Miami Heat won 7 of their last 10 games before the All-Star break to improve to 26-26 on the season.  They now hold the #8 seed in the Eastern Conference and are only 1/2 a game behind the Orlando Magic for the #7 spot.  They also now have the Washington Wizards in their sites as they are in third place in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference, but they are only 4 games behind the Wiz.  The one area that has really hurt the Heat this season is the point guard position, so the Heat have been scouring the trade market.  Jason Williams has been banged up all season and he hasn’t been near the player he was last year.  It also appears that Gary Payton is nearing the end of his Hall-of-Fame career as he has not stepped up.  If the Heat trade for a decent point guard……look out!  Shaq is back and the Heat looks like they will be a fast riser in the Eastern Conference in the second half of the season.

The Heat shot an amazing 55.7% from the floor as a team last night and that’s why they won.  Dwyane Wade had an awesome game with 35 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots.  Udonis Haslem backed Wade up with 12 points and 4 rebounds.

The Heat improved to 26-26 on the season with this win.  http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270213014

The Miami Heat really need Gary Payton to step up and run the offense with Jason Williams hurtin.  Payton has been starting in Williams’ place but it seems as if he’s lost his shooting touch.  He’s only hitting 39.1% from the floor and 65% from the free throw line and that will not get it done for the Heat.  In 23.9 minutes per game, Payton is only averaging 5.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game and the Heat need much more than that.  Williams will probably be banged up all season long, so Payton will get big minutes even when J-Will is healthy.  If the Heat don’t get decent production at the point guard spot, they will not be able to defend their World Title this season.

The Heat shot an impressive 52.8% from the floor on their way to an impressive victory yesterday.  Dwyane Wade led the way for the Heat with 26 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocked shots and a steal.  Shaquille O’Neal scored 16 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in only 25 minutes on the floor.

The Heat improved to 25-26 on the season with this win.  http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270211014

The Heat never really had a chance last night in Cleveland.  The Cavs outrebounded the Heat 49-37 and appeared to just want the game more than the Heat did.  Dwyane Wade still had a solid game with 27 points, 7 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots.  Shaquille O’Neal had a decent game with 14 points and 7 rebounds.

The Heat fell to 24-26 on the season with this loss.  http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270209005