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Things in Miami aren’t looking so hot, at least on the basketball court. As of this writing the team has lost 11 games in row. Things started poorly when Dwayne Wade went down with in injury in the opening games of the season, and have continued to spiral out of control since. Coach Pat Riley is continually on the hot seat, and the play of Shaquille O’Neal has also slowed down, which can be expected from a player who had the term “hack a Shaq,” named especially for him. Wade is back, and is personally playing well, averaging over 24 points a game, but as the old adage goes, he can’t do it all himself. Back up center Alonzo Mourning is also gone for the year, putting even more stress on the bench. Things won’t get any better when the Spurs come into town.

San Antonio is also in a mini-funk, losing five of ten, and owning a below .500 record on the road. Like the Heat, the Spurs tough road can be attributed to bad health. Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili have both seen considerable time on the injury list this year, but seem to be coming out of it now, bad news for the rest of the league. Tony Parker is currently the number one offensive weapon on the team, averaging 20.2 points a game.

The Heat are a team that are sinking fast. I guess it won’t be a shocker here when I expect the Spurs, despite the slight slide lately, will go to Miami and take care of business in their generally usually effective way.

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The Washington Wizards are doing their best to hover right around the .500 mark despite there best player Gilbert Arenas being out for at least another two and a half months. On the other hand you have the Miami Heat to appear to have all of their best players in order, but they are already more than ten games below .500. In years past the Heat have a routine of just coasting through the playoffs before turning it on. However, if they don’t begin to put their foot on the pedal a little harder then they will be coasting outside of a playoff position.

In Arenas’ absensce a few Wizards have been stepping it up, namely Caron Butler. Butler is averaging a team high, and a career high, 23 points a contest. The Wizards have finished .500 or better the last three seasons, after years of sitting near the bottom of the league.

Dwaye Wade is leading the Heat in scoring with 20 a game, but that’s been about the only bright spot. Shaq is getting old, and can’t play with the same energy that made him one of the best centers of all time. I predict the Wizards to win this contest until the Heat can show me a little something better. Like I said, they have all of their players, they just aren’t meshing right now. I’ll take the Wiz Kids in this one by about ten or more points.

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For the past few years fans of the Miami Heat have felt that if their team just eased their way through the NBA season they are more than capable then stepping it up in the playoffs. But, at 4-10, and the big man in the middle named Shaq hurt, they could just end up stumbling the entire season, with the playoffs a distance after thought. The 5-10 Portland Trailblazers on the other hand didn’t seriously consider the playoffs this year, playing in the stacked western conference. They do have some decent players, but their season got off to an awful start when the first pick in the NBA draft, Greg Oden, went out with a season ending injury months before the season even started. That’s not a good omen for any team. LaMarcus Aldridge has tried his best to pick up the slack (18.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg) but he doesn’t have enough depth at other positions to make too much of a difference.

Dwayne Wade appears to be healthy now, averaging over 21 a game, but much like Aldridge, he isn’t getting much contribution at the other positions either. Shaquille O’Neal is averaging career lows in the major categories, and by all accounts seems to be coming to the end of the line after a long battering career.

I feel the Heat have enough for the upstart Trailblazers in this one. Even if they are performing a bit poorly, I still feel they have more upside at this time.

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With the East so wide open this game could be an early feature of two teams that could make some noise in the conference. The Detroit Pistons are still looking like one of the top defensive units in the league, but they are also starting to get a little up there in age. Power Forward Rasheed Wallace is entering his 12th NBA season, and will be counted on to score a little more than usual. Wallace, while known for his ability to earn technical fouls is actually more known for his willingness to take a lesser roll so his teammates can shine. Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton are also back. Both of them are largely considered to be two of the most underrated players in the league.

The Miami Heat will have to start the season without superstar Dwayne Wade. It is unknown when Wade will return from his shoulder injury, but stepping into his starting position will be NBA vet Ricky Davis. With the absence of Wade, this means that the aging Shaquille O’Neal will have to step up his production. If they could also get some production from bench players such as Penny Hardaway and Smush Parker, it will give some relief to the Heat as they wait to get healthy.

It’s hard to predict NBA games so early, but with the injuries to the Heat, I feel the Pistons will win this one even though they are playing in Miami.

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