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NBA PLAYOFFS: Dynamic Duo Turn Up Heat

The combination of Shaq & Wade has proven to be Kryptonite for the Detroit Pistons - so far

May 30, 2006

By Jason Brough
BodogNation Contributing Writer

By the end of the regular season, most analysts thought the destiny of the Miami Heat in the NBA playoffs was clear: Death by Detroit Pistons.

After all, the Pistons were built on what the Heat lacked: chemistry. Even late in the regular season Miami was adjusting to new additions Gary Payton, Antoine Walker and Jason Williams. And like a bad remix the Heat appeared bogged down by unnecessary collaborations. A lack of role players subsequently contributed to a lack of rhythm on both offense and defense.

But as the Eastern Conference finals tipped off, everyone who doubted the Heat forgot to ask themselves one question: Will team chemistry matter if the Pistons can’t stop Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal?

"Those are their two horses,” Pistons guard Chauncey Billups told the Associated Press. “That's who they're going to depend on to win the games.”

One is Flash, one is Superman. One runs around you, one runs through you. Together, they might be the most dynamic duo to hit Miami since Ricardo Tubbs and Sonny Crockett. And while the Pistons have shut down other NBA supermen, their battles this time have been discouraging.

The Pistons have matched up 6-9, 240-pound center Ben Wallace one-on-one with 7-1, 322-pound Shaq, even though Big Ben - the four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year - has said that nobody can stop the Heat's big man.

O'Neal has proven Wallace correct, putting up 20.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game in the series.

Meanwhile, Wade has used his quickness off the dribble to split double teams. With Wallace focusing on Shaq, driving lanes have been vacated, and Wade has slashed his way to averages of 30.8 points and 4.8 assists.

Combined, Shaq and Wade's 51.6 points-per-game average has accounted for 56 percent of the Heat’s total offense. It has also provided Miami a 3-1 series lead.

"We have been down 3-1 before, not against a team as good as the Heat though,” Billups told the AP after the 89-78 Game 4 loss (the Heat were 2-point favorites). “And they're playing great, man. You've got to give it to them. They are. They're playing great ball. Their great players are playing phenomenal and other guys are chipping in pretty well."

What the Heat are doing is making amends for last year. As you probably recall, the Pistons received a huge break in the 2005 series when Wade suffered a rib injury at the end of Game 5. The injury sidelined him for Game 6 - a Detroit victory - and rendered him less than effective in Game 7. Wade was held scoreless in the fourth quarter of the final contest and the Pistons advanced to face the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.

This year, both stars are healthy and touting a scary playoff record of 7-2 straight up and against the spread when they combine for 45 points or more. With coach Pat Riley’s 11-0 record when up 3-1 in a series, the playoff run of D-Troit basketball seems all but over.

“We want to get to 12 [playoff] wins and if they want it, and they want to get to the finals, it'd be a first for this franchise," Riley told the AP. "I think they're hungry and I think we're going to go get it. We have great respect for the Pistons, but I think our heart's into moving on."

PHOTO: Miami's Dwyane Wade is out to prove last year's injury was the big reason the Heat fell to the Pistons (AI Wire photo).

 

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