Miami
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
The Miami Heat were just one win away from clinching the Southeast division title when they lost to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday. Now they have a chance to get it while hosting the team with the best record in the West, the Phoenix Suns, tomorrow night. Worst case they will have to get it, perhaps fittingly, against the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night. One way or another, the Heat will soon clinch the division, then the top seed, then the world.
After tomorrow night's Suns game, the Heat face a fairly easy schedule filled with lots of Charlottes and Orlandos and Indianas, teams that are not going to be competing for anything significant this season. They will still have some challenges against Memphis and Detroit, and possibly Philadelphia if the Sixers get it together.
They will also face the Celtics in Boston as their penultimate away game in what could eventually turn out to be a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Their final three games are against the Pacers, the Bobcats, and the Magic, so the Heat should stroll into the playoffs riding yet another long and extended winning streak.
NEXT GAME
In what is quite possibly an NBA Finals preview, and is certainly a matchup of the teams with the best records in their respective conference, the Heat (52-17, first in the Southeast) host the Phoenix Suns (51-16, first in the Pacific) tomorrow night, Friday, March 25th. The game starts at 8:00pm Eastern and will be broadcast on Sun Sports and ESPN.
TEAM NOTES
The only way to secure great seats for this year’s playoffsis to purchase season tickets for next year.
INJURY UPDATE
Christian Laettner(foot), Qyntel Woods(knee), andDorell Wright(knee) are all on the injured list.Udonis Haslem(shoulder) is questionable for Friday and is a game-time decision.
Victor Reklaitis ofThe News & Advancewrites: It was an odd sight: Shaquille O’Neal side by side in Washington, D.C., this month with Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown in a joint announcement of the basketball star’s new affiliation with the sheriff’s office.So how did Brown land the Miami Heat center as the new national spokesman for a foundation that supports a sheriff’s office task force in fighting Internet crimes against children?
Melissa Isaacson ofThe Chicago Tribunewrites: Asking him about his attitude is still the surest way to get some, but Salim Stoudamire no longer is known as that guy with the permanent pout. Now he's the guy with the shot that can reduce an opponent to tears.... While some NBA scouts have projected Stoudamire as a high second-round pick and too short to be a shooting guard, Howland believes he will be a quality NBA player. "I guarantee the Miami Heat would love to have him on their team," he said."He'll be one of the better NBA three-point shooters right away. When you have an inside presence like Shaq (kicking it out to him), he will be great on the right team with the ability to stretch the floor. "Very few players in the world can shoot like he can with his range and quickness and consistency."