NBA 2006-2007 Preview: Miami Heat

Miami Heat
Coach: Pat Riley, 2nd Season (41-20 in 61 games; ’05-’06)
General Manager: Pat Riley
’05-’06 Record: 52-30, Southeast Division Champions
Postseason: NBA Champions; def. DAL (4-2)


Projected Starting Lineup (’05-’06 Stats)

PG – Jason Williams (12.3 ppg., 2.4 rpg., 4.9 apg.)
SG – Dwayne Wade (27.2 ppg., 5.7 rpg., 6.7 apg.)
SF – Antoine Walker (12.2 ppg., 5.1 rpg., 2.0 apg.)
PF – Udonis Haslem (9.3 ppg., 7.8 rpg., 1.2 apg.)
C – Shaquille O’Neal (20.0 ppg., 9.2 rpg., 1.9 apg.)


Key Additions: N/A

Key Subtractions: PG Shandon Anderson (UFA)


2006 NBA Draft
Round 1 – N/A
Round 2 – N/A


Positional Breakdowns

Guards
I have a question that’s been burning in me for a couple of seasons now, one that resurfaced back in June. Where is “White Chocolate?” That’s right, I want to know what happened to the flashy, behind-the-back, launch it from 30 feet out point guard that was Jason Williams. He’s made a successful transition from that player to a real, serviceable NBA point guard who is a grizzled veteran and has the reigns of the defending NBA champions to run. For his part, Williams has shown some incredible maturity moving from that point in his career to where he is now. He’s toned down the act when coming up the court, preferring to make the safe and smart decision as opposed to the dangerous yet more entertaining one. He’s vastly limited his turnovers and manages the offense. He takes careful, concise shots from the perimeter, not launching it whenever he feels the need for a shot. This Jason Williams has been a Godsend for the Heat. It was funny, but I found myself saying that the Heat’s chances in the playoffs last season were resting on whether Jason Williams could actually run this team. Well, he answered that. He’ll have to do more of the same in order for the Heat to even dream of a repeat in the top-heavy Eastern Conference.