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The Miami Heat began in 1989 and have made nine playoff appearances in their history behind years of a slower style and defensive oriented basketball. After drafting Dwayne Wade last season and putting him in the backcourt with veteran Eddie Jones, the team still played deliberately but they could also play a fast pace game as well if needed and it was definitely more fun to watch. This summer, the Miami Heat made one of the biggest off-season moves ever when they acquired Shaquille O’Neal from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Brian Grant, Lamar Odom, and Caron Butler. The team lost three starters in Butler, Odom, and Grant but they drafted Dorell Wright, a small forward from South Kent Prep, with the 19 th overall pick in this year’s draft. Forwards Pape Sow and Matt Freije were also taken by the Heat in the second round of the draft. The Heat lost point guard Rafer Alston to the Toronto Raptors in free agency but they made other key moves by signing Wesley Person, Michael Doleac, and Keyon Dooling, among others, as free agents.
The Heat will play this season in the Southeast division. They’ll match up with the Atlanta Hawks, the Charlotte Bobcats, the Orlando Magic, and the Washington Wizards and the Heat have to be the early favorite. They’ll likely bring out a starting lineup with Dwayne Wade and Eddie Jones in the backcourt and Shaq teaming up with Wesley Person and Malik Allen in the frontcourt. The Heat have all kinds of depth at each position so they won’t have to worry about players getting tired or going down with injuries. Their main competition in the division will likely come from the Hawks and the Wizards but each team in the division seemed to improve in the off-season so the Heat will have to play well each night.
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