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The Miami Heat were a surprise team last year, but by getting Shaq this summer Miami will start the season as a legitimate title contender.

Shaq is still the most dominant player in this league and seeing him recently at the MTV Video Music Awards in amazing shape only strengthens the notion that he is motivated and he will have an MVP-caliber season. Shaq makes everyone around him better and that should be the case with the Heat.

Dwyane Wade is an up-and-coming star in this league. He excelled in the playoffs last year and showed mature play in the Olympics. He now has a dominant big man to play with who will open up the lane for him and give him someone to pass to. Eddie Jones will benefit immensely from the presence of Shaq, mostly from the open looks he will get on the perimeter. The last two full years that EJ played with Shaq, he was an All-Star.

Miami's signings this summer were terrific. Damon Jones is an excellent backup PG coming off an underrated season where he stepped in nicely for an injured T.J. Ford in Milwaukee. Wesley Person adds another veteran perimeter threat. Michael Doleac is a nice backup center who could even play alongside Shaq for stretches. Keyon Dooling may have disappointed in LA, but he'll have less pressure in Miami and may yet amount to something.

I wasn't too excited about the drafting of Dorrell Wright initially. I wanted Jameer Nelson. But now with Damon Jones coming in, I like the potential of Wright. Amazing athlete with great length and a maturity to him. He could be the SG of our future.

Admittedly, the Heat are weak at starting SF and PF. Rasual Butler was a strong backup last year but he is probably best off in that role. Udonis Haslem is a good young PF who did well as a rookie last year but he still has a ways to go to solidify himself as a worthy starter. However, both are young and Haslem is an energetic rebounder and Butler a good 3pt threat so they may prove to be capable starters for the Heat.

The forward depth is also questionable. At SF, rookies Freije and Wright and undersized Person are the options and not quite the best group in the league. At PF, the Heat still have Malik Allen, a former starter and he should be reliable off the bench. He has good size and offensive skills.

This team didn't take the road I initially hoped for, and that was to add a center (namely Mark Blount) to the core of Wade, EJ, Caron and Odom but I can't fault the Heat for going after a huge prize in Shaq.

The Heat should win the division and take the 2nd seed in the East. Wade will continue to improve, EJ should more efficient and Shaq will have a bounce back, MVP-caliber year. Other players will step up and this team will not suffer from its perceived lack of depth. There is great coaching and a great management in place.

Question is, can they win it all? While the Heat should reach the Eastern Conference Finals, a matchup with either Detroit or Indiana is definitely an uphill battle.