Dessert in the Desert

This post isn't about underwhelming Tuesday either.

Shaq is going to Phoenix. I love it.

I will still cheer for the lowly Heat. They won't make the playoffs, and now they have Wade, Marion and a lottery pick for next year.

This deal was a no brainer for the Heat (one which I predicted a few months ago, BTW) as they dump an aging veteran who wasn't going to extend his contract any further. If they were still in it- they would need him to win. They have pulled the 'chute on this season.

For the Suns, it is slightly tougher math. True- they have the best record in the West. True - they are a run-and-gun team. True - Shaq would need an oxygen pack just to keep up with them. True- they don't have the pieces to beat the Lakers or the Spurs in a seven game playoff series. Sometimes you have to take a car apart to make it run that much better.

Replace their third option shooter Marion - with a proven, but busted - centre who can dominate Yao, Duncan and anyone else at will, and post-up on demand. What they lose in speed, they gain in bulk/defence. Nash plus O'Neal equals - the best shooting guard passer and big man passer in the game. Stoudemire is going to score a trazillion points a game. With O'Neal in the post, their opponents will have NO CHOICE but to double him up, freeing up the best shooting team in the league for wide open shots.

I like this trade, but time will tell. Will they get to the Finals and Garnett/O'neal have the duel they deserve? I don't know, but watching Shaq take on Kobe in the Western conference finals is already too much fun to even think about.