The Miami Heat are finally looking like the championship contenders they were expected to be at the beginning of the season. Perhaps it's best that they didn't start the season with Pat Riley as coach, for they might have peaked too soon.

When Riley left coaching to move into the front office of the Miami Heat, it was said the players had grown tired of his shtick. The over-hyped, over-intense style of coaching had worn thin on the players, and the team was no longer winning. The 2002-2003 Season ended with a dismal 25-57 record, another year on the outside looking on at the playoffs, and the end of Riley's tenure on the sidelines.

Much was made of the team they pieced together in his absence, from the drafting of Dwyane Wade to the trade to acquire Shaquille O'Neal, the Heat became eastern conference finalists on just two years. More has been made of the major overhaul of the team in the offseason after Miami finished one game short of making the NBA finals, including Riley replacing Stan Van Gundy as Coach.

This season has had serious ups-and-downs. The team struggled throughout the season, particularly against the other top-contending teams around the NBA. But now they seem to have found a groove coming off a rocky series against the Baby Bulls and a Game 1 loss to New Jersey in the second round that made this team look slower and more discombobulated than at almost any point throughout the season.

Big names in role-playing situations usually don't do well, or at best they take time. You might get players too far past their prime (I'm looking at you, Michael Finley and Nick Van Exel) to be truly effective, or you might get guys who are jealous of the younger players who are now getting the spotlight (Gary Payton, anyone?). The ability of this team to squash those issues when they arose and straighten themselves out in time to get by the Bulls and overcome the defeat in Game 1 proves one thing: they get it.

 What happened in game 4 today at New Jersey is the prime example of what pat Riley had in mind all along, particularly on the offensive end. And it's about time they got it right.

This team was not completely retooled in order to maximize their defensive execution, nor do I think that's what anyone thought. Regardless, it's important to point out that you don't acquire Jason Williams, Antione Walker and Gary Payton to stop people. And don't tell me Gary's "The Glove", because he hasn't been more than a passable perimeter defensive presence in 3 or 4 years. These players were acquired for outside shooting and ball handling, and little else. And that's just what is winning them games against the Nets.

There is no "d" in the name Vince Carter, and it shows. Whomever Carter was "guarding" was able to drive into the paint at will and kick out to wide open perimeter shooters with ease at any time during the Heat's offensive sets. The inability of Jason Collins to be able to guard Shaquille O'Neal without picking up fouls - or drawing a litany of offensive fouls - on the Diesel forced the defense to sag even further inside, even if Shaq wasn't scoring in bunches. This allowed Antoine Walker and Udonis Haslem wide open for perimeter jumpers and Walker's threes, which in the end were the dagger in the heart for the NJ Nets.

The final nail in the coffin summed the game up nicely: Dwyane Wade makes a spectacular move to penetrate the defense and get into the paint area then kicks out to a wide open Payton along the sideline, where he nails his only bucket of the game and the Heat increase the lead to essentially seal the deal. This was what Riley was going for all along: Wade and Shaq do their thing and draw all kinds of attention, while the big names now in role playing situations stick the perimeter shots.

Funny, that's not too different from last year's model. This team just has more glitz.

Miami still has issues: their 100 Million Dollar center had an unremarkable 16 pt., 8 rebound effort in this ballgame and was essentially outplayed by Nenad Kristic (who?). Big time late game shot aside, Gary Payton is not much of a factor when out on the counrt, yet Riley continues to play Payton in crunch time instead of allowing Jason Williams to cement his status as a much more under control floor leader late in games.

If the Heat can duplicate this kind of performance and close this series out against New Jersey at home in game 5, they should be able to ride this performance into a showdown against Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals that might rival that of their meeting a year ago. Even though the names have changed and the talent level has (supposedly) been upgraded, the formula remains the same. And it should make for one heck of a East finals matchup.

And yes, I said Detroit will meet them. While Cleveland may have won a game on the strength of a t-dub from LeBron, let's be real about this: it's only one game. LeBron's in the middle of his own Mission:Impossible, and he's pulling his best Philip Seymour Hoffman impression out for this series, because as far as the Cavs are concerned, LeBron's the only guy out there worth watching.

That's right, I just called the rest of the Cavs Tom Cruise.