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Dwyane Wade John Biever/SI FAST FACTS Record: 42-40 (4th in East) Points Scored: 90.3 (22nd in NBA) Points Allowed: 89.7 (8th) Coach: Stan Van Gundy (second season with the Heat) 2004 Schedule | 2004 Draft Picks | 2003 Stats xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP With 2003-04 statistics SHAQUILLE O'NEAL POS. PVR PPG RPG APG BPG SPG FG% FT% C 3 21.5 11.5 2.9 2.48 0.51 58.4 49.0 CHRISTIAN LAETTNER POS. PVR PPG RPG APG BPG SPG FG% FT% PF 220 5.9 4.8 1.9 0.58 0.77 46.5 80.0 DWYANE WADE POS. PVR PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3FG% FT% SG 61 16.2 4.0 4.5 1.41 46.5 30.2 74.7 DAMON JONES POS. PVR PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3FG% FT% PG 108 7.0 2.1 5.8 0.37 40.1 35.9 76.4 EDDIE JONES POS. PVR PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3FG% FT% SF 66 17.3 3.8 3.2 1.14 40.9 37.0 83.5  BENCH PVR 2003-04 Stats G-F RASUAL BUTLER 149 6.8 ppg 1.4 rpg 0.5 apg 47.6 FG% 46.3 3FG% G KEYON DOOLING 191 6.2 ppg 2.2 apg 0.78 spg 38.9 FG% 17.4 3FG% G-F WESLEY PERSON 203 5.8 ppg 2.0 rpg 0.33 spg 40.1 FG% 39.9 3FG% F UDONIS HASLEM 240 7.3 ppg 6.3 rpg 0.7 apg 0.44 spg 45.9 FG% F MALIK ALLEN 270 4.2 ppg 2.6 rpg 0.4 apg 0.62 bpg 41.9 FG%

(Cue the violins!) Could this be the beginning of a beautiful friendship?

The conventional wisdom is that the trade for Shaquille O'Neal can only help Dwyane Wade, who made a remarkable transformation last season from untested, undersized rookie shooting guard to upper-echelon point guard. But it's a new ball game now. Finding seams in the defense and driving to the basket, Wade's forte, is less of a priority when there's a dominant big man who needs to be fed. And the ability to bury three-pointers -- not Wade's forte; he hit just 16 last season -- becomes more important. "Sure, it's new to us," says Wade, "but it's not like we can't see Shaq down there. I have the feeling it's going to be pretty easy to figure out."

The Heat's prime movers already seem to have their relationship figured out. In their first conversation O'Neal told Wade, "We have to be the leaders. We have to be on the same page. We ain't gonna let anything happen to us like what happened before." (See Shaq and Penny Hardaway. See Shaq and Kobe Bryant.) "He beat me to the punch," says Wade. "I was going to bring up the same thing with him. But it's better that he did it. He's the experienced one."

Coach Stan Van Gundy admits that he's thought about the ripple effect caused by adding O'Neal. Swingman Eddie Jones, for instance, has been upset in the past about having to play what he considers a lesser role. "Shaq will get 70 percent of the attention, and Dwyane will get the other 30," says Van Gundy. "What does that do to the other guys? How does that affect them?" Van Gundy is fairly sure (though not certain) that it won't be a problem because "those two guys are total team players."

And the larger one of the two is already making big pronouncements. "Me and D-Wade," O'Neal says, "are going to rock this city." -- Jack McCallum