The Heat's season, entering cardiac arrest only about two weeks ago, just got some much needed shock treatment to give it a pulse. D-Wade is coming back. Ok well, he’s trying to come back, as he will begin an intense 3 week rehabilitation regimen as the Heat's regular season winds down. World- renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews advised Wade that with the proper rehab that surgery wasn't an absolute necessity until the conclusion of the NBA season (even though the shoulder could easily dislodge itself again). Wade made it clear in a press conference that he wasn't making any guarantees about a timeline on his return. However, he sounded confident enough that if his delicate shoulder permitted it that he would be up for the challenge of helping his team defend its championship. This, of course, is where things get dicey, since the rest of the Heat are going to need to make the playoffs before talk of a defending a title is validated.

After Wade went down in mid-February the sports media world engulfed itself in banter over whether or not Shaq had enough left in the tank to lead the Heat into the playoffs. Things didn't look promising against Dallas the next night, but after convincing wins over conference rivals such as the Cavaliers, Wizards, and Pistons, the Diesel (one of Shaq's more infamous nicknames) appears to be steamrolling a long again. Even though they are still far from a playoff lock, the Heat are sitting above .500, and are in firm control of the East's 6 seed. With a favorable schedule featuring the majority of their remaining games at home, D-Wade should be confident his boys can hang around long enough for him to come save the day around playoff time.

The high-scoring Washington Wizards shouldn't lose enough games to give up control of the Southeast Division, which means that the Heat would have to begin the playoffs against one of the East's elite on the road. History may indicate differently, but I guarantee you Miami wants nothing to do with Gilbert Arenas's team in a seven game series. The Wizards are a threat to put up 120 points any given night, especially with a healthy Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler. The Heat's better bet is to hope for a more favorable first-round match-up with the Chicago Bulls (who they eliminated in the first round last year) or Lebron James's still relatively inexperienced Cleveland Cavaliers. If Miami falters down the stretch of the regular season and slips to the 8 seed, D-Wade would be needed more than ever to lead the Heat against a hungry Detroit Pistons team. The Pistons would love to gain some revenge against the squad that eliminated them from the postseason in the conference finals last year.
As I mentioned earlier, all of this playoff talk is obsolete unless Shaq can keep this team afloat until Flash returns. With a Hall of Fame Coach and a supporting cast of savvy veteran role players this shouldn't be too much ask. We now know how bad D-Wade wants another ring, but does the Diesel really want to do what it takes to get a fifth for himself? Heat fans better hope so, because for now all Wade can do is hope and pray he gets a chance.

By: Brendan Mackesey