As of this writing, the Miami Heat have lost 16 out of their last 18 games. Clearly something isn’t right for a team that is just a few years removed from their last NBA Championship. Dwayne Wade is still playing at an All-Star level, which he continues to prove day in and day out with his 24.8 points a game, but his supporting cast has failed to show up. “Shaq,” who will not be going to the All-Star games for the first time in 14 years, has declined, and probably rightfully so after a long hard career that has seen him beat up on his fair number of times. The Heat don’t appear to not be trying for Coach Pat Riley, they are just obviously ending up on the short end of the stick more often than not. The team is probably about ripe for a makeover, but if they aren’t willing to part with Wade, it’s not sure how much better than can get during midseason. In the early days of the Heat they were used to being the laughing stock of the league, and they might have to put up with that this year.

The Lakers suffered a serious setback when emerging center Andrew Bynum went out with an injury and will miss a significant amount of time. Kobe Bryant will attempt to take the team on his shoulders, as he has in years past, until the young Bynum returns, but each game is crucial. The Heat are on an obvious downswing, and that’s why I’ll pick the Lakers to take this one fairly easily, despite hurting a little bit on their own.

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In what could be an early season preview of this year’s NBA Finals, the defending NBA Champions, San Antonio Spurs, take on the team with the best record in the league, the Boston Celtics. Both teams aren’t without their troubles however. The San Antonio Spurs just recently found they will be out the services of their starting point guard Tony Parker for an “indefinite” amount of time as he nurses an injured heel. With the loss, they will be without 19.2 points a game and over six assists game, let alone a major loss on defense.

The Boston Celtics are all pretty much healthy, aside from a minor bruise here and there, but they are in the midst of their worst stretch of the year. Keep in mind that their “bad” stretch could be considered a decent stretch for most teams, as they are 6-4 in their last ten outings. However, when you were being considered early in the season as one of the best teams in the league, then four losses in your last ten starts to seem like a big deal. As mentioned, the Celtics have the best record in the league, and have it by a few games, but things are starting to tighten up a bit. Despite Parker being out for the Spurs, this game will still tell a lot about where the Celtics stack up right now. Also, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett get to do battle like the good old days when Garnett played in the West. It should be a good came, with me favoring the Celtics by a few points.

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This game features a couple of teams who would probably fair better in different conferences, the Virginia Cavaliers and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Wake Forest is actually fairing a little better this year, supporting a 3-3 record in the ACC, while Virginia has been able to muster only one win in the conference. Wake Forest, as of this writing, would probably best be considered a bubble team, while Virginia is most likely heading to the N.I.T. and that’s if they can keep their record above .500. Freshman forward James Johnson has had a good start to his collegiate career, averaging 14.7 a game, good enough to lead the Demon Deacons in scoring. The 6-8 Johnson is also averaging over eight rebounds a game, giving the Deacons a force they haven’t had in the middle since perhaps the departure of NBA All-Star and Champ, Tim Duncan. Wake Forest is coming off a two point victory from Miami, one of their best victories of the year.

For what it’s worth, when Virginia senior guard Sean Singletary was a freshman he gave my friend and me tickets to the game when they played UNC. At the time Singletary barely played, but now he is the leading scoring, at a clip of 18.3 a game. UVA started the season hot, but they are currently in the midst of a three game losing streak, with most of that being attributed to the hard conference they play in. I feel this should be a close game, but with all due respect to Singletary, I think Wake Forest takes this one by a few buckets.

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The Texas Longhorns will meet the Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday in an important Big-12 match-up. The Longhorns, of course are having the better season, but a loss to Texas A & M has put them at just 3-2 in the conference, and one game in front of a 3-3 Iowa State. The Longhorns rely on young sophomore D.J. Augustin and his 20.4 points a game. Teammate A.J. Abrams is also adding 17.2 points a game, with two other players averaging over ten points a game. Texas is another team that has been a bit of a surprise as well, as they were expected to be a year or two away from winning big. Sort of like Duke, they now find themselves among the best team in the country, and looking for more.

Iowa State is 13-8, and losers of two out of their last three. A sophomore also leads the team in scoring for the Cyclones, but not at the same prolific rate as Augustin, at only 13.9 a game. If they were in a different conference their record would look a little better, but if they could some how manage to sneak into the Big Dance they could be a tough out for anybody. Despite the game being in Iowa State, I feel Texas will be the away team victor. Despite the recent loss, I still feel the Longhorns are the better team. Of course though, Iowa State is a team that could pull off an upset and I’m not sure it would surprise too many people.

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