Running On Fumes, Diesel Refuels

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">MAKING UP TIME

O'Neal said his increased productivity is his way of making up for lost time after Nov. 19 knee surgery and a calf injury cost him 39 games in the first half of the season. He's also answering any critics who questioned whether he still had the skills and motivation to steer the Heat clear of a collapse in Wade's absence.

''We wish the best for Dwyane, but he's not here,'' O'Neal said. ``So we have to work with what we have. They did the same thing when I was out. I got a lot of rest, and it's only going to be a 30- or 35-game season to me. That's like a college season.''

O'Neal has flashed his college form for stretches.

O'Neal either has been tied for the lead or led the Heat in scoring in eight of the past 14 games. It's arguably his most impressive stretch since he led the team in scoring 13 times in a span of 17 games during the 2003-04 season, his first in Miami after winning three NBA titles with the Lakers.

During O'Neal's reemergence, the Heat has climbed from ninth in the East and one game out of the playoff picture Feb. 22 to sixth. Miami is one game behind the Washington Wizards for the Southeast Division lead and the third spot in the conference standings.

VERSATILITY

Heat coach Pat Riley said O'Neal has been playing harder and smarter recently and is effective as much with power as finesse. O'Neal is facilitating an offense that once ran through Wade on the perimeter.

''He's got a different number of shots now, and he can still get under the basket and dunk over people,'' Riley said. ``Then, when people start to sag and come [to double-team], he throws it out and [teammates] get a timely three or get a timely cut.''

That versatility has left opponents at a loss when gambling on the most effective way to defend O'Neal.

''You have to adjust to the course of the game, meaning whatever the time and score dictates,'' Bulls center Ben Wallace said. ``If he's got it going, you have to double him. You can't afford to just let him come down and have his way. Pick your poison.''

Still, O'Neal can be across-the-board lethal when teammates hit shots. That was the case in his best game of the season when he had 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a March 7 win against the Bulls.

''He's doing anything and everything we need,'' Heat guard Eddie Jones said after O'Neal finished with 32 points and nine rebounds in a March 9 win against the Timberwolves. ``It was a tremendous game.''

Yet it all stems from a simple approach once O'Neal gets the ball in the paint. Lately, he said, the process has been like taking a multiple-choice test when all of the choices are correct answers.

''Right now, we're throwing it to me and just going from there,'' said O'Neal, who is shooting 63 percent from the field this month. ``Sometimes, I'm going to see what my shooters are doing [and pass]. Sometimes, I'm going to go [to the basket] first. I have it all working.''

AS GOOD AS EVER

Former NBA center Moses Malone, now an assistant with the 76ers, is among those most impressed with O'Neal.

''He's still sending coaches in the locker room with headaches, like he always has, because they can't figure him out,'' Malone said. ``That's what a good big man does to you. He's playing as good now, and as smart now, as he's probably ever played.''</div>

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