Zo-Shaq experiment underway From the Miami Herald BY ISRAEL GUTIERREZ In practice Wednesday, Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O'Neal were somewhere they aren't expected to be often this season: on the floor together. Mourning was playing power forward, with O'Neal at center. Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said he wants Mourning to learn the power forward position in case the team is forced to go big in the frontcourt. ''I wanted him to start learning that a little bit,'' Van Gundy said. ``Because against teams that play big, you never know. For defensive standpoints, it could be good.'' Mourning can defend and rebound as a power forward, but his adjustment would be on the offensive end. Heat power forwards get most of their shots in the 15-feet range, meaning Mourning would see more open jump shots than his usual jump hook. Mourning said he would have no problem taking that shot if it came to that. ''I think I can shoot,'' Mourning said. ``I've proven that I can shoot it over my career, so I don't think anything has changed from that perspective. Other than that, it's about getting the ball into the big fella. If they're going to give me that shot, I'm going to shoot it.'' ------------------------------------------------------------------ <font color="RoyalBlue">Mourning must become a consistent shooter like Laettner, Doleac, and Udonis have been. Great matchup against Detroit & San Antonio. Shaq & Zo v. Wallace & Wallace Shaq & Zo v. Duncan & Nesterovic Alonzo will only play limited minutes, but it will be interesting to see Shaq & Zo on the floor at the same time.</font>
It's going to be interesting to watch Miami play when Shaq and Alonzo are in the frontcourt together. You can't overlook Haslem's contributions to the team this year though. If Alonzo can shoot the 10-15 foot jumpshot as well as Haslem does, as well as rebounding, playing down low and playing solid defense then Miami will have, IMO a legitament chance to beat San Antonio.
Shooting should not be much of a problem for Zo. He's always been able to hit the mid-range jumper. I'm still in disbelief the Heat have both Shaq and Zo. This is the perfect situation for Zo, because he can give the Heat minutes at both Center and Power Forward. He plays with a lot of intensity and gives the Heat a shotblocker off the bench. With Shaq and Haslem, Zo only needs to give the Heat 15 strong minutes off the bench to make an impact. The additions of Zo and Steve Smith will pay dividends in the post-season. Both are a class acts and understand their roles on the team. The Heat have amazing leadership on and off the court, and if they stay healthy and hungry, they should make it to the Finals.
