Hot Points: Playoff Preparation on Miami's Mind

April 4, 2011

• The Miami Heat's 108-94 victory against the New Jersey Nets on Sunday clinched them the Southeast Division title. They now hold the 2nd overall seed in the Eastern Conference, leading Boston by a half game.

• The Heat took care of business while fine tuning for the playoffs. Miami ran more half court plays, attacked the paint early and often as well as experimented with different lineups throughout the game.

• Miami took two steps toward getting healthier as Mario Chalmers and Mike Miller returned from injuries. However, they took one step back as Dwyane Wade injured his thigh in the first quarter - Wade returned to the game in the second half but admitted he still has discomfort.

• The Heat still await the return of Udonis Haslem, which will likely come no sooner than in the first round of the playoffs. In Haslem's own words, "I will be out there. I just can't say when."

• Rumors of Eddy Curry possibly joining the Heat intensified with Pat Riley confirming that Miami held a workout with Curry. There's speculation that Dexter Pittman would be the odd man out if Curry is brought on board, which would be a sacrifice of more veteran experience over youthful potential.

Noteworthy Stats:

• Miami scored 60 points in the paint, illustrating their relentless and effective attack to the basket throughout the game.

• Erick Dampier recorded a season-high 14 rebounds and the Heat collectively outrebounded the Nets 50 to 30.

• The Heat bench contributed 28 points with Zydrunas Ilgauskas and James Jones scoring 11 points and 10 points, respectively.

• Six Heat players scored in double-digits: James, Wade, Dampier, Ilgauskus, Jones and Chris Bosh.