I was very critical of the unceremonious way that Stan Van Gundy was given the boot in Miami earlier this year, and I still stand by it.  But make no mistake; it was a very shrewd move that worked. 

Pat Reilly guided the Lakers to four NBA titles, so he knew what was needed in order to succeed.  Shaq knew Van Gundy could not help the Heat advance to their potential.  Therefore, they gave him the boot only weeks after the season started.  It was a cruel move, but one that worked.

I'm not going to join the chorus of sportswriters this morning ready to proclaim the Heat's NBA championship season as the start of the Wade Era, and say he's the best player since Jordan retired from the Bulls (the second time).  The Heat has a number of aging players in Shaq, Alonzo Mourning and Gary Payton that soon have to be replaced with younger talent.  However, Wade's drive and will to win helped put them over the top, and made this one of the best finals to remember. 

If there is one lesson to be learned from the NBA Finals, it's that you can have all of the talent in the world, and still not have enough to win a championship.  Wade had the drive, Reilly had the knowledge and wisdom, and Shaq, Mourning, and Payton had the experience and temperment.  Those are all things that Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban couldn't buy in his latest quest for a world championship, and those were all things that made the Heat a better team than the Mavericks. 

Those are things that you rely on when you're down by 13 points with six and a half minutes to go in the 4th quarter, already down 2-0 in a seven game series.  Not only did they win that game, but they went on to win the next three.  On the other side of the coin, talent alone can't save you from missing clutch free throws, calling errant timeouts, cursing out NBA officials and media reporters, and being arrogant enough to think the championship is in the bag because you're up 2-0 in the Finals.  But more on that later.

To the Heat, congrats.  Now you have to defend it.

- Duncan will be healthy next year

- Stoudamire returns to Phoenix's lineup next year

- Cleveland will be a better team

- Detroit returns with that same dreaded starting 5

- The Clippers will have more experience

- The Lakers will have Kobe.  Nuff said.

- Dallas will be back.

- And most important, the Heat will be a year older.

Good luck.