The formula

So many things about Friday's game were similar to how the Heat won games two seasons ago when all the components were healthy.
First, Dwyane played 42 minutes, took 24 shots and 13 free throws. Not a great shooting night, but the jumper looked good, which will be crucial for him going forward.
Then there's Shaq, who looked as good as he has all season (he always seems to get up for Yao). Scoring 26 points on 12 shot attempts is huge, but add 14 rebounds, 12 free throws, three blocks and no foul trouble, and it's pretty much the perfect game for Shaq.
Ricky Davis did his best James Posey impersonation (minus the charges taken) by guarding McGrady and doing an admirable job. And he didn't feel like he needed to jack up a bunch of shots as a reward (4 of 9 for the night).
Then there were the turnover distributions. Dwyane had five and Shaq had six, which sounds like a lot for two guys. But the rest of the team had just two turnovers, which make the mistakes of Shaq and Dwyane permissible.
Would still like to see Jason Williams try to get in the paint more often, but six points, five assists, four rebounds and no turnovers in 45 minutes is close to ideal. Mostly because it was a lot of minutes and not very fatiguing.
That gets me to the rotation, which Riley has struggled with. He kept Smush out of the game, which is great. And he used Mark Blount both at power forward and center, which he really hasn't done regularly. I think it makes sense because, if the inside game of Shaq and/or Zo is getting stifled, then Blount can open up the pick-and-roll game as the center and unclog the paint.
Still no Daequan, but that's more acceptable when you've got J-Will and Dwyane playing heavier minutes.
I wouldn't expect these guys to do too much in practice if they have to continually play these kinds of minutes, but surely Riles will trade relaxed practices for more wins.
Bring on the Magical Van Gundys! (No, seriously, don't. That team is really good).