Jermaine O'Neal's NBA journey has been anything but smooth. Initially buried behind Chris Dudley, Clifford Robinson, Rasheed Wallace, and Arvydas Sabonis in Portland, he came into his own when he landed in Indiana in 2000-01. He was named the league's Most Improved Player that season and went on to become the franchise player through Reggie Miller's declining years. A major suspension and a series of injuries prevented O'Neal's Pacers from ever living up to their considerable potential, however, and last summer O'Neal and the Pacers parted company.

When O'Neal landed in Toronto the fans there started printing out championship t-shirts and banners. Unfortunately, the chemistry just never evolved. The Raptors, by then clearly headed for the lottery, traded O'Neal mid-season to the Miami HEAT. That move, it seems, could be the one that finally allows O'Neal to get his career back on track.

"The transition's been pretty good," O'Neal told HOOPSWORLD recently. "Obviously, it's tough when you come beyond the mid-point (of the season) with 50-some games played, but this team has a lot of very good players. More than that, they're a very tight team away from basketball, so it makes it easier to transition in to a team like that."

"He fits," says HEAT head coach Erik Speolstra. "It's something that we're familiar with, having a low post presence. He balances out our offense so it's not always so predictable and he's given us an anchor, blocking shots and being a presence at the rim defensively. We've had success in the past with a low post player, and it's something that we need. Our offensive numbers have been much better since the trade and it's not a coincidence. Even Dwyane's numbers are better, and it's because some of the defensive focus now has to be on Jermaine. He can finish, he can catch in the post, he can pick-and-roll, he can play two-man actions with Dwyane and Mario Chalmers. As we spend more time together, I think he'll look better and better in our system."

It will also help that O'Neal is getting healthier all the time. He's been in and out of the lineup all season as he recovers from knee surgery, and being in a situation where he's not expected to carry the bulk of the offensive load relieves some of the pressure.

"We have a lot of guys on this team who play very, very well," says O'Neal. "Obviously, having D-Wade is definitely a bonus, but we have a lot of guys who can really put the ball in the hoop and on any given night guys can go for big nights. It makes it easier. It has been a while since the knee surgery and I've been struggling with it, trying to get back. All in all it's not really about me scoring 20-plus points a game, it's about me helping the team get to the next level and that's really where my focus is."

Dwyane Wade likes O'Neal's focus, and for his part is even looking to have his new teammate share some of the leadership burden.

"Jermaine has been a positive force for this team, both on and off the court," says Wade. "He came in and really tried to fit in. We want him to start to get a little more vocal, because he's doing things on the court, blocking shots, changing a lot of shots, and we have to help him out by getting more rebounds when he does that. We love having him here and we're looking for his leadership more down the stretch to really help lead us to better things."

O'Neal's up for the challenge, and says confidence will be key to the HEAT's final stretch and playoff run.

"We've just got to put together some consistency on the defensive end and put together a string of wins. This league is all about confidence, and if you win some games consecutively you begin to feel good about yourself. That's what we want to try to do going into the stretch run. We want to get some wins, get feeling good about ourselves, and then anything can happen once we get into the playoffs."

With Dwyane Wade and Jermaine O'Neal on the court, that's certainly the case. Don't count out the Miami HEAT.