NOW the blogging begins.

I launched Heat Blog this summer just after the NBA draft. I'd never written a blog before, so I planned to gain some experience blogging and get myself comfortable with it. I wanted to be ready to roll by the time the NBA season arrived.

It was a nice idea, but the problem was that I found it somewhat boring at times to simply regurgitate what all the local beat writers reported whenever a story broke. I don't have direct access to this team, so, like anyone else, I'm forced to base most of my opinions on what they tell me.

Those days end tonight now that we'll finally be able to watch this team and start forming some original opinions. Basketball is back, and so is this blog.

You can't start any sports season without making predictions. It's hard to predict how this team will do, but I'll give it a shot - The Heat will win 48 games.

Not too many people are high on the Heat this year, and that's understandable when you look at how the team finished last season. However, during the brief time that this team was fully healthy last year, they looked like a top team in the Eastern Conference.

If Shaq can play 60 games and Wade doesn't get hurt again, I think they'll easily make the playoffs and be a threat to get out of the East. I'll take the trio of Wade, Shaq, and Davis over every other top three in the east except Boston's big three.

They just have to find a way to stay healthy (and survive the first 2-3 weeks of the season until Wade comes back).