Heat Begin Homestand With Win

   The Heat began a five-game homestand with a win over the Bobcats last night. It was only a five-point win despite Charlotte not having Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and it won't get any easier from here.
   In the next three games, the Heat will face the Rockets, Clippers and Lakers in a stretch that is bound to entertain. They close the homestand against Portland, who rallied from 13 down to beat Miami last month. And oh yeah, they get to open a road trip after that against OKC.
   Not only will this stretch be so interesting because it contains three national games, but it also will show Miami, the class of the weaker East, go up against a typical West schedule. With four of those five games at home, Miami is still expected to do well against the tough competition.
   And oh by the way, how 'bout LeBron's game last night?
   All he had was one of the statistically greatest shooting games in the last ten years. 13 for 14 shooting to cap off an outstanding 31-8-8 line. Just an amazing game to show how far LeBron has come along. With his three-point shooting a career high, there are no bad shots for LeBron anymore.
   Last night though, he didn't need any threes, or even long two's for that matter. LeBron took every one of his shots from the paint and made Charlotte pay for giving him that space. We know there's no one more physically dominant than LeBron, but when he uses his skills and size to go 13 for 14, please, more teams besides Charlotte would have trouble.

   Back to the next five game for the Heat. Here's the skinny on what they can expect:
   Rockets: A truly fun matchup here. The Rockets have the ability to compete offensively with Miami and      the Wade-Harden matchup is special. The Heat's aggressive defense could run wild as Houston leads the league in turnovers.
   Clippers: Obviously will be more interesting if Chris Paul is back. The Clips will try to use Griffin and Jordan to punish Miami inside, but Lob City's weak perimeter defense will mean go-time for LeBron and Wade
   Lakers: The first of two money games in this stretch. This is almost guaranteed to be a close game, especially with Gasol playing well lately.
   Blazers: The Heat will get their revenge on Portland, who will be in the midst of a long road trip. The Blazers are a poor road team and sunny Miami won't be kind to them.
   @Thunder: A must-watch sporting event with football over, the Finals rematch part deaux and possible 2013 preview. LeBron vs. Durant is the NBA's marquee player matchup and KD would like nothing more than to exact revenge at home after the Christmas Day loss.