Dwyane Wade, you’re on your own

For your defending champions, it’s not too soon to panic anymore.

The embattled Miami Heat just learned that Shaquille O’Neal will undergo surgery on his left knee -- which he originally hurt after neglecting to wear his protective pad.

His last game was against Houston’s Yao Ming, who embarrassed him, 34 points to 15. Days later the former Man of Steel pulled up his shorts to show the local press corps his left thigh, noting, “The muscles seem like they’re dead.”

At O’Neal’s age (34) and rate of decline (fast), it’s not really when he returns but who he’ll be. In a worst-case scenario, he’ll never be Shaq again, won’t like it, will retire in summer and collect the rest of his $80 million from Lloyd’s of London.

Friday’s announcement stunned the team, which thought O’Neal would return that night with Coach Pat Riley joking about getting him “steel knee pads.” Instead, the Heat was stomped on its home court by the Knicks, 100-76, as Riley noted, “You start looking at things a lot differently.”

Indeed, you do, like the NBA’s balance of power and everything else.

For whom the bell

no longer tolls

Happily for the 11th-place Chicago Bulls, the East race just got even more wide open. Unhappily, there’s everything else.

Ben Wallace, their $60-million free agent, can’t do much for their offense and hasn’t done much for their defense. Always undersized at 6 feet 7 plus hairdo, he’s now 32, with his averages down to 9.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks.

Coach Scott Skiles counseled patience, noting this wasn’t like Detroit where “they rang the bell and he was Big Ben and always had a playoff-hardened cast around him.”

That lasted until Erick Dampier scored 14 points as the Bulls lost in Dallas and Skiles mused, “We had no protection at the basket.”

The local papers were already on the case, with the Chicago Tribune’s Sam Smith doing a mock announcement that “Ben Wallace has retired.”

Unfortunately, at this tender point, they’re on their annual “circus trip.” In the first five seasons after Michael Jordan left, they were 0-32.

As reconstructed by the Tribune’s K.C. Johnson, here’s how it has gone:

1999: “I think the character of our team is going to allow us to remain intact. We don’t have knuckleheads. At least if we do, they haven’t risen to the top.” -- Coach Tim Floyd

Record: 0-7.

2000: “I got back from last year’s trip and I had nothing left. I was 20 ... and I was just exhausted.” -- Ron Artest

Record: 0-7.

2001: “Every day has been hell.” -- Floyd, referring to a public dispute with Charles Oakley five days earlier.

Record: 0-7.

2002: “We’re going to have a good trip. We have more maturity on our team, and it’s shown in the games we’ve gotten behind. We’ve found a way to fight back and show we can compete.... That’s going to help us on the road.” -- Jalen Rose

Record: 0-6.

2003: “On the road we’ve had more concentration and focus. We move the ball better. We tend to play together better and harder.” -- Scottie Pippen

Record: 0-5.

2004: “I’m excited because I know we’ll get one on this trip. That will be a big lift.” -- Tyson Chandler

Record: 1-6.

2005: “We want to make a better streak where we go out and win games instead of losing. We have the team to do it.” -- Chris Duhon

Record: 3-3.

2006: “We’re not going to let the trip intimidate us.” -- Wallace

Record: 0-3 with four to go.

Famous last words

Knicks color commentator Walt Frazier on the team’s pattern of falling behind and staging late rallies:

“They’ve shown fortitude but not aptitude.”