Less than two years ago the Miami Heat was on top of the NBA. Now the bill is due for the banner that hangs in the rafters.
OK I’ll "fess up" and come clean before some smart aleck reader sends me an e-mail to wave an early season prediction in my face. Yep, I said the Miami Heat would win the Southeast Division and boy was I off with that one.
Honestly, while some folks thought the Heat may have been on the decline, particularly after last season’s playoff broom job by the Chicago Bulls in the first round, I just figured Shaquille O’Neal along with Dwyane Wade were too proud to let this team fall from grace that quickly. But with Pat Riley allowing key pieces to walk away and O’Neal now in the desert after being dealt to Phoenix it looks like Riley is picking up the tab for winning the title less than two seasons ago.
By the way, did you notice that even though the Suns are struggling trying to put it together they still managed to beat the defending champion San Antonio Spurs 94-87? A significant win since Phoenix scored less than 100 points while holding the Spurs under 90. Can you say, getting ready for the playoffs?
The Heat’s championship run in the spring of 2006 was described as "the perfect storm" by Miami assistant coach Ron Rothstein, and this season he refers to the fact that the Heat are being blitzed by the "the perfect storm in reverse."
With the trade to acquire Shawn Marion, the Heat is renting him for the rest of the season and they may decide to buy if they can work out a deal with Marion and he fits into the future plans in South Florida. Of course, the price has to be right or else Marion will be wearing another uniform next season but that’s not necessarily a bad thing from Miami as they would have money to spend on free agents.
But there is much more to the rebuilding than Marion. As it stands right now the Heat have the worst record in the NBA which means the most ping-pong balls in the carafe when they visit Secaucus this spring for the draft lottery as the real contenders are fighting their way toward a title. While there is much banter on sports talk radio in Miami of "tanking" by the Heat, someone should remind all the statistical specialists burning the phone lines in South Florida that there is no guarantee of actually getting the first pick.
In the 23 previous lotteries, only four times has the team with the worst record actually acquired the first pick (1988 – Danny Manning, Clippers, 1990 - New Jersey, Derrick Coleman, 2003 - LeBron James, Cleveland and 2004 – Dwight Howard, Orlando)
The other big question in Miami was finally answered. How does Wade come down with some "tough-to-put-your-finger-on" injury that will shut him down for the season? Well it happened when the Heat announced that Wade would undergo a follow up procedure on his surgically repaired knee. And why not, as the season is all but done anyway with the Heat playing out the string and nobody showing up to the arena – last week there couldn’t have been more than 8,000 fans in attendance against Toronto but the announced attendance was 19,143 – it’s time to think about next season.
Wade is coming off two surgeries and he still maintains he wants to play this summer for the U.S. in the Beijing Olympics. It is obvious from watching him play that like the rest of the team, he is not at full speed. Wade is hurt, but with not a lot of talent supporting him on the floor, the Miami front office may be putting an asset at risk. Yes, Wade could get hurt crossing the street outside the American Airlines Arena but why risk an injury now in a season that is lost.
It never rains but it pours when things are going poorly. Youngster Dorell Wright, finally getting a chance to play real NBA minutes, is out for the season after surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. A Sports Illustrated poll of 242 players voted Pat Riley the coach for which they would least like to play. Riley, and his old school approach, received 28 per cent of the vote making him an easy winner ahead of Utah’s Jerry Sloan, New York’s Isiah Thomas and former Bulls bench boss Scott Skiles.
"Two years ago I was the most favoured guy to play for," Riley told the Palm Beach Post in reference the adage that winning solves all as Miami had won its first ever NBA title.
If Miami re-signs Marion, has a healthy Wade and puts the right pieces around two all-star players, including a high draft pick, they could, particularly in the Leastern, er, Eastern Conference, jump back into the playoff picture very quickly.
For now, the Heat have a championship banner hanging in the rafters and if any fans are feeling a bit disgruntled at the team’s plight all they have to do is think about a wild night out on the town and a great party and realize, at some point, the bill has to be paid.
