The Miami Heat's Downfall - Part II

A Tragedy in Five Acts

March 28, 2008

to read the first part click here: [1]

4th Act: Slow Decline

It is a common saying among coaches and players of any professional sport that winning a title is tough but defending it is Herculean. And the Heat’s title defence didn’t start out well. First of all, Hercules himself had aged and was prone to lengthy injuries. Years of beating, years of Hack-a-Shaq defences had left O’Neal’s body vulnerable and now, after fulfilling his promise of bringing a title to Miami, there was no more reason to push himself.

Worse yet, the Heat had kept the championship team nearly intact but now many of the role players and cast-offs that had been assembled around Shaq and Wade could not keep up their extraordinary play from the title run. Antoine Walker went back to launching ill-advised three-pointers. Gary Payton, the former defensive player of the year, could no longer keep in front of his grandmother and Jason Williams was never an elite point guard to start with.

To make matters still worse, Pat Riley had to leave the team for 22 games to undergo hip surgery. Amazingly, the only constant in an otherwise chaotic group was Alonzo Mourning who, after receiving a kidney transplant, was as steady as ever. When Dwyane Wade suffered a dislocated shoulder right after the All-Star break, the Heat looked in danger of becoming the first defending champ to miss the playoffs altogether. But O'Neal was healthy again and shortly before the playoffs Wade returned to give a boost to Miami’s hopes, which induced one of ESPN's experts to pick the Heat to repeat. He must have eaten his words as the Chicago Bulls swept Miami in four games.

5th Act: Downfall

Where to begin with the 2007/08 Heat? One could say everything went wrong; or one could say: this is the price to pay for winning a championship. With an aging group of players and no salary cap space to enter the free agency market, Miami had relied on Shaquille's ability to attract veterans hungry for a shot at an elusive ring.

With Shaq perennially injured and the Heat's outlook not too bright after the humiliating playoff exit to Chicago, the only key addition was Ricky Davis. That same Ricky Davis who – in spite of unquestionable athletic ability – had been considered dispensable by the Hornets, Cavaliers, Celtics, Timberwolves and the Heat themselves. While he has been one of the better guys on the team, losing accompanied him from the woods of Minnesota to South Beach. Dwyane Wade still had not fully recovered from his shoulder injury and was powerless to stop the precipitous fall. All this has led to is the Heat currently ranking dead last in the entire NBA at 13-59 – a paltry .181 winning percentage.

In the process, they sent out Shaq in exchange for "The Matrix" Shawn Marion – one of the few players who’d rather be a star on a second-tier team than a supporting guy on a championship contender – and have shut down Dwyane Wade and most other veterans for the season. The announcement that coach Riley was going to miss a couple of games to scout college talents is only the final and most blatant admission that the Heat are no longer trying to win basketball games.

Epilogue

As unwatchable as it must be for Miami season-ticket holders, there is yet a silver lining to tanking this season; a ray of hope that the curtain for a new drama is going to be pulled sooner rather than later. Its name is Michael Beasley, the likely top pick in the upcoming draft…

- Ole

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