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Sports

Heat manages to find a way out of 'no way'

Duke of Orleans

Ben Gegenheimer 

There is no sense in denying it. We were all wrong about the Miami Heat. Following last night's 95-92 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, the Heat have forced us all to look back on a season that gave no indication of Miami being crowned the 2006 champions.

The Heat were one of the top teams in the league last year, taking the defending champion Detroit Pistons to the wire in a seven-game Eastern Conference Finals showdown before losing to the Pistons by six in the series finale. But that was a year ago, and 2006's Miami Heat team was much different than last year's.

Shaquille O'Neal turned 34 in March. He may be just a year older than he was at this point last year, but, unlike fine French Bordeaux, "Big Diesel" doesn't get better with age. Prior to his arrival in Miami in 2004, O'Neal averaged at least 26 points per game in 10 of his first 12 seasons in the NBA. Since joining the Heat, O'Neal has averaged just 21.5 points per contest and has had the worst two seasons of his career from the free throw line, with a 46 percent average over the last two years.

Keep in mind that O'Neal's age is a primary reason the Los Angeles Lakers decided to invest their future in Kobe Bryant and allow O'Neal to relocate to South Beach following the 2004 season. The Lakers' front office believed the dynamic duo no longer had the magic that was responsible for four NBA Finals appearances, including three titles. The L.A. brass did feel the talented and ferocious Bryant would be able to carry almost any Laker team to prosperity and championships (a la Michael Jordan) for years to come, while O'Neal would simply wash away in South Florida with the next major hurricane. 

However, since his departure from L.A., O'Neal has helped lead the Heat to consecutive appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals and an NBA title. Meanwhile, Bryant has established himself as the league's premier scorer, but has not led the Lakers past the first round of the playoffs.

The decline of O'Neal's abilities was not the only reason to doubt the Heat prior to the start of the season. Miami's president and general manager Pat Riley shook up the roster during the off-season, letting go of the team's starting point guard in former UH standout Damon Jones and bringing in all-star talent, accompanied by all-star egos.

In came the cocky and flashy Jason Williams, who has received the reputation as a coach's headache after four years with the Memphis Grizzlies. A 37 year-old Gary Payton, who at one time was one of the NBA's premier superstars, was brought to Miami as well to play a back-up role to Williams after fighting his way out of a brief stint with the Boston Celtics. Riley also found room for Antoine Walker, a nine-year veteran who has seen his share of ups and downs in the league.

Essentially, Riley replaced the chemistry of the 2005 Heat ball club with a more talent-laden roster in 2006. Many experts and fans questioned why Riley would make such a move and whether there would be enough touches to spread around to keep everyone happy. 

Obviously, the plan worked. Williams and Walker each averaged 12 points per game during the season while Payton offered veteran leadership.

And if the new members of the roster did not all but cancel the Heat's chances of returning to the top, replacing the coach seemed to have sealed the deal. Riley, who is the all-time leader in games coached in Heat franchise history, returned to the sideline in December. Former coach Stan Van Gundy claimed he left because of family and personal reasons he needed to resolve. Yeah, right. Everyone knew Van Gundy was forced out. Riley appeared to be as slimy as his greasy, slicked-back hair. 

The Heat's 32-20 record at the All-Star break did not seem to hold much promise either in comparison to Dallas' 41-11 record or Detroit's 42-9 mark.

And when the Heat finally reached the finals this season, the cards were still stacked against the team, especially when it lost the first two games and dug a 0-2 hole. A sweep seemed inevitable; yet, the team's return to Miami marked the beginning of the end for Mavericks. Behind a scoring onslaught from Dwayne Wade, the Heat regained composure and won the next four games, becoming the first team since the 1977 Portland Trailblazers to come from two games down and capture the NBA title.
 

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