Sun Aug 01, 2010 7:21 pm
Sun Aug 01, 2010 7:21 pm
QUICK INTRO: MIAMI HEAT HISTORY
The Miami Heat are an National Basketball Association team playing in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The Miami Heat were founded in 1988 and play their games at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Fla.
Before 1988, there were no NBA franchises in the Sunshine State. But the Heat were added to the league a year before the Orlando Magic came into the league. The Miami Heat began their first season with a youthful roster, including Ron Seikaly and veterans Rory Sparrow, Jon Sundvold, Pearl Washington, Billy Thompson, Pat Cummings and Scott Hastings. The team began its first season, losing its first 17 games and finished the season a dismal 15-67.
The following year, the Miami Heat selected Glen Rice in the first round of the 1989 NBA Draft. Sherman Douglas was the team's second round selection. The team struggled for much of the next six seasons before posting its first ever winning record during the 1993-1994 season, going 42-40 and reaching the playoffs for the second time in franchise history.
The Miami Heat continued to improve over the next eight seasons and drafted Marquette University star Dwyane Wade with the fifth pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. This would set the stage for major improvements over the next few seasons.
In 2004, the Miami Heat acquired NBA star Shaquille O'Neal from the Los Angeles Lakers. O'Neal and Wade led Miami to the second best record in franchise history the next season, finishing 59-23 and reaching the Eastern Conference finals. The following year, the Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks to win the first NBA Championship in franchise history.
The years to follow have not been too kind to the Heat, who have seen Dwyane Wade succumb to numerous injuries and the departure of numerous stars from the 2006 championship team. A new crop of young players, however, have the Heat looking towards the future.
"All About Tim"
In his rookie season, Hardaway wore jersey number "5", as Manute Bol wore Hardaway's trademark "10." After Bol left the Warriors, Hardaway inherited it. With the Warriors, Hardaway was part of "Run TMC" (a play on the title of the popular rap group Run DMC) which was the high-scoring trio of himself, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin. As part of the Warriors' attack, Hardaway was responsible for leading Run TMC's fast break, displaying his excellent passing and one-on-one skills to complement Richmond's slashing and Mullin's shooting. Hardaway played for the Warriors until the middle of 1995–96 season when he was traded to the Miami Heat along with Chris Gatling in exchange for Kevin Willis and Bimbo Coles.
In his best seasons, Hardaway averaged 18 to 23 points and 8 to 10 assists per game. He reached 5,000 points and 2,500 assists faster than any NBA player, except Oscar Robertson. Hardaway also competed in five NBA All-Star Games. He was once the Miami Heat's all-time leader in assists, and together with center Alonzo Mourning led the Heat to some of the franchise's best seasons. Late season injuries kept Hardaway from performing at the peak of his abilities for almost all of the Heat's playoff runs, and he missed most of the playoff games.
He was an MVP candidate following the 1996–97 season, making it to the All-NBA First Team after leading the Heat to the best record in franchise history while averaging 20.3 points, 8.6 assists, and being fourth in the league with 203 three-point baskets.
With his skills declining with age, Hardaway was traded to the Dallas Mavericks on August 22, 2001 for a second round draft pick. With Dallas, Hardaway was mainly utilized off the bench, starting only two games out of 54 and averaging almost ten points a game. In the middle of the season, he was traded to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for controversial point guard Nick Van Exel. With the Nuggets he started all fourteen games he played with them before retiring and becoming a basketball analyst for ESPN. While playing for the Nuggets, Hardaway was suspended for two games and fined $10,000 by the league when he threw a television monitor onto the court. On March 27, 2003, Hardaway signed a contract with the Indiana Pacers, and in his first game registered a season-high fourteen points and seven assists against the Chicago Bulls.
"Mourning's Journey"
During his time at Indian River High School in Chesapeake he led the team to 51 straight victories and a state title his junior year (1987). As a senior he averaged 25 points, 15 rebounds and 12 blocked shots a game. He was named Player of the Year by USA Today, Parade, Gatorade, and Naismith. Mourning played college basketball for the Georgetown University Hoyas. He led the nation in blocked shots his freshman year and was an All American his last year there. He was selected second overall in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, behind Shaquille O'Neal. Mourning was named to the league's all-rookie team in 1993 after averaging 21.0 pts, 10.3 rebounds, and 3.47 blocks. He finished second to Shaquille O'Neal in rookie of the year voting. He posted the highest scoring average of any rookie in Hornets history. Mourning and O'Neal were the first NBA rookies since David Robinson in 1989–90 to average 20 or more points and 10-plus rebounds in their first seasons. Mourning shattered Charlotte's blocked-shots records, becoming the Hornets' all-time career leader in the 49th game of the season. The greatest moment of Mourning's rookie season came on May 5, 1993 in Game 4 of a first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics. His 20-footer at the buzzer gave the Hornets a 104–103 victory in the game and a three-games-to-one victory in the series.
He was the centerpiece of the Pat Riley-coached Heat, averaging close to 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, and dominating the paint with his intimidating shot-blocking. He won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award twice during this period and was named into the All-NBA First Team after leading the Heat in scoring (20.1 ppg), field-goal percentage (.511), rebounds (11.0), blocked shots (3.9) during the 1999–2000 NBA season. He and Tim Hardaway led the Heat into the playoffs, where the rivalry between the Heat and the New York Knicks intensified. The Heat and Knicks faced off in the conference semifinals that year and the Knicks led 3 games to 1, but the Heat were able to overcome the deficit and win the series to advance to their first conference finals. The series was marked by a huge brawl in the fifth game started by Mourning and former teammate Larry Johnson, where multiple suspensions were handed down.
In 2000, Miami underwent an overhaul to attempt to put together the pieces to win a championship, and expectations leading up to the season were high. However, prior the start of the 2000–01 season, Mourning was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a disease of the kidneys, that had caused him to miss the first five months of that season. Even after the diagnosis, Mourning returned and played in the 2002 NBA All-Star Game. Because his condition worsened, Mourning did not play during the entire 2002–03 season and his expiring contract was not renewed by the rebuilding Heat.
After being unhappy at the prospect of playing for a losing franchise, Mourning re-signed with the Heat on March 1, 2005. His role was reduced as a backup because of superstar Shaquille O'Neal, although he was called upon as a starter due to O'Neal missing stretches due to injury. O'Neal and Mourning even played together on the court at times, with Mourning playing power forward. Because of physical limitations, his minutes were reduced, but was still a steady contributor. Mourning's tenacious defense, steady offense, and all around hustle helped the Heat gain and maintain the second-best record in the NBA's Eastern conference during the 2005–06 season; his intensity had earned him the nickname "The Ultimate Warrior" amongst Miami Heat fans. Mourning finished the regular season ranking third in blocked shots at 2.66 per game, despite only playing 20 minutes per contest.
The Miami Heat and Mourning finally won the NBA Championship in the 2006 NBA Finals, defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4 games to 2. Although he was used as a reserve center behind Shaquille O'Neal during the Finals, he contributed 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 blocks in the decisive Game 6 of the series and was a strong force throughout.
Sun Aug 01, 2010 7:21 pm
Sun Aug 01, 2010 7:22 pm
Sun Aug 01, 2010 7:22 pm
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Sun Aug 01, 2010 7:59 pm
Sun Aug 01, 2010 11:37 pm
Mon Aug 02, 2010 3:58 am
Mon Aug 02, 2010 6:17 am
Thierry. wrote:The Heat are on my shortlist for 2k11Good luck man.
Mon Aug 02, 2010 6:34 am
Mon Aug 02, 2010 10:11 am
Mon Aug 02, 2010 12:37 pm
Mon Aug 02, 2010 8:20 pm
Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:53 pm
z02 wrote:Thierry. wrote:The Heat are on my shortlist for 2k11Good luck man.
...along with the other 29 teams in the NBA. You're trying them all, right?
Mon Aug 02, 2010 10:02 pm
Tue Aug 03, 2010 3:26 am
Tue Aug 03, 2010 5:41 am
Tue Aug 03, 2010 7:13 am
Tue Aug 03, 2010 12:10 pm
Wed Aug 04, 2010 6:20 am
z02 wrote:Thierry. wrote:The Heat are on my shortlist for 2k11Good luck man.
...along with the other 29 teams in the NBA. You're trying them all, right?
Tue Aug 31, 2010 12:56 pm
Tue Aug 31, 2010 1:54 pm
Tue Aug 31, 2010 6:51 pm
King Dee wrote:I'm still waiting for the release of TUP11.. hehe..