I could understand a team falling apart over a certain period of time…however, the Miami Heat are not far removed from winning a championship, but one wouldn’t be able to tell by how pathetic they look right now. As I write this, their record of 8-27 is among the worst in the NBA and it makes you wonder how things could’ve fallen apart so quickly. Like I said, I could understand if things had happened over time but it’s only been like 2-3 years max so this is just ridiculous. Yeah, I realize that Shaq is not the same as he once was and that he’s on the decline but this team is old and save for Dwyane Wade, no other talent seems to be prevalent on this team.
Call it a gift and a curse, but Pat Riley built this team for the short term rather than the long and in the end, he’s certainly paying dearly for that decision. Wade is nowhere near 100%, Shaq is far from his dominant days, and half the roster is depleted and been reduced to no-name stars of tomorrow. In the end, Riley accomplished his goal of bringing a championship to Miami but if he hopes to bring more, his only hope is in making this all work. The only question is how?
Outside of Wade, no other talent shines on the court so it’s going to be tough to maneuver enough pieces to better the team. For lack of a better phrase, the Heat have little to no trade value on their roster and unless Wade decides to opt out then I highly doubt the Heat would move him. Besides, that would be one of the dumbest moves in franchise history and Riley isn’t that sold on that idea so hopefully that won’t be an option. Wade is clearly not healthy and with Shaq hurt now also, the only plausible solution would be to shut it down for the season and let Shaq and Wade get healthy for next year.
Although he’s showing signs of wear and tear, I truly believe that Shaq has just enough left to anchor a team to another title but it’s going to take more than the little he contributed in the finals against the Dallas Mavericks. Whether or not, this remains to be seen but one thing is for sure…the buckets are ice cold in Miami and unless coach Riley smartens up and thinks more about the long run instead of the short, the culture of losing that Miami had bucked will be back before they know it.
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