| The 30 Million Dollar Question Authored by Andrew Friedman - June 8, 2005 - 1:33 am
Before I delve into offseason mode, I will first address Monday night’s heartbreaking loss to the Detroit Pistons in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat lost by just 6 points with 5 injured starters. Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade could barely breathe in the post-game press conference, so we can only imagine how hard it was for him over the course of the game. Damon Jones was hobbling on one leg during the first half. Shaquille O’Neal was still dealing with a deep thigh contusion. Udonis Haslem still had a broken middle finger. And Eddie Jones was coming off a game 6, where blood was dripping down his face. Yet, through it all, the Heat was just millimeters away from their first NBA Finals ever, meaning these injuries aren't an excuse why the Heat did not win game 7. The injuries are an excuse, however, for why the Heat did not win this series in as few as 5 or 6 games.
The Detroit Pistons deserve a lot of credit. After watching them these past couple of weeks, the best word to describe them is relentless. They are far too consistent and efficient to be taken lightly, and beating them is truly an accomplishment. They are, for lack of a better description, one of the most annoying teams to play against in the league. Richard Hamilton’s shots go into the basket like a laser beam. Antonio McDyess never seems to miss any of his turnaround jumpers. Rasheed Wallace hits three pointers at the worst of times. Tayshaun Prince is ready to extend his seemingly 20-foot long arms out for a tip in. And when he has the space, Ben Wallace is right there to slam down a bodacious dunk. You almost feel like their players are magnets to offensive rebounds during some occasions. And I haven't even mentioned Chauncey Billups yet, who was the 2004 NBA Finals MVP.
While the Pistons defense as a team was definitely an elite defensive team, the Heat suffered several scoring droughts where they were given opportunities to score points and had great looks at the basket over the course of those droughts. Even through this all, the consensus claims the Heat were favored overall when it came to referee calls, when statistics prove that both teams were called for virtually the same amount of fouls. It felt as if the Heat were being cheated out of their first ever trip to the NBA Finals due to questionable foul calls, especially when you examine a call like that one that happened with just over 6 minutes remaining the Game 7, when Dwyane Wade was called for an offensive foul on what looked more like a three-point play in Miami's favor. All things considered, no matter what side you look at it, no one likes the job the referees did the conference finals. In Miami we chant, “Referees Suck” while in Detroit they chant the unabbreviated version of “BS.”
This brings up another intriguing point: We cannot forget that the NBA is a business and a form of entertainment, and with the NBA Finals now just a couple of days away, this period of time is critical for the league. But no one wants to watch the Spurs and the Pistons play in the NBA Finals. Well, besides Spurs and Pistons fans. But the masses certainly don't want to see this matchup, just like they didn't in 1999 and 2003 when the NBA Finals featured the Spurs. In the 80's, people wanted to see Larry and Magic. In the 90's people wanted to see Michael. And since then, people have wanted to see Shaq and Kobe, or more accurate for today’s audiences, Shaq and D-Wade. People are not going to watch the Spurs win game one 82 to the Pistons’ 77. Or game two when the Spurs win 79 to the Pistons’ 74. Or game three for that matter, when the Spurs win 88 to the Pistons’ 83. And so on. If anything, this series proves there is no conspiracy to favor foul calls in any direction for whatever purpose, such as getting higher ratings for the NBA Finals.
Now, back to Miami Heat basketball: First, let’s rewind to Summer 2004. That was when Shaq said it.
“This is Dwyane Wade’s team and I don’t want to hear any questions this year about whose team it is.”
Now, let’s zoom back to present day. That was when the 2005 Playoffs proved it.
O’Neal was too battered up to play in games three and four in the second round in Washington’s arena. Everyone, including ESPN basketball experts such as Steven A. Smith laughed at the idea of Miami winning without O’Neal, especially when the Wizards were playing for their playoff lives, with All NBA Defensive Team guard Larry Hughes to shut down Dwyane Wade. The Heat ended up winning both games, due mostly to Dwyane Wade’s 31 and 42 point performances. If that isn’t enough proof, then just check out what happened in the eastern conference finals. Once it became apparent that Wade would not be able to play in game 6, it was as if the Heat were hopeless. When Dwyane Wade was unable to play in game 6 due to a severe injury to his rib muscles, the Heat scored 66 points (a franchise playoff low) and lost embarrassingly, showing little enthusiasm and intensity for the game. As much as Wade claims O’Neal is the leader of the Heat, the 2005 playoffs provides significant evidence that he is the true leader.
This summer, the Heat front office will have to make a decision on Shaquille O’Neal. Most likely, O’Neal will be resigned to a deal very similar to his current deal, where he is making 30 million dollars per season. If Miami signs him to another gigantic contract, then the Heat will have very little room to improve the team. Other than Shaq, Miami will have to make decisions on Udonis Haslem, Damon Jones, and Keyon Dooling. Each of these players has shown much improvement this past season and Miami needs to find a way to keep these players without digging into the midlevel exception. If the Heat can accomplish that, then there is hope yet for the Heat to show up even bigger and better than this past season by signing a veteran with that available money.
But the reality of the situation is that 30 Million is too much. And what Heat executives Randy Pfund and Pat Riley did last year, bringing in Damon Jones, Keyon Dooling, Shandon Anderson, Alonzo Mourning, and Michael Doleac for next to nothing (by NBA standards), was very astonishing, considering they also picked up Shaquille O’Neal too without giving up their best player. With the exception of Doleac and O’Neal, the others will be free agents, and a year older. The Heat Execs will have to duplicate last offseason’s non-Shaq transactions just to get back to where the Heat finished.
The Heat has to sign back their second best player to a contract 10 times more lucrative than their best player’s contract. We can only hope that the Heat executives can answer the question of: how do you make a team that is 6 points away from the NBA Finals a championship team? While somebody might know how, only the Heat’s officials can make it happen, and it looks like it will cost much more than 30 million dollars if Shaquille O’Neal is to lead the way. |
