With less than two weeks to go before the start of the playoffs, this clearly isn't the time to have to figure out rotations, minutes and roles. But this is the tradeoff for getting Mourning back from a kidney disorder with only 13 games to play in the regular-season.

	“	When the playoffs start, you want to be healthy and you want to be ready going in and having all that stuff figured out. But we've got to deal with it. We have no other choice. I don't think it's going to pull this team down. People are caught up with whether we'll be the third or fourth seed. Hey, we're in the playoffs. I've got other things to worry about. ”
		— Pat Riley

"We're trying to develop a level of momentum and carry it in the playoffs," Mourning said after the Heat's win over the Knicks Sunday. "We don't want to back our way into the postseason, at all. We want to go in face-forward, full steam ahead. If we can do that, we'll keep a lot of teams on their heels."

But if the Heat and Riley can't figure it all out by the playoff opener, Miami could be vulnerable in the first round.

"It's not the ideal situation you want to be in," Riley said. "When the playoffs start, you want to be healthy and you want to be ready going in and having all that stuff figured out. But we've got to deal with it. We have no other choice. I don't think it's going to pull this team down. People are caught up with whether we'll be the third or fourth seed. Hey, we're in the playoffs. I've got other things to worry about."

Certainly one of those worries is when will Jones get back from a shoulder dislocation. That could be any time, but Jones entered the week still looking for some contact in practice. He needs that before he gets clearance to play and prepare for his first playoff series as a member of the Heat.

"I want to feel good going into the playoffs," Jones said. "After sitting out a month, I don't want to go in thinking about whether or not I've got my shot back. You don't want to go in not feeling good about yourself. That's why it's so important to win the last 10 games of the season, to have a great last 10 games. Most teams that are feeling good about themselves going into the playoffs go far. If you're not feeling good, you might exit early. I don't want that to happen."

The Heat might have finally found the antidote to early summer vacations in what they're calling the "Big Frontcourt" in Miami. Mason has shown an ability to defend small forwards, and it would spare Riley a tough decision about who goes to the bench. Grant is the obvious candidate, because he was a reserve in Portland. But it would also avoid a potential problem with Mason, who wouldn't handle a reserve role well. Not after being such a focal part of the Miami attack all season.

At this point, Mourning can't handle starter's minutes. But the Heat has used the Big Frontcourt in recent fourth quarters, against the Knicks, with success. Already, opposing coaches are wary of what the Grant-Mourning-Mason configuration could do in the playoffs.

"They could be a force, especially in the East, where there isn't much size at all and we've got a lot of quick perimeter teams," said the Knicks' Jeff Van Gundy. "To me, Mourning has already established his dominance again. And his stamina is only going to get better. So you put those three together, they'd give up nothing in the post. And now Mourning gives them that last line of defense they didn't have, because Mason and Grant aren't the shot-blockers he is. It'd be the perfect look for the playoffs, where power teams invariably crush speed teams."

But at some point, the Heat has to figure out where it'll get its late-game points, and it'll probably have to turn to the backcourt. Mourning has never been a No.1 option in the postseason. Grant and Mason are down-the-line options. It looks like it's going to fall on Tim Hardaway's shoulders again. He's got the mentality and game for it, but the question again will come down to whether his knees can take the pounding. Some games, Hardaway looks like the Hardaway of old, scoring at will and carrying the Heat. Other times, he's physically limited.

That's when Miami always struggles.

	Grant

	Mourning

"People know I'm back to my old self now," Hardaway proclaimed over the weekend. "They know I'm running the pick-and-roll again and making shots and making things happen. So they're making a conscious effort to double team me more and take me out of plays and make my teammates make shots. All I ask my teammates is when they double team me, make them pay." It's something the Heat hasn't done in the postseason since getting to their only conference finals back in 1997. Since then, they've been eliminated by the Knicks. Three bitter losses, all on Miami's home court, all in the deciding game of a series.

"We have enough time to get it together," Hardaway vowed. "But we have to stop saying it and just go out and do it."

Because time isn't on their side.

Rim Shots

	Webber

"Wow, I have a rule named after me?" Dallas owner Mark Cuban said. "Who knew?"

Now, all 29 GM's know about The Cuban Rules, which were enacted very quietly last summer in a reaction to Dallas' owner going on a spending spree for players' perks.

The two pages of rules prohibit teams from using personal or team planes in the recruiting process. What used to be a standard practice has changed to where they can only provide four first-class tickets, as was the case when the Knicks had Brian Grant come to town last summer for a visit. Recruits can receive up to $500 on gifts, whereas before there were no limits. Cuban reportedly spent $40,000 on luggage for his players last season. Now, teams are limited on all gifts to $1,500 per player per year, including the traditional Christmas gift.

Cuban says the rules won't cramp his style.

"If your ability to recruit a player comes down to a one-day visit, you have already lost the battle and are a good candidate to lose the war," he said. "The league is a pretty close knit. Players visit every city, they talk to each other, they ask and answer questions. We recruit free agents by treating our players well. We treat all 15 guys on our roster the same, as if they were the No. 1 guy. Ask guys around the league who treats their players the best and which teams are the best places to play, and this year you will hear the Mavs' name come up. Considering that for 10 years we were at the bottom of the list, to go to the top during the season indicates that what you spend to fly in a free agent is not the important investment."