THROUGH THE YEARS
	Year	Record	Playoffs
	1994-95	32-50	--
	1995-96	42-40	0-3
	1996-97	61-21	8-9
	1997-98	55-27	2-3
	1998-99	33-17	2-3
	Totals	223-155	12-18

The Present
The Arison-Riley combination has turned the Heat around. Only the Celtics of the Bird-McHale-Parish era have won more consecutive Atlantic Division titles (5). Arison gave Riley the financial backing to make whatever personnel changes he deemed necessary to upgrade the Heat. Riley made excellent decisions and has gotten maximum performances from his players. Attaining 61 wins and reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in only his second year with the franchise was especially noteworthy.

But the jewel that Riley covets the most -- the NBA Championship -- has remained beyond his grasp in Miami. He would consider reaching the NBA Finals an acceptable stepping stone, but that accomplishment has eluded him also. The last two seasons have been particularly frustrating, with the Heat losing in the first playoff round to New York, its fiercest rival.

The Millennium Year has been replete with peaks and valleys for Miami. They started strong out of the gate, establishing a 15-4 early season mark, but the loss of Hardaway to injury leveled out the team's performance. As I write this, the Heat are 35-18 when Hardaway plays and 16-11 without him.

The Heat have played brilliantly in stretches, raising Riley's hopes for reaching the Finals. Road wins at Portland, Indiana, Sacramento, and Minnesota; and home victories over Utah, Phoenix, San Antonio and New York (twice) helped fuel those fires. But there have been disturbing losses too ... two to Chicago, and home defeats by Vancouver and New Jersey were especially galling.

Now, going into the playoffs, and assured of the second seed in the East, the Heat finds itself with the status of floor-general Hardaway yet in doubt. Last Sunday he re-injured his left foot (strained arch) and sprained his right ankle in the important victory over Orlando. And even though backup point guard Anthony Carter, a rookie, has done a marvelous job, he doesn't bring the play-making experience and perimeter shooting that the Heat need from Hardaway to advance deeply into the hotly-competitive Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Heat's principal strength is coach Riley. He's extremely well-organized, has a sound game plan, is an excellent motivator and makes effective adjustments during the game. Riley likes to fast break and in half-court, his offense focuses on low-post entries, solid screening, strong cuts to the basket, and opportunity three-point shots.

The low-post game works through Alonzo Mourning, who has expanded his game to include 15-foot jump shots, jump-hooks with either hand, and quick drives to the basket. He also runs the floor well for fast-break scores. His passing skills, although yet needing work, have improved greatly this season. Zo is a fierce, intense competitor at both ends of the floor. The league leader in blocks (just under 4 per game), Zo intimidates more than he physically tips away. The veteran Otis Thorpe is Mourning's backup.

Small forward Jamal Mashburn has been a consistent scorer from the post and three-point land; and the combination of P.J. Brown and Clarence Weatherspoon provide scoring, rebounding and tough defense at big forward.

Dan Majerle and Voshon Lenard were sharing two-guard play until Lenard went down with strained stomach muscles. Majerle gives the Heat tenacious defense, rebounding and good offensive teamplay, and he and Lenard are three-point specialists. Bruce Bowen, picked off the waiver wire just before the trade deadline, has taken Lenard's spot and has been impressive as a defender and three-point shooter. Rookie Rodney Buford has also given the Heat some good minutes at two-guard.

Another plus is the Heat's defense. Miami has ranked among the league's top three teams in field goal percentage allowed for almost the entire season. Riley's system of pressuring the ball, fronting the post, providing effective weak-side help and getting quick rotations to open shooters is in place every game. It allows the Heat to "hang in" games and win some when the offense has sputtered.

The Heat bench -- mostly Thorpe, Weatherspoon, Carter and Bowen, with occasional bursts from Buford and Mark Strickland -- have overall been productive. Carter has been a surprise contributor. An undrafted rookie with a year's experience in the CBA at Yakima, AC has filled in remarkably well for Hardaway. Riley also uses him to advantage with Bowen and Buford when the Heat needs to uptempo games.

The main weakness of the Heat is the lack of athleticism among its starters. There is an absence of quick penetrators among them -- although Hardaway still gets into the paint with his smarts and slick handle. Riley goes to his bench for quickness -- but the young legs there are short on NBA experience.

But this is a very sound basketball team. It won't often beat itself, but needs a healthy Hardaway to be a threat to reach the NBA Finals.

The Future
The Heat are capped out, so much that there's no significant free agent money to offer, and two of its mainstays, Hardaway and Majerle, are free agents at the end of the season. Riley, who is fiercely loyal to his veteran core, has big decisions to make. It would appear that if the Heat again fail to advance in the playoffs, he may have to retool his team through trades.

Mourning is the only exception in that scenario. Zo, at 30 years of age, ranks as the second-best center in the league (after Shaquille O'Neal) and continues to improve his game. Riley also likes his young guys -- especially Carter, Buford and Tim James -- and wants to keep them on board.

But if the coach has to trade to upgrade, he has some very marketable players with which to deal. Brown is among the league's most sought after forwards because of his excellent individual and team defense as well as his "team-first" attitude; and Mashburn is coming off his best all-around performance season (18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists), and has frequently proven to be a good "go-to" choice down the stretch of close games. Lenard, before injured, was also opening eyes around the league with his accurate distance shooting and improved defense; and Weatherspoon has impressed opposing teams with his strong in-the-paint game at both ends of the floor.

So, this may be something of a make-or-break year for the Heat. An early out of the playoffs will almost certainly trigger some trade activity as well as influence decisions on free agents Hardaway and Majerle.

Riley wants to win most of all, and that desire will override his admiration and affection for those core veterans who have helped the Heat attain its present status -- as Atlantic Division champions four straight times.