Halftime Hype

It was only three years ago when the Miami Heat became the third team in NBA history to steal the title after trailing 0-2 in the finals. And as with any championship team, there was a ton of joy and happiness to go around. D-Wade had proved himself a legitimate player in this league and was presented with the NBA Finals MVP trophy. Shaq one-upped Kobe, winning a championship in the same postseason that Kobe's Lakers gave up a 3-1 first round lead in the series versus Phoenix. Gary Payton backed up his impressive career with that championship. And, of course, as is the ritual, the team was recognized at the White House.

Ever since then, things have declined dramatically. You'd think a championship team would at least continue to contend the next season, but they didn't exactly come out with a bang against Chicago in a 108-66 loss. That 42 point defeat began a gloomy season for the Heat, who endured a multitude of injuries. This was the year when Shaq's aging and fatigue became more apparent as he missed 30 games because of a knee injury. D-Wade briefly injured his wrist then later suffered a season-but-not-playoff-ending dislocated shoulder. James Posey and Antoine Walker, though later reinstated, failed body mass exams. Two potentially Hall-of-Fame players in Antoine Walker and Gary Payton were being benched at the expense of mediocre talent in Jason Kapono and Dorrel Wright. Although, the Heat really got their act back together in the last stretch of the season. Without their star player in Dwyane Wade, they proved pundits wrong by making the playoffs as they won 11 out of 14 games at one point, and in total, went 16-7. The playoffs are what really turn this into a depressing story, as the Heat became the first championship team since 1957 to win the title one year and then to be swept in the first round the following season.

You know something is wrong when a team signs Smush Parker, who got into legal troubles for a dispute with a valet parking attendant. After watching Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich dance their way to 4-0, the Heat should've known what a good backcourt should look like. There are actually many details to this season, but in whole, it was simply a crapshoot. D-Wade was gone for rehabilitation for awhile. The Diesel was traded to Phoenix. Pat Riley missed games to scout NCAA prospects and ultimately gave his job to Erik Spoelstra. At 15-67, the Miami Heat, two seasons after being NBA Champions, now had the worst record in the league and tied a franchise low for wins in a season.

Some might call the current state of affairs in South Beach, a "new era." I beg to differ. So far, we have seen a promising prospect in Mario Chalmers and some level of greatness in Wade. Otherwise, there really is nothing formidable about this team. Recently, news has surfaced that Michael Beasley will be entering rehab for reported marijuana use. On the plus side, last year they did have a seven game series with the Atlanta Hawks - but that was in the first round. Nothing, however, makes this team elite.

The Miami Heat arguably had the worst decline of any team in NBA history. As my math teacher would say, they truly went from "the outhouse to the penthouse."