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unowen85 wrote:I'll agree with the Daequan Cook posterization of Posey as the greatest moment this season.

The worst moment was Alonzo going down. That broke my heart.

Lane1974 wrote:hindsight is 20/20, at the time it was a good move

in retrospect, we should have paid someone to pipe Toine in the kneecaps and forced a retirement

Heat3 wrote:Watching Cook dunk on Posey was great. Watching Cook shooting a three to tie the game at the buzzer back in November (Jazz?) was great too cause I was there lol.

Getting rid of Shaq's fat contract was great once we knew our team was crap. Even better now that we know Shaq is a jerk

Numbers aside, inaugural Heat never this bad
Ethan J. Skolnick | Sports columnist
April 11, 2008

One reader suggested they undergo a ceremonial group OssoTron treatment, like injured stars Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion recently endured. Another urged them to purge by blowing up their old building, the decrepit Miami Arena. Yet another said they should suit up, with old coach Ron Rothstein in an Afro wig on the sidelines.

So how will members of the inaugural Heat team celebrate if the current squad fails to win any of its four remaining games, and finishes with a franchise-worst 14 victories?

They won't.

"I would like our team to still have that distinction," said Grant Long, who played his first of 15 NBA seasons in 1988-89. "I really would. Honestly."


"Personally, I pray that these guys continue to win," said Billy Thompson, a veteran forward on that inaugural team who now serves as a Heat chaplain. "I encourage them. Hopefully, they pass our record."

Rather than break it.

"If I pray that they lose, what kind of pastor is that?" Thompson asked.

OK, so they're too gracious. Too kind. Long thinks a coach like Pat Riley is simply too good for such disgrace. Plus, the inaugural team likes being remembered, even for going 15-67.

That doesn't mean you must follow their admirable lead.

Don't root for the Heat the next four games. Root for history. Root for justice. Root for 14-68.

Root for this shameful season to become record-breaking, so it becomes as much a part of Shaquille O'Neal's legacy as his four championships. Some of you have been rooting against the Heat for a while, pining for ping-pong balls. This isn't about that. This is about a team being worthy of its title.

The 2007-08 team is more worthy of the "worst ever" title than the 2005-06 team was of an NBA title. It is certainly more worthy of such sorry status than that 1988-89 team which, by losing, simply and honorably did what expansion teams do. It was a collection of castoffs, journeymen and raw rookies, happy to be in the league.

"Our fans in Miami understood that we were very young, we were growing together, and they could see we were giving the effort every night," Long said.

This one?

Forget the past two months, when the Heat's Developmental League All-Stars have given their all. Think back to the lazier days of fall and winter, which were an extension of the slothful championship defense of 2006-07.

O'Neal, no matter how much he runs his mouth or runs the floor with the Suns, can't run from the fact that his toxic presence most caused the collapse, as he corrupted the culture with his disdain for effort and authority.

The Heat gave O'Neal just about everything. A parade upon entrance. Shooters to flank him, at least for three seasons. The contract extension the Lakers wouldn't offer. Patience with, and treatment for, assorted ailments. Spirited, even disingenuous defenses by Riley in the media. Then a golden parachute, so he could land comfortably in a basketball oasis in the desert, as the forsaken Heat dove toward the worst statistical season in its history.

Forget the statistics.

Eric Reid, who has called Heat games since the start, knows what he's seeing.

Worst in Heat history?

"Yes," the SunSports broadcaster said. "To me. Whether right at 15, or one more or one less, it has been the most difficult season in the history of franchise. There's nothing longer than an 82-game season that leads you nowhere."

Good moments have been scarce. Reid was impressed by the developmental players' effort. He was touched by the 20-year reunion of that 1988-89 team, when the eight returning members reminded him of an inaugural season that felt fresh and fun rather than frustrating.

Those players now hope the current players avoid infamy. Reid said it speaks to their high character and integrity.

"I'm not giving it up," Long said. "I'm taking it home. It's my belt."

Classy, for sure. But wrong. The wretched record fits better around the players that started this shameful season. It fits most snugly around the largest waistline, belonging to the guy finishing his season as a Phoenix Sun.

BennyGfromFL wrote:Tony Fiorentino getting thrown up on FTW.

Lane1974 wrote:if there was, it'd probably be on YOU TUBE

Flash3 wrote:Is there a YouTube clip on that somewhere?