Tim Hardaway, the Hall of Fame point guard, has a lot of experience coaching outstanding teams in Miami.
The crossover king’s time with the Miami Heat, from 1996 to 2001, was the best period of his career. During that time, he led the team to six postseason appearances. Miami finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference in the 1998–1999 season and won the division four times in a row along the way.
In the 1996–97 season, Hardaway led Miami to a 61–21 record and an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals. He also finished fourth in the MVP voting.
The 57-year-old, who was selected to three All-NBA teams and two All-Star teams during his time with the Heat, explained the secret to the team’s success this season.
“They need to be healthy this year,” Hardaway stated in a one-on-one interview for his collaboration with Panini over All-Star weekend. “Everyone has left. Your main guys are out for whatever reason. They are never inside. Jimmy Butler is now unavailable for personal reasons. After the All-Star Game, he’ll return. However, he missed a month of action due to an ankle ailment before that. He was sidelined for a month after being hurt, boom. Herro entering and exiting. Jaquez enters and exits. You must be complete. And when they come together, they will be a top-tier squad.
The Heat were in the NBA and were possibly the most consistent team in the Eastern Conference in recent years.
- About the Heat’s defeat by the Nuggets in the Finals, Hardaway states plainly, “They just ran out of gas.” “Last year, they were insufficient against the Denver Nuggets.”
After Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo suffered serious injuries early in the team’s postseason run, Miami leaned heavily on the talents of undrafted role players like Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin.
Hardaway thinks Herro would have had an impact if he had been healthy. Herro was the Heat’s third-leading scorer the previous season and is now Miami’s second-leading scorer.
Hardaway says, “You have to realize that Tyler Herro wasn’t there.” “They made it even though he missed the entire playoff season.” Imagine that he was there to provide them with that additional something while they were playing.
