At 33, injury-plagued Tim Hardaway struggles to prove he can lead Miami to a title
It is Feb. 17, and Heat point guard Tim Hardaway is leading the three-on-two fast break against the Bulls. In the old days, when he was healthy and a perennial All-Star, Hardaway would have streaked past the defenders and laid the ball in. But on this night there is no burst of speed. Hardaway's wing players, Jamal Mashburn and Voshon Lenard, catch up to him. So does the Chicago defense. There will be no basket, only further evidence that Tim Hardaway is not right.
In December 1993 Hardaway had surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. Six months later he had a bone spur removed from his right knee, which had no cartilage left after he had surgery in college to remove a cyst. Last spring Hardaway averaged 36.4 minutes in the first round of the playoffs despite a cartilage tear in the left knee, and he was ripped for shooting just 26.8% against the Knicks, who eliminated the Heat in five games. This season, through Sunday, Hardaway had missed seven weeks with a jammed right knee that led to a pinched right hamstring.
For the 33-year-old Hardaway, who will be a free agent this summer and has been hoping for a huge payday, there could hardly be a worse time to have his health questioned. But Miami has made a first-round exit from the playoffs each of the past two years, and mere are no rewards for that, not even for a guy who four years ago signed a contract loaded with incentives instead of guaranteed cash so the Heat could pursue free agents Juwan Howard and P.J. Brown. Hardaway knows that unless Miami goes to the Finals, the team could be dismantled, starting with him.