The Nba

Feeling The Heat
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.

"I let them know after we lost [to New York ], I wasn't making any changes," says coach Pat Riley , "because I believe the pain of losing can sometimes help a team rise to another level. If this team wins a championship, I'm going to pay everybody. But if we lose or don't go deep into the playoffs, I am going to reevaluate the whole team."

The Heat 's recent play has been dismal. Miami lost to lowly Chicago in that Feb. 17 game. The next night, the Heat fell to the Nets after Kendall Gill flicked the ball from Hardaway and dunked with 50 seconds left. Afterward Gill said Hardaway was a shadow of his former self.

The same conclusion is drawn by Clippers point guard Eric Murdock, who is a good friend of Hardaway 's. "Tim's struggling," Murdock says. "Two years ago I saw him destroy [ Knicks guards] Charlie Ward and Chris Childs , but last year he couldn't even make a move on them."

Murdock says he talked to Hardaway at the All-Star break, and Hardaway insisted he was fine. "But that's just his pride talking," says Murdock. "I know he's hurting. I hope he gets it back. I miss the old Tim."

Riley acknowledged last week that he might have to use Hardaway more as a playmaker than as a go-to scorer. As the Feb. 24 trading deadline approached, league observers wondered if Riley would acquire another point guard. "When a player totally commits to me, I commit to him," Riley says. "I know which guys I'd want to jump into a foxhole with, and Tim is one of those guys. It's a difficult situation. He's got the contract, the injury and this [win-now scenario] hanging over his head. It makes it very tough."

At week's end, in the 14 games since his return, Hardaway was averaging 11.9 points on 39.6% shooting, with 7.0 assists. His timing and mobility are sub-par, yet teammates say that even on unsound legs he is the heart of the Heat . "We need his energy, leadership and experience," says Brown . "When he's not there, we can get a little lost."