Miami is basketball central

MIAMI — Put aside, for a
second, the whole idea
of LeBron James,
Dwyane Wade and
Chris Bosh suiting up
tonight for the first time,
the tipoff for what will
be an adventure, one
way or another.
The real surprise is that
this is happening in
Miami, a place nobody
ever confused with
hoops heaven.
The Heat’s preseason
opener with the Pistons
will be a sellout, and in
normal times, maybe
half of American Airlines
Arena would be filled.
But everyone wants to
witness the start of
history, and so 18,000-
plus will shoehorn inside
the building, not for pure
basketball reasons, but
because tonight is an
event. And Miami is an
event town. Not a sports
town. Definitely not a
basketball town. It ’s a
see-and-be-seen town.
Nobody’s hating on
Miami here. This is just
reality. In a perfect
basketball world, these
three players would ’ve
gathered in Indiana,
birthplace of John
Wooden. Or New York,
home of Rucker Park
and the 4th Street cages.
Or Boston or Chicago or a
number of other places
that historically have
embraced basketball on
all levels.
Miami loves the
Dolphins. Always has,
always will.
I speak from some
authority. I was the beat
writer for the Miami
Herald when the Heat
was born in 1988. And
after a curiosity stage,
fans drifted away to
their first love, football.
Even the Marlins rarely
draw well, and while the
blame for that is largely
heaped on playing in a
football stadium, we’ll
see what happens when
the team moves to the
new stadium on the
former site of the
Orange Bowl in two
years and asks people in
Broward County to drive
south during rush hour.
I ’m not optimistic.
Miami is about big
events: Super Bowl,
Orange Bowl, All-Star
Games, those types.
That ’s why you’ve got to
give it up to Pat Riley.
Ever since he arrived,
he ’s tried to turn the
Heat into an 82-game
event. His player haul is
impressive: Alonzo
Mourning, Tim
Hardaway, Dwyane
Wade, Shaquille O’Neal
and now, James and
Bosh. Without big names,
there is no event, and
there ’s no interest in
Miami.
In that sense, Riley is the
basketball equal of
legendary Dolphins
coach Don Shula. All he
needs is a steakhouse
and a highway named
after him. The event
begins tonight. And it
may last a while.