http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketball/heat/ sfl-heat04may04,0,5248962.story?coll=sfla-sports-heat Heat aims to end series on high note By Ira Winderman Staff Writer Posted May 4 2004 MIAMI -- From that first home game, on Halloween, as the Heat unmasked its future, through so many other pregame introductions on the overhead scoreboard at AmericanAirlines Arena, the Heat has been asking the question through the verse of rapper Eminem: Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity To seize everything you ever wanted, one moment Would you capture it, or just let it slip? Through its own players mouthing the lyrics of Lose Yourself in that game-opening video, through six months now, the opportunity to provide an answer is at hand. For the first time this season, for the first time since Lamar Odom and Dwyane Wade became part of the franchise, for the first time since Stan Van Gundy took over as coach from Pat Riley, the Heat finds itself in a must-win game. Win tonight against the New Orleans Hornets, and there is another day, namely Thursday, when an Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series against the Indiana Pacers would begin at Conseco Fieldhouse. Lose Game 7 of this 17-day marathon, and there only is the consolation of a rather remarkable revival, from last season's 25-57 finish and this season's 0-7 start. Depending on the view, the odds either are overwhelmingly in the Heat's favor or Van Gundy's team is playing on borrowed time. In the previous 85 Game 7s in the 57-year history of the NBA, the home team has won 70. Further, the Heat enters on a 15-game home winning streak, while the Hornets enter 0-5 on the Heat's court this season, counting their previous three visits during these playoffs. And yet, at tonight's opening tip, all of that will matter far less than if Odom can shake off Sunday's nine-point disappearance in Game 6, as well as the head games of P.J. Brown and his Hornets teammates. Still, go back to Nov. 11, when the Heat was 0-7, or even more recently to March 2, when the Heat stood with a 25-36 record, and no one would have turned down the opportunity to be in a one-game, winner-take-all opportunity for the franchise to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in four years. Tonight, the Heat lives its theme. The team video shot back in the summertime takes new life as a next summertime approaches. You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow This opportunity comes once in a lifetime You better lose yourself in the music, the moment You own it, you better never let it go Monday, after what could be the final practice of the season, or the prelude to another two weeks of intense focus on a single opponent, the Heat said all the right things. There was Van Gundy offering, ``The playoffs are great to be in. Our guys, a lot of them, it's their first time. There's nothing like Game 7. I think our guys are excited as heck. Game 7, at home, in front of your family and friends? It doesn't get any better than this. You've got to really savor it.'' There was Odom waxing, ``This is what it's all about. This is what we look forward to. This is why we played hard to try to win that homecourt advantage, so we can have Game 7 at our place. And it's amazing what the spirit of the crowd can do for the home team.'' And there was guard Eddie Jones, like center Brian Grant a holdover veteran seeking his first playoff-series win in a Heat uniform, saying, "We've been through it all as a team, dealing with coaching changes, dealing with 0-7, 5-15, fighting to get home-court advantage. We've got to come out and play like we know how to play. That's something we haven't been doing. Our best effort is going to get us a win. I really believe that." There were other thoughts, too, about how the Heat has to get back to the running game that pushed it to a 2-0 lead in this series before it slowed to losses in three of the past four, how it has to contain Hornets guard Baron Davis, who has the Tim Hardaway-like ability to win a game on his own with his 3-point shooting, how it has to do more in the opening period after scoring 14 in the first quarters of three of the past four games. Quotes. Statistics. Talk of confidence and trepidation. Yet, through it all, the music resonates, from the video that Riley, in one of his first acts solely as team president, initially questioned for its intense, street-laden images and lyrics. Over the past 44 home dates, the team has alternated tracks for its introductions, Lose Yourself just part of a rotation. But tonight, could there be one more fitting? So here I go with my shot, feet fail me not This may be the only opportunity that I got. ... You can do anything you set your mind to, man. Ira Winderman can be reached at [email protected]. Copyright c 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel --

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