The Days of Old?

The New York Knicks roll into town tonight to face the struggling Miami Heat. And Heat fans, as well as Knick fans - most of whom are 'trapped' in South Florida these days - can't help but think about the old days of those Heat and Knicks rivlaries. The ones that left us with images of flying elbows and stifling, physical defenses. Of Jeff Van Gundy clinging to Alonzo's ankle - who now plays for the other Van Gundy. Or Thunder Dan sticking the three from downtown Miami. Or Allan Houston tipping in a game winner with a fraction of a second left to break everyone's heart in South Florida.

Now Larry Brown has taken over in New York City. The last time Brown and the Heat met was in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. You may remember, there were diatribes exchanged in the media from Stan Van Gundy and Brown. It only heightened the games as both went back in forth speculating about the tactics of the other team's coach. As fans, we can only hope that this continues and helps to renew the rivalry of these two franchises - even though the only player left from those days is Alonzo Mourning.

But Van Gundy has come to the defense of Larry Brown recently, questioning Stephon Marbury's dissatisfaction with the new system that is being implemented in New York. So, perhaps the poison from this rivalry is gone forever. Not to mention the key ingredient, Pat Riley, is up in the sky boxes these days and far from view of the fans and the media.

To boot, the two teams are no longer in the same division, but instead head up seperate divisions since the realignment. One can only hope that something sets off this rivalry of old, but at the same time we are reminded that these two teams are so far apart that there is no need for a rivalry either.

Too bad, as fans, we always look for these kinds of matchups. Instead, we will have to look to Indiana or Detroit for this kind of heated exchange. But who knows, maybe in a few years, we will see, once again, a Heat and Knicks rivalry.