On this date in 1996, Pat Riley was desperate.

A lot like today, actually. Riley was desperate for a playoff berth. He was 30-32 in his first season in Miami, not knowing whether the season would turn out to be a failed six-month experiment, or the first step in a successful five-year plan.

It turned out to be the latter, as Riley realized Tim Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning would be the cornerstones for a team that could contend for a championship. Miami finished 42-40, achieving a hard-earned playoff spot.

This season, Riley is as desperate. His team wants in. But those are just about the only similarities between his first season in Miami and this one.

"It was a lot different," Riley said. "We got off to a great start that year. We were 11-3 and really cooking. We had Zo starting, (Kevin) Willis at power forward, Billy Owens was playing at an All-Star level, (Sasha) Danilovic was starting with Bimbo Coles and we had Keith (Askins) coming off the bench. We were playing great.

"And then everybody got hurt. We went through four or five or six weeks of just horrible losing, which brought us right up to the eve of the (trade deadline)."

Miami won that Feb. 21 game, but the manner in which they did it -- 66-57 against a bad Philadelphia team -- helped convince Riley it was OK to break up the team and bring in Hardaway, Walt Williams and Chris Gatling.

"The very next night, we traded everybody," Riley said. "We didn't expect after the trade to be able to pull everything together."

They did, going 15-8 down the stretch to squeeze into the playoffs. Their reward: a 3-0 sweep at the hands of the dynasty-in-progress Chicago Bulls.

"But it was a satisfying turnaround," Riley said. "I learned a lot about some of the guys that we had."

This year, Mourning says a playoff berth would mean more than it did his first season in Miami. There is a certain pride that comes with working your way up from the bottom.

"This season is a whole lot worse than my first season," said Mourning, the only remaining Heat player from the 1995-96 season. "The first season, we weren't really sure about what was in front of us. We didn't have a clue.

"This year, we knew what we were capable of doing. It was just a matter of time and improvement. I think from the perspective of the first year, coming down the stretch run and all the games mattering to get us in that eighth spot and get us in, I think that's the only similarity."

Then there is the other big difference, which serves as extra motivation. This time, there is no juggernaut waiting for the Heat if they do reach the post-season.

"It's up for grabs," Mourning said. "We just got to get there."

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No shock value: The handful of Miami Heat players who saw the Sports Illustrated cover with Charles Barkley shirtless and in shackles reacted with little more than a shrug.

The cover has been the cause of controversy, drawing criticism even from Barkley's broadcast partner, former NBA player Kenny Smith. "The cover perpetuates racism and stereotypes," Smith said.

But Heat players weren't surprised to see it from Barkley.

"You won't catch me doing it," Rod Strickland said. "But that's Charles. He thinks he can do anything he wants right now."

Barkley's reasoning for taking the picture: "If we're at a point in our society where a black man cannot say what he wants to, as long as it is not illegal, we have problems. And that's why I took the photo shoot. I know some black people are going to be upset about it, but you will get over it."