SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — This isn't Shaquille O'Neal coming back to the Lakers. It's not Tim Duncan returning to the Spurs.
It might not even be such a wonderful story if Alonzo Mourning ends up putting his health at further risk by coming back to play for the Miami Heat.
The Heat doesn't automatically go to the top of the heap because Mourning has decided that he could make it back from a kidney disease he still hasn't beaten. Even if the Eastern Conference has been as weak this season as advertised.
At this point, no one knows how much Mourning can do. Healthy, he was a dominant defensive player, one of the very best. But in his prime, he's also been a limited offensive player who never has been able to carry the Heat to a Finals berth.
So, please, let's not make the Heat the East's team to beat now, when, with Mourning, they've always been notorious playoff underachievers.
Of course they love it in Miami, where they gave him a standing ovation when he went into the game late in the first quarter on Tuesday night.
But instead of rejoicing and mistakenly thinking that they've got a parade down Biscayne Boulevard in their future, Miami fans should stop and ask if the team's franchise player is doing the right thing. It's a legitimate question, considering the most important person in this entire story isn't even so sure himself.
"The most difficult thing in all of this is that the doctors can't give me assurances about my future," Mourning said. "Every time I step out on the court I am afraid. I'm human."
So why is he risking his health?
This is one case where the rewards can never outweigh the risks. Even on the remote chance the Heat win the title, a championship ring can't be worth more to this father of two and husband than his well-being, can it?
At his press conference, as he talked about the whole uncertainty of what lies ahead, Mourning did not smile. He appeared glum, as if the disease that has prevented his kidneys from filtering proteins was forcing him into early retirement.
At one point, he talked about how he's been able to develop patience in battling the rare disease. But isn't his return the ultimate sign of impatience?
"I don't know how this disease is going to turn out in the future," he said. "The doctor tells me in six months the situation can be worse, or it could be better."
Now you know why a Game 7 against the Knicks is not life or death. If the Heat weren't in position to win the East a claim, incidentally, a few teams, including the Knicks, can make Mourning certainly wouldn't be back. You can bet he'd be attending games as a spectator.
But Mourning also realizes that Tim Hardaway isn't getting any younger. For everything Mourning has meant to the Heat over the years, Hardaway is still the only player Pat Riley has who has shown the ability to take over a playoff game and carry the team.
As the Heat continued to challenge for the East's top spot, despite fielding the worst rebounding team in the NBA and posting the fewest blocks and showing again why Riley is Riley, the temptation for Mourning was apparently too great.
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