Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards Playoff Tickets
Cheap Miami Heat vs. Washington Wizards Tickets for NBA Playoffs
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Miami Heat

The Heat got in the NBA in 1988 when the league granted an expansion team franchise to a group of investors that included Ted Arison, Lewis Schaffel, and former Philadelphia 76ers star Billy Cunningham. The Heat used its 1988 draft picks to select center Rony Seikaly, guard Kevin Edwards, and forward Grant Long.

Miami struggled to begin with but then selected forward Glen Rice and guard Sherman Douglas in the 1989 NBA draft. Miami’s record slowly improved over the next few years and during the 1991-92 season, the team registered a 38-44 record, qualifying for its first playoff appearance, losing to the Chicago Bulls in the first round.

Then the Heat hired former New York Knicks coach Pat Riley to guide the club beginning with the 1995-96 season. The Heat club also traded Rice to the Charlotte Hornets for center Alonzo Mourning. The effort paid off for the Heat in the late 1990s. This year, 2005, The Miami Heat are hot. They have been winning many important league games and look good for making the 2005 NBA playoffs. With Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Shandon Anderson, Eddie Jones and the rest of the team, the Miami Heat are are a great team this year.

Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards are a National Basketball Association team based in Washington, D.C..

Founded: 1961
Formerly known as: Chicago Packers (1961-1962), Chicago Zephyrs (1962-1963), Baltimore Bullets (1963-1972), Capital Bullets (1973-1974), Washington Bullets (1974-1997)
Home Arena: MCI Center
Uniform colors: Blue, White, Gold, and Black
Logo design: A blue stylized wizard standing in front of a gold crescent moon and star, holding a basketball
NBA Championships: 1978
2004-05 Record: 45-37

The team now known as the Wizards started as the Chicago Packers in the 1961-62 season. The next season, they changed their name to the Zephyrs. And the season after that, they moved to Baltimore, Maryland and became the Baltimore Bullets, no relation to the 1940s Bullets franchise.

In 1973, the team moved to Landover, Maryland and became the Capital Bullets, and they changed their name to the Washington Bullets the next season. During the transition, the Bullets also played home games at Cole Field House, the home of the University of Maryland Terrapins, while waiting for the completion of their new arena in Landover, the Capital Centre (later known as the USAir/US Airways Arena.)

Through the mid-1990s, the Bullets still played a few games per season in Baltimore. One interesting part of the Baltimore Arena was that it had a stage at one end of the court, giving it an amateur feel.

On May 15, 1997, the Bullets officially unveiled their new name and logo. They had changed it because the name Bullets was thought to carry violent overtones. The name Seadogs was also considered but rejected. Also that year the Wizards moved to the MCI Center located at 601 F Street in Northwest Washington, DC. The MCI Center is also home to the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League and the Washington Mystics of the WNBA.

The 2004-2005 season marked the first time the franchise had ever made the playoffs as the Wizards. Previously, the last time the team made the postseason was in 1996-1997, when it was still known as the Bullets. In Game 3 of the first round aganist the Chicago Bulls, the Wizards won their first playoff game since 1988. In a Game 5 victory against Chicago they took their first lead in a playoff series since 1986. In Game 6, the Wizards won their first playoff series in 23 years defeating the Chicago Bulls 94-91 and became only the ninth team in NBA history to win a playoff series after being down 0-2.

Following this game, the Wizards faced the Miami Heat (#1 seed in the 2005 playoffs).