MIAMI, May 25 (UPI) -- Veteran Miami Heat point guard Tim Hardaway, who was hampered a majority of the season by a bad right knee, which was his good one, is undergoing surgery on his left knee today. The procedure is designed to repair mile cartilage damage. The injury to Hardaway's left knee was discovered during a standard postseason MRI done on all players. He will begin a rehabilitation program immediately after the surgery and is expected to be available for the Americas Tournament July 14-25, a qualifier for the 2000 Olympics. Hardaway hyperextended his right knee Feb. 26 against Detroit when he collided with Pistons forward Grant Hill. Despite being slowed for the remainder of the campaign, he was Miami's second-leading scorer with an average of 17.4 points per game. He added 7.3 assists per contest. The right knee was troubling enough that Hardaway had to wear a brace at times during Miami's first-round playoff series against New York. It affected his movement and mobility and, therefore, his game. Hardaway was awful offensively, tallying just 9.0 points per game while shooting a dismal 27 percent from the field and an even worse 20 percent on his favorite shot, the 3-pointer. The drop in his output was a key factor in the Heat's ouster by New York in their best-of-five Eastern Conference quarterfinal series and was a bitter disappointment for a team that, at 33-17, finished tied with Indiana and Orlando for best record in the East during the regular season. Miami was also the first-ever No. 1 seed eliminated by an eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.  