Miami Heat

[Fold FB Invest in BB]

I'm maintaining my position about my level of concern. But I would like to add a few words:

!Basura!

Garbage

Suey

They sure make it hard to be a fan.

[Bruce Blingstein]

There is no chance they beat any team with a winning record in a 7 game series.  I'm not a miami hater, in fact I rooted for the wade and shaq teams, but lebron james is not a winner, he is a glorified loser with a lot of talent. Ill take humble winners anyday.

[Bruce Blingstein]

Too bad with the money all 3 of these guys make they will never be able to build a winning system in miami. I feel for wade, he's a competitor.  At least they will get lots of higlights and televised games

[Paisa el Toro]

That Miami/Chicago game was beyond frustrating yesterday. Los Angeles looked impressive against San Antonio.

[Fold FB Invest in BB]

Good thing these games don't count yet.

[Fold FB Invest in BB]

Mike Bibby pick-up may give the Heat just the right person at PG to tilt that record against the NBA's upper echelon in the Heat's favor. I think it'll be a great pick-up for the Heat.

I don't know. Do the Heat really need another ball handler? What the Heat really need is more depth a the PF position. I don't care for any of the excuses some on here would offer about "chemistry" and the ability to play together. "chemistry" is highly over rated and I'm not convinced it even exists. The reason why the heat have not been contending with elite teams is the absence of Udonis Haslem and/or depth at the PF position.

From SI.com:

I’m usually the guy preaching calm, but you can’t deny it now: The Heat are struggling. A five-game losing streak might not be important in the long run, but this is no longer the product of bad luck or randomness. The Heat’s level of play has declined. They’ve dropped to sixth in both points scored per possession and points allowed per possession after threatening for most of the season to join a small group of clubs to finish in the top three in both.

Orlando, San Antonio and now Portland have shown that smart, patient teams can find good perimeter looks — at least right now, in early March — against Miami’s aggressive, rotating defense. The Heat aren’t forcing turnovers at nearly the rate we may have expected early in the season, and that of course limits their ability to get out in transition, where they are the second most efficient scoring team in the league, according to the stat-tracking service Synergy Sports.

The Heat are on pace to win 55 games, just eight more than they won last season with Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem, a mildly effective Jermaine O’Neal and spare parts.

Miami has problems. Chris Bosh says he wants the ball down low more. Wade wants the ball more late in games and took issue with coach Erik Spoelstra’s rotations after Tuesday’s home loss to the Blazers.

Those rotations reveal the fundamental problem in Miami: the lack of a second big man Spoelstra feels he can trust. Parse the data all you want, but I keep coming back to that particular roster limitation. Miami’s best backups (Mike Miller and James Jones) play the same positions as their two best players, and the Heat have been unable to get consistent minutes from six big men who sit on their bench every game.

That problem has crystallized in the last week. Before about a week ago, Miami’s small lineups, featuring LeBron James as the power forward, were a change-of-pace thing Spoelstra broke out in small doses — typically at the end of the first and third quarters, when James plays alongside several bench guys while Wade and Bosh rest.

But over the last week, this has been Miami’s go-to lineup for long and crucial stretches. Some of that is likely due to recent opponents; the Spurs and Blazers love to use smallish lineups, inviting the Heat to do the same. But Miami used James at power forward for nearly the entire fourth quarter Sunday against the Bulls, even as Chicago kept two true big men on the floor for all but the final 15 seconds of that period. The lack of size came back to bite Miami in small ways. Luol Deng hit a runner over Wade when the guy who would normally defend Deng (James) was guarding Joakim Noah, and the Bulls snagged a few key offensive rebounds against the Heat’s shorter personnel.

Playing small against big has some advantages for the Heat. It usually forces a big man — Noah on Sunday — to defend a perimeter player, which can create confusion and open looks (see the wide-open three Miller missed late in the fourth quarter). It gives Miami a speed edge. Lineups with James at power forward blitzed teams over the first 50 games, but as Spoelstra has leaned on them more, the plus/minus numbers for those lineups have regressed.

If you look at all 12 lineups that feature James at power forward and have logged at least 10 minutes together (excluding one that includes Carlos Arroyo, now in Boston), you get these stats:

Miami’s offense (500 possessions): 110 points per 100 possessions

Miami’s defense (486 possessions): 106 points allowed per 100 possessions

Those are still good numbers, but the scoring margin is down from what these lineups produced early, and it’s about three points worse than Miami’s overall scoring margin per 100 possessions. Also of note: These small lineups that feature both James and Wade — a recent addition, as Spoelstra has gone small more often and for longer periods — have been wildly inconsistent, according to Basketball Value.

The Heat clearly did not envision playing this way when they signed center Joel Anthony to a five-year, $18.25 million contract and picked up seemingly every thirtysomething big man willing to work on the cheap. What started as a five-minutes-per-game gimmick has become much more, and when Miami is finishing games with a three-guard lineup that includes Mike Bibby and Mario Chalmers, you know Spoelstra is flailing.

There are plenty of reasons for this flailing. The injury to Udonis Haslem, who is hoping to return at some point this season, has had a devastating trickle-down effect. But Miami’s decision to commit long term to Anthony and sign a bunch of over-the-hill big guys just hasn’t worked. It’s a decision many people questioned immediately — why didn’t the Heat get a little more creative in filling out their big-man roster?

The attention Wednesday will be, once again, on Bosh’s failures, and on Miller’s shaky shooting and on why Jones or Eddie House wasn’t in the game down the stretch Tuesday. And those are all issues.

But it’s hard to imagine the Heat’s winning the title over teams like Boston, Chicago and the Lakers if Bosh is the only big man they can count on.

http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2011/03/09/flailing-heat-have-one-very-big-problem/?eref=sihp

[smazza]

Too bad with the money all 3 of these guys make they will never be able to build a winning system in miami. I feel for wade, he's a competitor.  At least they will get lots of higlights and televised games

wade needed shaq to win a ring

[smazza]

Good thing these games don't count yet.

they count

and miami cant beat a good team

everyon knos it

even miami that is why grown men are crying

[Fold FB Invest in BB]

Lakers lack the perimeter sharp shooters to attack the Heat's over compensating defensive rotations. Lakers rebounded horribly. Bosh killed them inside as did Mike Miller (of all people) on the boards.

[Fold FB Invest in BB]

I think there's a timer inside of Dwayne Wade's head that turns a swithc to "on" when mid march rolls around. Ofcourse it helps when Bosh plays like a man. The presence at power forward makes a big diference.