The Heat have dropped three of their past four games and there are some ominous signs for the “Three Kings” and the rest of the Heat.
Considering most pegged the Heat to be the most unstoppable force in the NBA since the 1995-96 Bulls, even this mini slump has become a cause for concern with the scrutiny this team will be under. The Heat have now lost to three of the league’s elite — Hornets, Celtics, Jazz — and Miami’s only win in this stretch came against the lowly Nets.
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It would have been hard to imagine things could go so wrong with a team that has three superstars in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, but the flaws are glaring.
First, the Heat have been shredded by the league’s best point guards, namely Rajon Rondo, Deron Williams and Chris Paul. Now it isn’t just the Heat being ripped apart by this trio, but the amount of dimes these three have racked up in four meetings (Celtics twice) with the Heat is jaw-dropping. Rondo has dished out 33 assists in the two Celtic wins. As for the other two guards, Paul and Williams combined for 33 assists in back to back Hornets and Jazz wins against the Heat (19 and 14 respectively). Williams’ ability to feed the ball down low in the Jazz’s 116-114 overtime win helped Paul Millsap to a career-high 46 points.
The second point of concern for the South Beach trio has to be their ability to bang down low with teams that have superior big men to Bosh, Zydrunis Ilgauskas, Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony. Here’s where the Heat’s biggest problem still lies, seeing as the road to a title will go through Orlando and Boston in the East, and through the reigning champion Lakers in the NBA Finals. Haslem, Ilgauskas and Anthony are nice role players, but they aren’t Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett or Pau Gasol.
The Celtics have the most depth in their front court, specifically at power forward and center, and with a veteran rotation of Garnett, Shaquille O’Neal, Glen Davis and Jermaine O’Neal they not only outsize the Heat, but will also be able to overpower them in the paint. The real problem will come if the Heat make their way into the NBA Finals and match up against the Lakers, who will send two elite centers out each and every night in Gasol and Andrew Bynum (note I haven’t even mentioned Lamar Odom, who is one of the most underrated players in the league today).
For now, we can give the Heat the benefit of the doubt, saying that they are still trying to figure out team chemistry and that they are playing without a key piece of their team (Mike Miller), but those excuses aren’t going to buy them a ton of time. Even James, who to this point has been the team’s best player, realizes something needs to change and that this team could potentially wind up being burned out in crunch time.
“For myself, 44 minutes is too much,” James told Yahoo.com. “I think Coach Spo (Erik Spoelstra) knows that. Forty minutes for D-Wade is too much. We have to have as much energy as we can to finish games out.”
If James and Wade are getting tired now, imagine what they’ll feel like trying to carry this team for another 73 games.