Heat Check

Despite the Miami Heat's position atop the Southeast division with a 6-3 record, there is a sour taste in the mouth of every heat fan, as the team hasn't always looked as sharp as a veritable superteam should. First off, we have much to be thankful for this November. LeBron James is continuing to make the impossible look easy, winning games singlehandedly without breaking a sweat. His rebounding numbers are off the charts, recording 9.4 boards per game and with a rebounding rate (the percentage of available rebounds that he collects) of near 17%, the same rate put up by Dwight Howard. Secondly, Chris Bosh has gone from center-loathing power forward to a dominant big man with a stellar post game. At nearly 20 points per game, Bosh is giving the Heat exactly what they need from him. Finally, the offensive addition of Ray Allen been everything we had hoped for and then some. Allen is not just a spot up corner three machine, he is creating shots for himself and moving very well. Now to the bad news which, unfortunately, is numerous. Dwyane Wade has been lost since day one. Flash has tallied two single digit scoring performances and seems incredibly fragile, suffering minor injuries in three of the Heat's nine games. Thus far, Wade is below his career averages in every stat (save for turnovers per game). I have all the faith in the world that Wade will get healthy and put together another scintillating season, but until then he is weighing Miami down on both sides of the ball. Finally, you don't have to be John Hollinger to see that the Heat are giving up too many points. Opponents are putting up an astonishing 101.4 ppg against Miami's so-called elite defense. This is mainly due to the sluggishness and lack of rotation on the wings. Wade and Allen are both lagging behind their defensive assignments on a regular basis, allowing for open threes and clear paths to the basket. With the Heat's highly active and communicative defense, one lapse can cause a systemic failure and a defensive breakdown. Overall, the Heat will be just fine. Wade will get back to form and the defense will follow in turn. Until then, Heat fans just need to get deal with the same reality that every fan has to deal with: losing.