The Unlucky Dozen

Miami's streak of futility hit a Pat Riley-high last night, as the Portland Trailblazers rallied back from a fourth quarter deficit to win the game, 98-91. Dwyane Wade put on quite a show, playing a day after his 26th birthday, with 37 points, five rebounds, and one block. However, the rest of the team could hardly do their job, notably Jason Williams. Williams could seemingly not make a layup last night, and retaliated to the referee when he dribbled the ball out of bounds.

The biggest problem Miami has is their defense. Theoretically, if a team cannot play defense, they should outscore their opponent (a la Phoenix or Golden State). Unfortunately, Miami simply lacks the offensive firepower to be able to outscore their opponents. James Posey was let go and no player of his caliber was signed. Alonzo Mourning was able to hide Miami's weak perimeter defense by blocking two or three shots and also altering two or three shots. Now, that protection is no longer available.

Dwyane Wade needs to stop gambling for steals. I've always never personally respected someone for being able to collect steals. When a player makes a mistake, go after the ball. However, many players, including Wade, would rather poke their arm around for the ball as opposed to moving their feet.

Another problem of the Heat is their three-point shooting, or lack thereof. On a team with Wade and Shaquille O'Neal, both of whom get the majority of their points from the paint, you need threats from the outside whom they can pass it to. I certainly wouldn't have matched the offer to Jason Kapono by the Raptors, but Posey and Eddie Jones were costly mistakes. To put this into context, Jones is making $1.8 million. That's less than what Smush Parker is making. James Posey is making $3.2 million. That's $3.6 million less than what Ricky Davis is making. Clearly, Miami had the ability to re-sign these players. Letting them go is inexcusable.

The third problem of the Heat is their depth. The Miami Heat are a full, yet unsatisfying, plate. The only people on this squad that deserve to play are Wade, Shaq, Udonis Haslem, and Daequan Cook. Everyone else shouldn't be playing. Fortunately, Miami has a lot of expiring contracts, most notably Williams' $8.9 million and Davis' $6.8 million. Hopefully, the Heat will use this money wisely and address their problems.

With this disastrous season, the onus must fall on the man in charge: Pat Riley. This man has made smart moves in his Heat days, such as acquiring Jason Williams, James Posey, and Antoine Walker for just Eddie Jones and Rasual Butler. However, Riles is going to have to make smart moves like that to keep his team afloat. The Heat went from champs to a low seed in the playoffs to the laughing stock of the NBA. Riley didn't build on success, he kept the team exactly as it was and it's gotten him to misery.

The question now is how will he build his team back up.