The stars for Miami were Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley. Wade registered 21 points on an efficient 6-of-11 shooting from the field, seven-of-eight from the free-throw line, and two-for-two from downtown. Moreover, Wade grabbed five rebounds and collected three steals. In 28 minutes off the bench, Beasley shot 8-of-18 from the field and snatched seven rebounds. Not surprisingly, Erik Spoelstra's best offense came when either Wade or Beasley was creating.
In a way, that is the problem for Miami. If the preseason is any indicator, Miami's point guard problem isn't going to be fixed with what Spoelstra has. With Chris Quinn out with a sprained left ankle, Marcus Banks started. Banks had nine points on 4-of-10 shooting and dished out seven assists. That's not bad. But he turned the ball over six times. That is not something you want out of your point guard. In 26 minutes, Mario Chalmers was nothing like himself during the summer league. He had eight points on two-of-six shooting, dished out three assists, and turned the ball over three times. Shaun Livingston did not play.
I am not saying that Chalmers cannot be the future point guard for the Heat. But you can't expect him to just take over as a rookie. He is no LeBron James and he is no Dwyane Wade. Pat Riley is going to find himself at the very least, a stopgap at point guard for the Heat. Right now, the Heat only has backup point guards. These first two preseason games have only reinforced the need for another point guard.
Miami's other hole is at the five. Against Detroit, Mark Blount had a solid game. Against New Jersey, you could not notice Blount was on the floor. And Jamaal Magloire and David Padgett do not offer much reassurance as is, but they couldn't even get the attention of the statistician today. Joel Anthony had a solid game with five points, six rebounds and three blocked shots in just 13 minutes of action. But I would put him on the floor more because he gives Miami that defense and rebounding.
Before going into training camp, everyone knew that Miami had problems at the one and the five. Two games into the preseason, the same problems still exist. Daequan Cook had his moments, but the Heat still need to make a move. Shawn Marion is still a guy who cannot create his own shot, and it showed earlier today. As a guy who relies so much on his athleticism, the fact that he is on the wrong side of 30 does not help. Ben Wallace was a guy who relied a lot on his athleticism to block shots and get garbage points. But after he signed that huge deal with Chicago, they tried to trade him because they knew he was on the decline.
The problems at the point guard and center have an adverse effect on the Miami Heat. When the point guard position is vacant, it leaves too many responsibilities on the shoulders of Wade. I am sure Beasley will help, but there still will be a lot riding on Wade if the is not a guy setting up people to score. At the center, it leaves Miami vulnerable defensively in the paint. On the other end of the court, the lack of a center makes there be less high-percentage shots and second-chance opportunities. I would be putting Joel Anthony in because it looks like he can be a defensive-minded guy who can get some garbage points.
In addition to Quinn and Livingston, Udonis Haslem, James Jones, Dorell Wright, and Jason Richards all sat due to minor injuries.
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