After winning nine in a row, the Miami Heat are losers of their last two. Let that sink in. The team that looked unbeatable, is now an entity that can be exploited.
While Heat were without Chris Bosh for the last three games, they did have the ever prolific Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. But they can only do so much.
Miami lacks a competent inside presence, and that has never been more clear than over the past two games, where opposing bigs exploited them time and time again.
Bosh cannot be considered the missing link—although his presence would have helped down low—because he is not a true low-post player. He thrives off the mid-range game and isn’t nearly strong enough to defend the likes of Andrew Bynum, Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap.
The combination of Dexter Pittman and Joel Anthony isn’t going to cut it either. Pittman has potential, but is still incredibly raw, and Anthony’s defense, is not enough to offset his offensive woes.
With a combination of Wade and James, and even Mike Miller, Shane Battier and Mario Chalmers on the perimeter, Miami’s struggles down low should not be as prevalent as they are. Their performance should be enough to overshadow the incompetency near the basket.
But they aren’t, and are instead facilitating it.
Far too often, James, Wade and company attempt to force the ball down low to Anthony or Pittman, both of whom have trouble handling even the most simple of touches. And while at times, both are wide-open, there’s a reason their left unguarded.
It seems ignorant to suggest Miami should actively keep the ball out of the hands of an open teammate, but that’s the hand they’ve been dealt. The big three has left them thin on both assets and cap space, and low-post competency doesn’t come cheap.
Names like Chris Kaman are intriguing to dream about, but they are just that, a dream.
Thus far, the Heat’s lack of a threat down low has not prevented them from being considered title contenders, and in reality, it never will.
But as long as they are forced to develop an offensive game plan that calls for excluding the center position entirely, and as long as their low-post defense can be broken down with little effort, the actual attainment of a title will continue to elude them.
Dan Favale is an avid basketball analyst and firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His work can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
