Heat Loses It's Way

I just wanted to make a few very quick points about the state of the Heat right now.

Losing streaks happen in the NBA. Players go into slumps, you have injuries, you get a few bad breaks, and all of a sudden you drop a few games. But when a team begins to lose it's identity altogether it becomes a cause for serious concern. The Heat gave up 120 points to the Raptors on Friday night allowing Toronto to shoot 57.7% from the field as a team. Whats worse, the Raptors went 9 of 15 behind the 3 point line (60%). So for all of the progress that we thought the team had made with it's perimeter defense at the start of the season, it has quickly taken some major steps backward.

Heat opponents have scored 100 points or more in all 5 loses (Phoenix 104, Cleveland 111, Oklahoma City 100, Atlanta 105, Toronto 120). In Heat victories, nobody has scored more then 93 (New York in game 1 of the year). You can make stats say whatever you want sometimes but there is no getting around the importance of defense for this team. The Heat does not have the firepower to win high scoring games on a consistent basis.