What about the negatives?
Outside of the play of Wade and Whiteside, this is where the negatives for the team begin—sloppy offense, bad rebounding and a lack of consistency from the Heat’s bench has led to the team being five games below .500.
There has been no stability at the point guard position where the team has switched between Cole and Chalmers. Cole began the season as the team’s starting point guard, but after he failed to establish himself as a ball distributor, Spoelstra inserted Chalmers back in the starting lineup at the one-guard.
Chalmers has started the past 11 games, but he hasn’t provided a positive contribution to the lineup. Since his inclusion into the starting lineup, he has averaged just 6.5 points per game on 33 percent shooting from the field. After beginning the season as a formidable two-guard off the bench, ‘Rio has seen his numbers quickly decline, the most disturbing of which is his field goal percentage—he is shooting just 40 percent from the field, his lowest mark in four seasons.
Napier, who was acquired by the Heat during the 2014 NBA Draft through trade with the Charlotte Hornets, was demoted to the D-League twice during the month of December. His hottest stretch was during late November when he scored in double-digits in six straight contests. However, he went scoreless in five of the 10 games that followed.
Miami currently ranks 27th in the league in points per game (93.8) and dead-last in rebounding (36.2) and assists per game (19.7). The 2014-15 Heat have already established a franchise low for rebounds in a single game when they grabbed just 20 total team rebounds versus the Milwaukee Bucks on December 5.
Injuries were cited for the Heat’s dismal start to the season, but with the exception of Josh McRoberts, the team is at full strength right now. Since Bosh returned from his calf strain injury on December 29 versus the Magic, the team has gone 2-4.
Next: Is this team capable of making a second half comeback?
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