As lousy as a 2-4 record may look so far this preseason, the Miami Heat could be on the right path heading into the regular season. The large void left by the departure of one LeBron James has been subsequently filled by a collective effort from both newcomers and remaining talents from last year’s NBA Finals run. With five of six games decided by seven points or fewer (2-3 record in those games), the Heat has shown that it remains a competitive squad in the top-heavy Eastern Conference, despite narrow setbacks to conference favorite Cleveland and division rivals Orlando and Atlanta. Two straight wins over Western Conference powers Golden State and San Antonio give Heat fans a reason to believe in the new era in South Beach, as several players are making their marks throughout exhibition play. While some have been on fire, others have either been average at best, or needing room for improvement. Here’s my breakdown of who’s been hot, warm and cold on the hardwood: Who’s Hot: Chris Bosh, Shabazz Napier, James Ennis. Talk about a preseason Big Three. Bosh, Napier and Ennis have been effective on both ends of the floor throughout this preseason, as the returning center leads the team with 17.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game on just 27 minutes a night. Bosh, who made it clear that James’ presence in the Heat offense stunted his demands for the ball on several nights over the four years they played together, has been fed the ball often in five preseason contests, averaging 13 shot attempts per game. As a result of Bosh summoning his inner Keyshawn Johnson to be given “the damn ball,” the 12-year veteran has already come one rebound shy of a double-double twice this preseason. While Bosh stands tall as the top dog on the Heat roster, Napier’s play has inspired consideration for a possible rookie starting point guard role. The UConn product started off slow with nine total points on 3-of-9 shooting in limited playing time during the Heat’s first two exhibition contests, but came alive with four straight double-digit scoring outbursts, including a team-high 25 points off the bench in the team’s Finals-avenging victory in San Antonio last Saturday. Napier has ceased to disappoint since having his draft rights traded to South Beach from the Charlotte Hornets last June and has displayed enough grit to challenge Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole for critical minutes at the point guard spot for this upcoming regular season. Meanwhile, waiting in the wings is wing threat James Ennis, who has dazzled Heat fans with an 11 point-per-game average on an impressive 52 percent clip from the field. The 24-year-old versatile guard/forward has made his presence felt on the scoreboard, scoring in double figures in each of the first four preseason games, including a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds in an overtime loss to the Magic. Despite not scoring a load in the last two exhibition games, Ennis manages to be an asset in other categories, recording seven steals in the past three games, while notching five assists in another contest. Ennis’ youth and natural ability to make plays all over the floor should have the veteran forwards looking over their shoulders, as their playing time could start dwindling due to this blooming prospect. Next: Who's warm? [xyz-ihs snippet="Responsive-Ad"] Who’s Warm: Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng, Danny Granger, Mario Chalmers, Shawne Williams. The players that are warm have been average, yet not spectacular. With a nickname of “Flash,” one would think that Wade would be nowhere near this category, but he’s right where he belongs at this point. With James gone, Wade has had to regain atleast some of the form he dominated defenses with from 2004-2010, which saw him average at least 24 points and six assists per season. The former Finals MVP hasn’t shown any of that skill from before, shooting a mere 40 percent from the field. However, the three-point shot that Wade has very seldom used throughout his career is suddenly a weapon during the preseason, as he is draining 44 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. Only time will tell if Wade can carry some of his old self (with a little more touch from the three-point line) into the regular season, but an average Dwyane Wade is still a very effective one. James’ replacement at small forward has been just small through some of the preseason, as Deng has strung together multiple quiet outings, including a mere eight-point performance against James and the Cavaliers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Deng, however, is a volume scorer at 16 points per game throughout his career. He managed to squeeze in two major performances, the second, a 19-point outing to net the Heat its first win of the preseason. Deng has the potential to relive his Chicago Bulls glory days in South Beach, given he manages to produce consistent scoring efforts night-in and night-out. The injury-prone Granger has done well for himself during the preseason, especially from his sweet spot beyond the arc. Granger has hit a three-pointer in each of the five exhibition games played and has scored in double figures in three of them. However, two ugly games that featured a combined 2-for-15 from the field has kept Granger from being one of Miami’s hot players during this preseason. With Ennis ready to cut into valuable minutes at small forward, Granger has to maintain his effectiveness on the scoring end to stay steady in rotation. The Chalmers-Norris Cole experiment continues into the preseason, as Head Coach Erik Spoelstra is managing to keep both players on their toes and into serious competition for the starting point guard position. While Cole has started most of the preseason at the point, Chalmers has been quite efficient in a bench role. After a dreary NBA Finals performance, Chalmers has bounced back to average 7.8 points and 1.8 steals per game, all while shooting 47 percent from the field. Chalmers has the starter’s experience over both Cole and upstart rookie Shabazz Napier, but has he convinced Heat Nation that he’s well past his Finals debacle? I wouldn’t bet on it. Mixed in the forward rotation is Williams, who needs all the minutes he can muster while incumbent starting power forward Josh McRoberts continues to recover from offseason toe surgery. Williams has split six games as a starter and a reserve, averaging 13.5 points per game in the last two contests in the starting lineup, including a massive showing against the Warriors (19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, 5-of-5 from three). The 28-year-old journeyman obviously looks more comfortable as a starter, but the Heat’s larger investment in McRoberts (four-year, $23 million contract) doesn’t warrant any possibility that Williams will rise to the top of the lineup. Add in the fact that Williams had three consecutive games of porous shooting so far this preseason, and all signs point to Williams remaining a fixture on the Heat’s bench. Next: Who's cold? [xyz-ihs snippet="Responsive-Ad"] Who’s Cold: Norris Cole, Udonis Haslem, Chris Andersen, Shannon Brown, Shawn Jones, Khem Birch. Competing for the starting point guard role, Cole has done nothing to convince Heat fans that he’s worthy of the job, averaging a mere 5.8 points per game after 10 points off the bench in the exhibition opener against the Pelicans. Added in Cole’s misery are three games of less than 40 percent shooting from the field. While Napier has been spectacular and Chalmers serviceable, Cole has been ice cold on the court. As the longest tenured Heat player on the roster, Haslem has gradually slipped into obscurity over the years, as limited preseason action (47 total minutes in three games) may be the nail in the coffin on Haslem’s potential for quality rotation time. With several younger big men ready to seize minutes on the court, Haslem’s days may be numbered for this upcoming season. Andersen is simply known as the team’s enforcer, so it’s hard to expect any major outings from him night in and night out. However, he’s not getting any younger, and his limited minutes per game prove that. “Birdman” isn’t expected to fly for more than 20 minutes a contest, not enough for anything beyond cold. Brown, meanwhile, has brought some of the energy off the bench he displayed with the Knicks to South Beach. As one of several guards in contention for the backup shooting guard role to Wade, Brown’s scoring could’ve been higher throughout this preseason (5.2 point-per-game average), but there’s still time to build on that with a few games remaining. While both rookies Tyler Johnson and Andre Dawkins have potential down the road to be solid contributors at shooting guard, neither one are locks to make the final roster, which paves way for the veteran Brown to hone his offensive skills to be the first man up to fill in for Wade. Both Jones and Birch are in an interesting position to claim some minutes in the power forward rotation, one that is far yet to be solidified due to McRoberts’ absence via injury. The two young forwards have hit the boards fairly well in limited time off the bench, with Birch edging Jones in the rebounding category after grabbing 13 against the Spurs last Saturday. As undrafted rookies, these two post players are behind the eight ball due to a lack of experience on an NBA court, things that both Williams and Haslem possess. However, Haslem’s inadequacy and lack of playing time could open a door for one of these talents to step in and possibly step his game up in the frontcourt. But it’s certainly guaranteed that both won’t be able to do so. [xyz-ihs snippet="Responsive-Ad"]
