The Miami Heat are down to 3-2 after another loss, and the news and rumors are coming out.
Check out the latest buzz below.
Wade Feels More Responsibility
Dwyane Wade has won champions with two different rosters for the Heat, and is now trying to win again with a roster that features nine new players.
The Heat started off strongly with three wins but have dropped two and are struggling to form their identity post-LeBron James.
None of the players or staff are sure of how long that will take.
“I wish I had that answer. It'd make the season a lot easier,” Wade told the Washington Post. “No one has that answer right now.”
Wade, 32, was asked what’s different for him this season. “It’s just responsibility, man,” he said.
Last year Wade sat out 28 regular season games. This year he’s expected to play in basically all of the games, and has averaged 32 minutes so far.
Wade understands that the team needs different things from him than a season ago.
“I’m the playmaker on this team — get guys shots, I gotta try to be aggressive and get my own,” Wade said. “Some nights I have to rebound. . . . But that’s the position I put myself in with the talent that God gave me. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Bosh’s Shot Selection Troubling
Chris Bosh has been good so far, averaging over 20 points and 10 rebounds a game, but his shot selection has not been very good.
Since LeBron left, most observers said that Bosh would likely be spending more time in the low post and get higher-percentage shots.
But Bleacher Report notes that Bosh has actually spent more time away from the basket than he did in his first four seasons in Miami.
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“According to Basketball-Reference.com, across his Heat career, 27.4 percent of Bosh’s attempts have come from within three feet of the hoop. This season, that figure has slid to 25.8 percent,” it said.
“This isn’t affecting Bosh’s efficiency, but only because he’s shooting an otherworldly 53.3 percent from three. But when those triples stop falling—and they will—Bosh will need to go back to the post to continue to be the offensive linchpin Miami needs.”
Basically, Bosh is playing well but should be more aggressive.
McRoberts Still Recovering
Josh McRoberts, originally slated as the starting power forward, is still recovering from toe surgery and may not feature heavily for some time.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said this week that McRoberts probably won’t play more than 10 minutes per night until the Heat has sufficient practice days to acclimate him to the system, reported the Charlotte Observer.
McRoberts was a big reason why the Hornets made the playoffs last year but opted to sign with the Heat.
However, he intended to return to the Hornets after he opted out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent.
But McRoberts said that the Heat courted him more aggressively while two sources said that the Hornets didn’t offer him the mid-level exception until the Heat did.
With his poor production so far--eight minutes, 1.9 points, and 1.3 rebounds per game--some trade rumors have cropped up. Rant Sports says “don’t be surprised” if Heat president Pat Riley uses McRoberts in a trade before February.
“Based on the length and contract size that Miami gave McRoberts and his performance to start the season, it is hard to see him in a Heat uniform for much longer, let alone all three guaranteed years. The deal seemed good on paper, but now the better one is getting McRoberts out of South Beach.”
Hornets Beat Heat, 96-89
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—The Charlotte Hornets finally figured out a way to beat the Miami Heat: Play them without LeBron James.
Charlotte was 0-for-LeBron against the Heat in the James era, losing 16 straight regular-season games before getting swept in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs by Miami last season.
But with James in Cleveland, Al Jefferson scored a season-high 28 points and added 10 rebounds as Charlotte defeated Miami 96-89 on Wednesday night.
Nobody in the Charlotte locker room had ever beaten the Heat as a member of the then-Bobcats.
“It’s good to get the monkey off our back,” said fourth-year point guard Kemba Walker, who was 0 for 16 against James including the postseason.
With Chris Andersen still out with a rib injury, the Heat had no answer for Jefferson in the low post.
They tried Shawne Williams and Justin Hamilton on the 6-foot-9, 289-pound center, but the Hornets continuously pounded the ball into the paint and Jefferson scored with relative ease, finishing 13 of 25 from the field.
“I feel like Birdman is a guy who does give me a challenge because he’s a little taller, but all of the guys out there today I felt like I had an advantage,” Jefferson said.
Jefferson has now scored in double digits in 30 straight regular-season games dating to last season. He has scored at least 20 points in 23 of those games.
The third-team All-NBA selection had everything working in his bag of tricks.
Jefferson was fouled on the wrist on the way up by Williams in the third quarter and threw up a prayer hoping the ball would go in. It hit the top of the backboard and lazily fell down on the rim, bounced a few times and went in for a three-point play.
Walker had 16 points and seven assists, and Cody Zeller turned in another solid game off the bench with 13 points and eight rebounds for the Hornets (2-3), who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Chris Bosh had 23 points and 13 rebounds for Miami (3-2). It was Bosh’s fifth straight 20-point game to open the season. Dwyane Wade added 23 points for Miami, which has lost back-to-back games after starting the season 3-0.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he likes the way Wade is rounding into shape.
“I’ve been very encouraged by his commitment,” Spoelstra said.
The Hornets trailed 57-56 late in the third quarter before Walker put them ahead for good with a pair of free throws and rookie P.J. Hairston knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing, helping ignite a 21-7 run.
Spoelstra went with rookie point guard Shabazz Napier down the stretch instead of Norris Cole, who struggled from the field and scored just two points on 1-of-6 shooting. Napier’s driving layup with 2:07 left in the game cut Charlotte’s lead to 88-85 with 2:07 left.
But Walker buried a 3-pointer over Napier, his former Connecticut teammate, from the right wing to give the Hornets some breathing room.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
