Miami
Heat
Southeast
| Team Rating | |
| Offense | Defense |
| 107.6 | 107.7 |
| 22nd Overall | 10th Overall |
Statistics through 1/25/09
W
23
L
19
PCT
.548
GB
12.0
CONF
12-9
DIV
4-3
HOME
13-7
ROAD
10-12
LinksStatistics | Tickets
|
Category | Grade | ||
 Shawn Marion, where are you? This team could be so much better if you were the old Matrix. Udonis Haslem is giving the Heat his usual 11-and-9, but after these two there's not much else.
|
B- |
||
 After missing 31 games last season, Dwyane Wade has returned healthy and is a legit MVP candidate. Mario Chalmers and Daequan Cook combine for 20 ppg, but aren't efficient (a combined .401 from the field).
|
A |
||
 Not bad for a team whose starting center is 6-foot-9. The Heat are fifth in steals (8.1) and seventh in blocked shots (5.6) per game, while Wade is second in the NBA with 2.2 thefts per game.
|
B |
||
 Rookie Michael Beasley has come off the bench for 27 of his 42 games and averaged 12.7 ppg. But he's better as a starter. Cook gives the Heat 10.4 ppg, but no reserve, save Beasley, shoots better than .400 from the field.
|
C+ |
||
 Rookie coach Erik Spoelstra, a Coach of the Year candidate, has acquitted himself well, meshing Wade with two rookies and some veterans with varying degrees of experience into a cohesive squad.
|
A- |
||
B
Summary
The Heat are on pace for 45 wins this season, which would triple their dismal output of last season, and there's one big reason for it: Wade. The Olympian and All-Star has been nothing short of spectacular. His 28.9 points per game leads the NBA, and he's second in steals with 2.2 a game. You can count on two or three fingers the players in the NBA playing better than Wade.
Spoelstra has the Heat playing much-improved defense this season. A lot of that starts with Wade ballhawking on the perimeter and help defense all over the floor. These positives mask a lot of flaws, however, as the Heat's bench is woefully thin, they don't shoot well (.447 from the field) and get clobbered on the glass. Their 39.8 boards per game ranks 24th.
The Heat will need to address these issues if they want to advance past the first round of the postseason. But with Wade playing this well, anything is possible. -- Rob Peterson
Explanation of Marking System
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