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NBA Miami Heat

Miami Heat Defense Still Playing Catch-Up

By @blackirishpr

Defense

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If anyone ever told you that the Miami Heat could be a respectable team with Dwyane Wade out of the lineup, they probably also believed that the Philadelphia 76ers were trying their hardest to avoid another trip to the NBA Draft lottery.

By no means is that to be taken as any type of slight to Chris Bosh and his 20-point, nine-rebound per game average, however, as Wade said last week, whenever he is on the court, he is a threat. Particularly his ability to score and newfound focus on making sure that the basketball finds his fellow teammates.

With all of that said, the Heat missing the offense of their starting shooting guard was not really the problem. Not when you factor in that Mario Chalmers, Bosh and Shawne Williams each had 20 or more points with Luol Deng chipping in 19. Miami’s problem versus the Atlanta Hawks was one that’s all too familiar to anyone who watched them perform in last season’s Finals.

“While I understand we cut the lead and everything,” Bosh said via ESPN. “I don’t know who we’re kidding if we’re going to play defense like that and then expect to stop them. We have no weak-side defense.”

Coach Erik Spoelstra can keep preaching patience in the “process” as much as he wants, but everyone with a working eye can tell you that his defensive philosophy of switching everything — instead of having players take the initiative of trying to stop their own man — has not worked consistently for nearly a year now.

Only time will tell if the coach’s pride will let him make changes or if he will let his team drown in the flaws of his inadequate ideas on that end of the floor, again.

Richard Nurse is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @blackirishpr or add him to your network on Google.

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