
What's the reasoning behind Miami's seemingly lackadaisical play? One could accredit injuries as the reason they have been faltering as of late. LeBron James has complained of issues with his back and ankle. Dwyane Wade's availability has been sporadic due to lingering issues with his knees, and has recently been nagged by an Achilles issue. It's tough to sustain health throughout a full 82 game season, but where Miami can succeed is sharpness mentally. The best teams may go through stretches where they are hammered by ticky-tack injuries, but they never feel a chink in the armor mentally. That's what propels them to success. The greatest teams never folly in terms of execution, game planning or focus. It's possible the Heat are being crippled by a sense of boredom, or, they aren't the same team they were last year.
Whatever lull MIA is going through, it's evident through statistics that it's impacting
their record significantly. In the month of March, the Heat are allowing their opponents to shoot 46.1% from the field, 36.6% from three, and are giving up 11.3 offensive rebounds per game. They have given up 170 offensive rebounds through their 15 games in March. In this month, Miami has allowed teams to score 100+ points on 7 different occasions. In the month of February, the Heat only allowed the opposition to score 100+ 3 times. In Miami's 8 March losses, they are allowing the
opposition to snag down 41 RPG, and allowing the opposition to shoot 40.8% from the three point line. Miami's defensive rotations have been off. The crispiness and fierceness that their defense usually plays with has been absent and teams are starting to figure out how to combat their blitzing scheme. Is this as vulnerable as we have seen the Miami Heat? Is the cloak of invincibility finally being stripped away? If they plan to recapture the magic that makes them such a fearing foe, it extends further than LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh's brilliance. They need help from the role players that make their offense and defense so fluent and ripe.
In March, Miami's role players have been playing horrific basketball. With the exception of Ray Allen, who has upped his PPG and shooting percentages in the month of March (11.9 PPG, 46.7% FG, 41.1% 3PT) Miami's "other guys" have been extremely unreliable. Shane Battier, known for his defensive prowess, sharp basketball mind, and ability to make important plays has been abysmal this month. Battier is averaging 2 PPG on 25% from the field and 22.2% from behind the arc. When mentioning Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole it doesn't get much more promising. Chalmers is averaging 8.2 PPG on 38.3% from the field, and Cole is providing Miami with 4.5 PPG on 35.6% from the field and 32.1% from downtown. If Miami wants to sustain the fluency that makes them such a potent offensive and defensive force, these guys must step up. With each ache of James' back. With each tweak of Wade's knee, these guys must provide Miami with some type of production to alleviate the heavy pressure that Wade and LeBron are under to play a near perfect basketball game.

Is Miami's lackadaisical play a legitimate concern? Or are they just saving their energy for the deep playoff push they hope to have? Hit me on Twitter with your thoughts and comments (@wcboyer24) and as always, continue to support The Basketball Society.
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