Anyone with a good pair of eyes can see that injuries are depleting the Miami Heat roster at a rapid rate. Nothing season-ending like they suffered last season with the discovery of Chris Bosh’s blood clots, but the bodies are starting to drop to the same tune of that team that sported 31 different starting lineups in 82 games.
Forty-three games into the season and eight players are already listed as out or probable on the team’s injury list. Those are simply the way things break in the NBA, so using it as an excuse should be kept at a minimum. Besides, inconsistency has been a Heat problem way before the roster breakdown that will have Bosh as the only starter available for tonight’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors.
Other than a few three-game win streaks, Miami’s season has been full of little rays of hope surrounded by the disappointment of a roster that does not seem to fit the coach or the league.
The most obvious flaw is that Pat Riley built a roster that would have to rely on its best three-point shooting chances coming from a pair of 6-foot-10 and 6-foot-11 power forwards. One of which (Josh McRoberts) is reluctant to turn his eyes towards the rim. Couple that with four more big men who spend more time in their warm-up outfits than a college walk-on, and you have problems surviving in the small-ball world of the NBA. And it only looks worse when you see Erik Spoelstra’s misuse of the starting lineup.
The tempo is down because his point guard, Goran Dragic, rarely has the ball enough to get into a rhythm. Hassan Whiteside cannot get enough touches to keep him from pouting and Luol Deng is usually plopped in the corners rather than slashing — as he does best. It is simple, Riley needs to make changes to the roster and possibly his stubborn coach before they are outside of the playoff picture looking in, again.
Moves have to be made, because it is not for Riles to get 100 percent of the credit and not foot any of the organization’s blame.
