Heat Getting Burned, March 6, 2011

"The Miami Heat are exactly what everyone wanted, losing games. The world is better now because the Heat are losing." -Miami superstar Dwayne Wade, one of the Big Three, on the notion that people love rooting against the star-studded Heat

Back in July, LeBron James gave today's society one of its lasting plays on words when he said he was taking his talents to Miami, where he, perennial superstar D-Wade and free agent Toronto forward Chris Bosh were going to form an elite trio with championship-level ability. Right now, it's hard to say that James, Wade, Bosh, or anyone else's talents are the answer.

The Heat have lost four of their last five games, the one win an eight-point, Feb. 25 win over the lowly Washington Wizards, and the losses are tell-tale because the now-third-ranked Heat (#3 in the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls) are 0-9 against the league's best four teams (Celtics, Bulls, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks).

There was a close loss (93-89) in Chicago to MVP favorite Derrick Rose and the Bulls on the 24th, the win over Washington at home the next day, the widely-viewed superstar bash with the Carmelo Anthony-Amare Stoudemire New York Knicks on Feb. 27 (which the Heat lost by 5). Then they blew a 24-point lead at home to the Orlando Magic, who are fourth in the Eastern Conference, on March 3. The next night they were disemboweled in San Antonio by the NBA's best team, who dealt them a 125-95 loss. And earlier today, Sunday, March 6, they suffered a crushing, one-point loss at home to the Bulls, against whom they are 0-3 this year.

Before the season began, the Big Three of Wade, James, and Bosh sent Miami fans into a frenzy, declaring that they would win "not one, not two, not three, not four, not five" world championships. The team scuffled early on as two guys (James and Wade) used to being the go-to guy learned to play together. Then they started rolling, losing only a single game in December (98-96, to the second-place-in-the-West Mavericks).

Their current 43-20 record is nothing to scoff at. LeBron James scored 51 points in a game against the Magic in mid-February, Dwayne Wade scored 40 points in consecutive games, and the entire Big Three made the Eastern Conference All-Star team, Wade and James as starters. Along the way, the Three have gotten big help from Mike Miller, Eddie House, the now-traded Carlos Arroyo, and newcomer Mike Bibby.

But with the season more than half over, and the playoff picture coming into focus, it's becoming clear that Miami has problems with any teams over .500, not just the league's best handful of teams. They have yet to beat #1 Boston in three tries, and add Chicago to that same list, now the #2. They've split four face-offs with in-state rival Orlando. And their best moment of the year might have been a Christmas Day defeat of the Los Angeles Lakers in L.A.

But that grand holiday moment is a distant memory now. The Heat led by 12 at one point in today's crushing 87-86 home court loss to Chicago, where Derrick Rose dumped 27 points on them and Luol Deng added 18. The Big Three combined for 63 points, led by James' 26, but this season has been a study in how stats-padding superstars don't always add up to big wins. The Bulls outscored the Heat 23-16 in the third quarter despite just 39 percent shooting by Chicago--five Miami turnovers no doubt contributed directly to the loss.

Superstar-laden teams are often villified, usually unfairly, by players and fans around the league: see New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Lakers, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, etc... The Heat have been no different, but now that they've proven the Big Three can play, and win, together, they need to prove that they can beat the best. After all, a crowd-pleasing declaration of "not one, not two, not three" championships can be a hard act to follow.