Heat Becoming Opponents' Nightmare
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Miami Heat tore up the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday night at the AmericanAirlines Arena in a game that showed the rest of the league their worst nightmares about how good the Heat can be may be coming true.
In the last two years, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh have had to log heavy minutes for the Heat. The fear each year was that the Big Three would wear down towards the end of the season and that could prove problematic come playoff time.
The Heat answered that question last year, but with the offseason additions of Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen to a lineup that already had Shane Batttier, Mike Miller, Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole and Udonis Haslem, along with the Big Three; the prospect of letting LeBron, Wade, and Bosh play less minutes finally was available.
In Wednesday's game, LeBron James played just less than 30 minutes, Bosh played 24 minutes, and Dwyane Wade played 32 minutes. The Heat still put up a 30-point victory over a team that is expected to be a playoff team in the Eastern Conference.
LeBron still put up nearly a triple-double in roughly 30 minutes of game. LeBron finished the game with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists against the Nets. Wade finished with 22 points and five assists, and Bosh finished with eight points and four rebounds.
The Heat's bench, which logged solid minutes in the game, scored 36 points in the game on 15-26 shooting (58%).
For the season, the Heat are averaging 110 points per game and have been held under 100 points just once, against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
But the schedule doesn't do the Heat any favors as they head on the road for the next two weeks for a six-game road trip that will include games against Atlanta, Memphis, the L.A. Clippers, and Denver Nuggets.
The Heat won't play at home again until just before Thanksgiving on November 21 against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Still, as the Heat continue to refine the lineup and rotation with Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen, the offense has the potential to become even more explosive. If the Heat can ratchet up the defense, the worst nightmares of opposing teams may finally come true when they play the Heat.
