Miami Heat Look For a Win at Brooklyn

Three straight losses and an proportional number of questions.

Less than a week ago, the Miami Heat (5-5) were among the top teams of the Eastern Conference. Now, they’ve shown a number of different ways in which they can be defeated; lack of effort, lack of size and lack of shooting.

The Heat struggled against the Bucks at home on Sunday particularly in the third quarter when they only scored 13 points. Chris Bosh had one of the worst games of his career, going 2-of-17 against Milwaukee. But C.B. is going to shoot himself out of the slump, as he told ESPN yesterday:

"“To say sit back and the game will come to you, I don’t think that’s a wise decision on my part. Yeah, I’m going to press. I’m going to press until I get over the hump.”"

That’s encouraging considering how listless Miami has looked over the past few games. The fault is not Bosh’s alone as a other players have also struggled,particularly Luol Deng and Norris Cole. The absence of Dwyane Wade and Josh McRoberts hasn’t helped, as they both sat out their second-straight game due to injury.

There’s been no word whether either player will be available tonight, nor if Danny Granger – who appears to be available – might be able to provide a boost for a team that has struggled to score.

The Brooklyn Nets (4-5) are on a three-game losing streak of their own, including a loss at Portland on Saturday. The Nets weren’t considered a serious contender but they’ve been better than expected, particularly the play of Deron Williams (18.7 points and 6.4 assists per game). Joe Johnson is the team’s leading scorer at just over 19 PPG and is always a serious threat. Bojan Bogdanovic and Kevin Garnett are providing solid contributions, as well.

But the big man tandem of Brook Lopez and Mason Plumlee might be the biggest matchup problem for Miami. Though neither player excels at anything, they’re adequate shooters, do solid work on the boards and around the paint, and their length certainly clogs up the middle. If Bosh struggles again, they’ll be able to lay off him defensively.

The reality is that this seems like another loss for Miami. Without Wade or another competent scorer to help Bosh, the team is flat and one-dimensional. Shawne Williams and Mario Chalmers have been solid but neither is sufficiently productive to lead this team. If Deng doesn’t provide an offensive boost, it will be increasingly difficult to move the ball around and defenders can close in on Williams or Chalmers, the team’s only reliable threats from long-range.

Tonight’s game tips off at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn at 7:30 p.m.