Chris Bosh (Photo : NBAE via Getty Images)
The Miami Heat were projected to be the team that could pull the rug under LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
According to CBS, in a statement made a week after the draft, said the Heat "may just have that 'as competitive as anybody in the Eastern Conference' combination figured out." They also admonished that "we'll just have to wait and see if that "anybody" ends up including the Cavs should they meet up in the postseason."
The Heat at 12-8 are tied with the Pacers and Bulls for the fourth best record, just 1.5 games behind the Cavaliers, so there shouldn't be any reason to worry.
However, Miami's adopted son, Dwyane Wade and one of the league's best sidekicks, Chris Bosh seem to be caught in a "power struggle" as ESPN reports that "they have demanded to become the focal point of the offense." Wade even went as far as to accuse his teammates of "freelancing" on the court.
"I think by now we should know our game," said Bosh, who is averaging 16.9 points this season and shooting a career-worst 44.2 percent from the field. "We should know what we want to get to, especially on the road. We talk about things, but we don't do it. We've had enough conversations."
The Heat actually has a winning record at the quarter mark of the season and they are still a far cry from the Houston Rockets, the team that first fired a coach this season.
However, with their star players' current statements, it does sound like a complaint against the two-time champion coach.
"From day to day, we don't know where the ball is going," Bosh told reporters. "In this system, I have to have trust. The ball has to move. I want to be able to go out and play team ball. We're capable. But sometimes we just fall back. It goes up and down -- way down. When we have a bad game, it's a stinker."
The report mentions that Coach Spoelstra "has worked to appease struggling or disgruntled key players." For some pundits, "disgruntled" and "struggling" referring to multiple players in a team means it's too late.
The Heat has had an easy schedule and will embark on long stretches on the road. If they are barely above the .500 mark, that could be as far as they go.
Expectations remain high for the Heat and they even want to present themselves as an option for Kevin Durant. But they don't seem to have a smooth "passing of the torch" like the Spurs. The veteran stars don't seem ready to give way, and players like Hassan Whiteside, eager for his big opportunity, are not about to sit and wait.
