Heat Lose An Ugly One 108-83

I've stayed away from Heat recaps of late primarily because they are redundant and somewhat depressing to write. I'd imagine it's the same feeling to read them. Tonight the Heat dropped their 29th game in 32 tries and Pat Riley is not a happy man.

Reading his comments, I can't help but see them as empty threats. On the surface, it would be nice if we could "ferret" out the guys who don't care, but it's not that easy in the NBA with guaranteed contracts. The worst part is that we are losing not just because some guys don't care, but the guys who supposedly do still aren't getting it done.

I know Dwyane Wade is still hurt, but 5 first half turnovers are way too much. He finished the day early, with the outcome of the game determined halfway through the 3rd quarter. The team finished with 20 turnovers overall, in comparison to the Raptors' 9. Our guys simply don't take care of the ball and when they do, they take horrible shots.

Nobody plays team defense and too many guys chuck bad shots (see Ricky Davis). I'll be glad to see the season end so we can jettison some of these bad apples. On the bright side, Marcus Banks had a nice night with 21 points. His contract is something that I can live with if he is a backup.

Unfortunately, as bad as the Heat are (and they are BAD), the T-Wolves are just as bad. Minnesota lost by 29 tonight and are only percentage points behind us for the worst record in the league. The difference is minimal really. Being the worst team gets you 25% of the balls, while being 2nd gets you 18%. But I'd like my chances with those extra 7% to get a guy like Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose.

However, there is a scary reality we should acknowledge. And that is the Heat finishing with the worst record only to get the 4th pick in the draft. It happened last year with Memphis. Since the lottery was installed, only 4 teams with the worst record got the best pick. I don't know if that's good to prevent tanking or whether it's bad because the worst teams often don't get a chance to select the best players.

All I know is that for the next 3 months, I am praying we at least get a Top 2 pick. After Rose and Beasley, there is a dropoff in talent. Gordon, Jordan, Mayo and others are all nice players, but they won't produce the immediate impact that Beasley and Rose can give to the Heat. The latter two on next year's team might result in a Top 4 seed. Otherwise, we are looking at an extensive rebuilding project.