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Miami Heat's road and rebounding woes

Roar Rookie
8th January, 2013
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LeBron James recovered from 'cramp-gate' to lead the Miami Heat to victory in Game 2. Can San Antonio wrest home-court advantage back in Game 3?
Roar Rookie
8th January, 2013
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As a Miami Heat fan I am very concerned by a few areas that are hindering the journey towards back to back titles.

This is despite them having the best record in the Eastern Conference 23-9.

Firstly, rebounding!

Defensive rebounding has been the biggest issue for the Miami Heat this season thus far.

Miami do play small ball which didn’t hinder them in winning the NBA title in 2012. However, in the first two months of the 2013 season are being out rebounded almost every night.

In a recent game in Miami against Minnesota, the Heat were outrebounded by 28 boards. Miami still managed to win that game on the back of LeBron’s 22pts, 11 assists, 7 rebounds and four blocks.

This win was incredible, as since 1985-86 teams that have outrebounded an opponent by 28 are 106-3 when holding that margin.

The poor rebounding has continued over the past few weeks and shock losses at Milwaukee and Detroit followed.

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The Heat have this week waved goodbye to Terrell Harris and big man Josh Harrelson, both of whom have hardly played this season.

This brings their roster down to a league minimum 13 players, and with Dexter Pittman on D-League duty for development purposes, they will head out on a six game road trip with only 12 players.

Chris ‘The Birdman’ Anderson is currently in South Beach working out with the Heat and is a very strong possibility of being signed. He would be a big addition to assist with the glaring hole that is cleaning the defensive boards.

The other issue with Miami is their record away from American Airlines Arena. Their current road record is a very average 7-6. This compares with the Thunder who are 9-4 outside of Oklahoma.

The Heat embark on a six game road trip beginning tomorrow against Indiana. The Pacers will be hard to beat, as last year’s playoffs proved, with Roy Hibbert manning the paint.

In the past two seasons the Heat have been very solid on the road. They use the crowd to fuel their push to win those games which has been lacking so far this season.

The Miami Heat seem to be cruising along but not striving hard enough to have the best record in the league. They are currently placed fourth in the NBA behind OKC, LA Clippers and the Spurs.

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They will still be the team to beat in the Eastern Conference come playoff time but the killer instinct is lacking.

LeBron is having another stunning season but help on the boards is required for Miami to repeat last year’s result.

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