5 Things We Learned from NBA's Wednesday Night Games

Another night in the NBA gave us a few more exciting and thrilling finishes. So, were the results impactful or were they meaningless with about 50 games left for most teams?

Well, the Miami Heat are reeling a little after losing in overtime on consecutive nights. Is this is bad as it will get for the Heat, or should they really be worried?

Perhaps the past two nights were flukes and meaningless since Dwyane Wade and LeBron James are not quite 100 percent from their minor injuries.

There were and still are a ton of questions involving a few other teams, but it is time to start giving some answers.

Miami Losing in Overtime on Consecutive Nights Shows Some Weakness

Of course, losing two games in a row is not a good thing, but mainly because the next few opponents can give the Heat even more problems.

Miami is in arguably their toughest stretch of the season with the Nuggets (road), Spurs (home), Lakers (home) and Philadelphia (home) all awaiting in the next two weeks.

They have a spotlight game with Kobe's Lakers next Thursday, so LeBron James and Dwyane Wade best be ready. If not, the hate for this team will continue to grow until the boys from South Beach can shut them up.

More importantly though, are the Miami Heat really the best team in the NBA?

Well, sure they have two first-ballot Hall of Famers and are the odds-on favorites according to the "experts;" however, their bench has given them zero spark.

Norris Cole is a nice player, but nothing special quite yet, and Joel Anthony and Shane Battier are sharing minutes because neither of them are the answer for the Heat.

They play exceptional defense in spurts, but the onus is all on Wade, James and Bosh right now. The three got them to the NBA Finals last season, but the Eastern Conference is only getting better arguably. 

Black Mamba Is MVP-Worthy

Kobe Bryant is going bonkers right now with consecutive nights of scoring 40 plus points.

The funny thing is that the Lakers (8-4) were being questioned by many early on in the season, and yet Bryant and the rest of the "Lake Show" keep prevailing.

They have now won four straight games (8 of last 10) after defeating the Utah Jazz in overtime, 90-87. Pau Gasol is putting up some solid nights, but without much scoring off the bench, it has forced Kobe Bryant to play like well, Kobe Bryant!

Lob City Is Heating Up

Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were flexing their muscle in their overtime victory over the Heat (95-89) which is a good sign after their semi-slow start.

The Clippers (5-3) have the Lakers on Saturday night which should give us a good indication on just how quick "Lob City" is starting to gel. 

Their victory over the Heat was impressive, but can they keep it up?

The Clippers have only gone to the playoffs four times since the late 1970s and the hope is that guys like Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler can stay humble, productive and most importantly, healthy, if they want their team to live up the hype.

Defense Wins Championships

The Chicago Bulls defense has been sensational this season, allowing just 270 points in four games this season to the Wizards, Hawks, Grizzlies and Pistons (67.5 PPG).

In fact, they are currently rated No. 2 in defensive efficiency, but let us not forget they had the best defensive team in the league one season ago.

Even without MVP Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls had no issues with the Washington Wizards, defeating them 78-64. 

Guys like Ronnie Brewer, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson and Omer Asik has given the Bulls arguably the best bench in the NBA (Brewer starts for the injured Hamilton at the moment).

Bad Teams Only Getting Worse

Yes, there are half a dozen NBA teams that will seemingly always stink no matter what time of the year it is. It is a part of sports, but this season the play from a few teams has been noticeably bad right out of the gates.

The Wizards (1-9) refuse to actually run offensive sets despite their decent talent and Nets (2-9), Bobcats (2-8) and Pistons (2-8) are well, you know, just bad.

In the Western Conference, teams like Houston (3-7), New Orleans (3-7), Sacramento (4-7) and Minnesota (3-7) are not quite as bad, even though somebody has to take a licking by the upper-echelon Western Conference teams.

The only question most are asking is if these teams will start to make a few trades to improve their teams or if they will just trade a mini-star or two around the All-Star break.