NBA Playoffs 2012: Miami Heat Supporting Cast Must Pull Its Weight

There's a question that's asked of the Miami Heat on a seemingly constant basis: Who gets the ball at the end of the game?

A lot of people might pass most of the blame for Miami's Game 2 loss to the Indiana Pacers on LeBron James for, once again, being passive in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, but did you really expect anything different?

The truth is, we already know that James doesn't have the "killer" instinct of Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan. He's a playmaker, the most vital player on the Heat and the MVP of the league—with good reason.

In both games of the series James led the team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and minutes—he sat for just 10 minutes in Games 1 and 2 combined.

It's playoff time, which means it's time to really ride your thoroughbreds, but is anyone else worried about James wearing out again if the Heat make it to the NBA Finals?

Yes, Dwyane Wade has been his usual self being one of the best No. 2's in NBA history, but when the third-highest scoring player on the roster finishes with a measly five points there's not much else James and Wade can do.

The loss of Chris Bosh was expected to be a major blow since the Heat already suffer from a dearth of height. The team was lucky that 7'2" center Roy Hibbert didn't do more to assert himself in either game.

An adjustment period should be expected and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra now knows how the Pacers plan to attack the Bosh-less Heat. It's up to him to get his team prepared and get the rest of the Heat lineup more involved offensively.

James and Wade may get all the focus, but guys like Mario Chalmers, Shane Battier, Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem must rise to the occasion.

These are all guys that were brought in for their perimeter shooting ability, but in this game they fell well short of expectations.

You can't have two players combine for 52 points while the rest of the team combines for only 23. 

Despite the latter stat, the Heat still nearly won this game. It's a testament to how great James and Wade are that it took two missed free throws and a missed layup by the two to drop this one.

It doesn't matter who it is, but it is critical that one of the Heat role players becomes a consistent contributor. Otherwise, the Pacers are fully capable of dispatching of the Heat in this series.