Miami Heat: What's Wrong with the Heat's Shooters?

When it rains, it pours for the Miami Heat; yet not the way they'd prefer.

If being manhandled on the backboards by most teams they face wasn't enough, Miami is now in a shooting slump. Aside from the Big Three, it has taken a plethora of attempts before one drops for their role players.

While many are quick to point to the broad rebounding margin the Heat are being buried beneath, the actual reasoning behind their 5-5 record in the last 10 games stems from the lack of production from the reserves.

Below expresses the shooting percentages of the Heat's regular contributors over the last 10 games:

	MPG	FG%
R. Allen	24.8	41.9
J. Anthony	9.8	28.6
S. Battier	24.3	22.0
C. Bosh	35.8	56.9
M. Chalmers	27.5	35.8
N. Cole	15.1	37.2
U. Haslem	22.2	34.5
L. James	41.3	53.2
M. Miller	14.2	40.0
D. Wade	36.4	48.4

As evidenced by the above statistics, it would seem the entire Miami ensemble is having a hard time putting the ball in the basket. While it can certainly be argued the team has gone through a tough schedule against defensive teams like Chicago, Indiana and Oklahoma City, it does not excuse percentages this low.

Battier's poor field-goal percentage (22.0) is an obvious indication of his hamstring injury, as it is likely he cannot receive the proper lift on his jump shot to shoot his usual 37.8 percent (39.1 percent from three). 

What most do not realize is that the Heat's abysmal shooting as of late is directly relative to teams snatching more rebounds. While the majority of Miami's issue is giving up far too many on the offensive glass, opponents have pulled down more defensive boards than their season averages in seven of the Heat's last 10.

That isn't to say all of their rebounding woes are attributed to this, but it plays a role.

It is a difficult problem to assess for Miami, as it can be based on the defensive prowess of its opponents or a simple lack of effort and energy causing the Heat to play uninspired basketball.

Whatever the reason may be, the Heat need to re-work their offensive system, re-tool their approach to rebounding the ball, and get back on track for the rest of their four-game road trip, which will end in Los Angeles against the Lakers on Thursday night.

Follow Joshua J Vannuccini on Twitter to keep up to date with the latest Miami news: @jjvannuccini