Who Have Been the Miami Heat's Most Disappointing Players so Far This Season?

After a slow start, the Miami Heat are rolling now, winning seven straight games.

Miami has the most efficient offense in the league. The Heat were scoring an absurd 114.2 points per 100 possessions before Monday's 107-92 win over the Phoenix Suns. And the defense, which was the problem for the Heat's first couple of games, hasn't allowed more than 100 points in five straight contests.

The Heat's Big Three are playing very well; the team is getting better-than-expected contributions from guys like Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole and Rashard Lewis to name a few.

Still, even with all these positives, there has been reason to be a little disappointed at times due to the play of two typically trustworthy players: Udonis Haslem and Shane Battier.

Let's take a more in-depth look at their surprising struggles.

Udonis Haslem

Haslem has no doubt been Miami's most disappointing player this season, and it's not even close.

Haslem has back spasms to blame, which he told Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel have bothered him for much of the season and kept him out of four games from Nov. 9 to Nov. 16.

Still, he's been dreadful.

Haslem's never been a major offensive asset, but he once was a mid-range threat. But this season he's shot just eight jumpers and has made two of them, according to NBA.com. It's not as if he's a low-post scorer, so without the jumper, he doesn't really bring much value to the Heat offensively.

As Haslem told Winderman, the back spasms limited his movement, as has been evident on the defensive end. He just hasn't looked like the tough and physical defender that we're accustomed to seeing. Miami has allowed 13.3 fewer points per 100 possessions when Haslem is off the court compared to when he's on it, according to 82games.com.

13.3!

But the most troubling aspect of Haslem's decline comes on the glass. Udonis has long been a terrific rebounder; it's his most valuable skill. But after averaging more than 10 rebounds per 36 minutes in each of the past four seasons, Haslem is averaging just 5.9 boards per 36 minutes. Beasley has been a more efficient rebounder than Haslem.

Even though Haslem is by all accounts healthy right now, he finds himself out of the rotation.

Since returning from the back spasms injury on Nov. 19, he's played 14 total minutes. Udonis hasn't seen the floor at all in the Heat's last two games. And he shouldn't be playing right now. If Haslem's not defending or rebounding, there would be no reason to play him over Beasley and Lewis, who both are knocking down shots and helping Miami's spacing on the offensive end.

Shane Battier

Battier has carved out a role as a sharpshooter on the Heat over the past couple of years. He was Miami's most prolific outside shooter a season ago, knocking down 43 percent of his three-pointers. 

But Battier has been anything but sharp with his shot to start the season. He's shooting just 34.1 percent from three-point land.

Considering more than 70 percent of all his shots come from beyond the arc, that's a big deal. 

More than that, the Heat's offense does a fantastic job of creating open looks from deep; converting those looks is the easy part. The Heat as a team are shooting 43 percent on three-pointers. Among the Heat's shooters (LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, James Jones, Chalmers, Cole, Beasley, Lewis and Battier), only Battier is underperforming from outside. 

We'll cut Battier some slack, since Haslem's poor play has led to Shane having to take an increased role guarding power forwards on the defensive end. Battier recently admitted to Winderman that consistently going against bigger guys has taken a toll on his 35-year-old body.

Again, though, these are easy looks Miami is asking Battier to hit on offense. Plus, Battier's shot is his only real offensive asset. So if he doesn't start getting back to his old ways, the Heat will have a bit of a problem on their hands. 

All stats are from Basketball Reference unless stated otherwise and are current as of Nov. 25.