Miami Heat Roster Too Flawed To Win Title This Year

When LeBron James announced that he was "taking his talents to South Beach", the basketball world predicted that Miami Heat had a chance to threaten the Bulls' 72 win record.

The Heat are currently one game above .500 at 8-7 and it appears they might not win their division, much less the Eastern Conference.

"Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven."

This was one of many famous statements by LeBron James during the off-season when asked if the Heat came to in the title.

Unfortunately for LeBron, there will be no title in South Beach this year.

Obviously the Heat have received so much media coverage because they have a polarizing figure in LeBron, Miami is one of the most attractive destinations, and they appeal to the casual fan.

But that does not lead to wins.

The Heat were the subjects of conversation during the off-season, including having ESPN attend the Heat training camp and adding a new page to the ESPN website called "Heat Index". 

Many NBA pundits praised them as basketball gods, all the while ignoring two fatal flaws.

One of these flaws is the redundant skill-set of LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. Both of them are ball dominant perimeter players with a mediocre outside shot, who excel at slashing to the basket.

As a result, Wade's production has fallen off a cliff.

Against over .500 teams Wade is averaging 19.2 points on 33 percent shooting.

Rebounding and front court size is perhaps, the Heat's biggest flaw. 

No big man on the Miami roster is going to make a coach lose any sleep at night.

The issue will only get worse with the injury of Udonis Haslem, the only big man on the roster who was not afraid to scrap for rebounds. Haslem collected 22.6 percent of the team's defensive rebounds. 

Every championship contending team has a player whose contributions do not show up on the stat sheet, an enforcer, and that is what Haslem was to the Heat.

Erick Dampier will come in to replace Haslem, but there are a few questions regarding him, including health.

This is not to say that the Heat will not win a title in the "Miami Thrice" era; it is a matter of when not if.

But, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade need another year to truly adapt to one another on the basketball court even though they have said all the right things so far.

Pat Riley is going to need another year to make adjustments to the roster; this includes adding a big, physical presence in the paint to complement Chris Bosh.

As the Heat are constructed right now, I cannot see them eliminating Boston or Orlando in a playoff series.