By Brian Windhorst
ESPN.com
Archive

MIAMI -- Reality is spoiling the Miami Heat's season of good intentions.

They aren't bullies and don't want you to hate them, even if they've pretended like they do. Dwyane Wade isn't comfortable playing with LeBron James, even if they've both tried hard to eliminate egos and to figure it out. Chris Bosh thought he'd be applauded for taking less of a role, even if it has come off looking like he fades into the background.

Things simply aren't going as planned for the Heat, their 87-86 loss to the Chicago Bulls being the latest example. The Heat aren't just on a losing streak, they're on a backfiring streak.

Coach Erik Spoelstra is the man in the crosshairs, because when teams underachieve it is the default reaction to blame the coach, whether it makes sense or not. After the game, he tossed in a detail he may regret about the Heat's troubles.

"This is painful for every single one of us to go through this," he said. "There are couple of guys crying in the locker room right now. It is not a matter of want."

Spoelstra wanted to illustrate how vested his team was in getting things turned around. Instead it came off as a referendum on the club's collective manhood. Just another near miss with consequences for a team that's been dealing with this for months.

As the comment exploded with reactions when it hit "SportsCenter" and Twitter, the Heat were feeling like targets again. And were being reminded they're largely responsible for putting the bull's-eye on themselves.

"Inside our locker room, we stick together; we're like brothers," Wade said. "We win together, we lose together. Outside, the Miami Heat are exactly what everyone wanted, losing games. The world is better now since the Heat is losing."

The immediate reaction is a desire to know which players were crying. Bosh denied it was him, though he "almost did." Wade refused to answer.

Who shed tears or almost shed tears is really immaterial. What's clear is this team is steeped in talent but challenged in basketball chemistry. The Heat are hurting deeply and personally as they struggle to figure out what they've done wrong. The problem is they don't know. And all the recent losses -- four now by three points or less since the All-Star break -- are pushing them to the breaking point.

"We haven't addressed the problem yet," said Bosh, who took one shot in the fourth quarter. "We have to find the problem first."

The Heat genuinely believe they should be winning. They feel like they are putting in the work and making the required concessions to make it happen. But the results, unfairly or not, say otherwise. Sunday the Heat played the Bulls tough but, for the second time in two weeks, Wade and James were outplayed by Derrick Rose and Luol Deng in the fourth quarter.

The number that crystallized the issues is 1-for-18. That's what the Heat are shooting in the final 10 seconds to win or tie a game this season. It should be pointed out that the one make, a James dunk to force overtime in November in Memphis, didn't even result in a win, as the Heat ultimately lost on a Rudy Gay buzzer-beater.

Perhaps no one took the latest loss harder than James, who missed a shot in the closing seconds that could have won it, as did Wade.

This has happened to James four times in the past 11 days. He had chances to win or tie and has missed twice on 3-pointers and twice on drives to the basket. On none of the four attempts did James say he thought he'd made any mistake other than missing.

Just a few days ago, James was declaring to his Twitter followers that he was refocused and going into battle. It could have been seen as a confident, galvanizing statement from a player who has been accused often of not having a killer instinct.

Sunday afternoon, as James felt compelled to apologize to his teammates for not getting it done, it just seemed like another self-inflicted misstep.

"I told my team I'm not going to continue to fail them late in games," James said. "I put a lot of the blame on myself."

Enough blame to cry? That is what Wade's proverbial "world" really wanted to know, but James wasn't saying.

"That stays in the locker room," Bosh said about the outward emotion.

Beyond all the delicious focus on tears and the last-second shots was a game that unfolded in a way that showed the Heat's core flaw. Trailing in the fourth quarter and looking skittish, the Heat were carried by Wade, as he made three consecutive baskets and two free throws.

After that, the focus shifted to James down the stretch. He drained a couple of baskets to help the Heat establish a brief lead before his late miss. The final play, as it has been regularly, was drawn for James. Wade managed to get his hands on the ball for his own attempt, but it was off an offensive rebound.

Once again, James and Wade, the two superstars who agreed to join forces, were not joined and didn't have any force when they needed it.

It is clearly something Wade is struggling with.

"You're just trying to get comfortable with whatever role you're put in at the moment and you try to be your best at it," Wade said. "That was one of the things we had to understand when we all decided to come together. There was going to be sacrifices we're going to have to make, and you live with the consequences."

What Wade, James and Bosh didn't think they'd be sacrificing, though, was winning big games.

Dimes past: Feb. 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 28| March 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4-6