It’s still early, but the team that ranked No. 4 in points allowed last season is currently ranked No. 26 and giving up a whopping 100.3 points per game. Perhaps through these numbers, we see the general impact of starting a defensive center like Joel Anthony from last season. Conversely, we see the consequence of relying on Chris Bosh for paint protection. In both cases, it seems you simply have to take the good with the bad.
The bad defensive trend continued on Saturday, when the Heat allowed the Cavaliers – playing without leading scorer Kyrie Irving – to score 108 points and nearly lost the game in the process.
Luckily, the team went on a big nine-point run in the final two minutes and Ray Allen came through with a clutch 3-pointer in the final seconds on a dish from LeBron James (sound familiar?):
Dwyane Wade then preserved the victory by coming up with a fine individual defensive play against fill-in starter Jeremy Pargo (who traveled before taking the game-tying shot), capping the top moment of Saturday night:
You can perhaps get away with playing this style of basketball against a struggling team like the Cavaliers, but the Heat could see some struggles down the road if they continue to allow opponents to go off on the offensive end.