A Pat Riley-coached team may get outscored, but rarely is it outhustled -- until now.
Coming off Saturday's 100-96 overtime loss to Cleveland (4-10) in which the Heat was outscored 20-4 on second-chance opportunities, including two critical possessions in the final 1:02, Riley was in no mood to hand out A's for effort.
"We have a serious effort problem, and I don't think the players want to buy into that right now," Riley said after Monday's practice at AmericanAirlines Arena. "We're getting beat on the boards, and we're bigger than Cleveland. We're getting beat in the paint, getting beat a little bit in transition [Cleveland outscored the Heat 9-0 in transition].
"We're not putting our bodies on people, and we're not running down loose balls, all things we're getting beat on which we never did in the past. That's the best part of the game of basketball for us. For us to get over the hump, it's not just X's and O's; it's about maximum, maximum effort in these departments."
With point guards Anthony Carter and Rod Strickland struggling from the field, combined with Alonzo Mourning's weakened state and a rash of injuries to Brian Grant (foot), Kendall Gill (pinky) and Sam Mack (hip), the Heat's scoring options beyond Eddie Jones are limited, making effort and defensive intensity a necessity.