Vladimir Stepania and Sean Marks, two of the Heat's brightest spots in one of the franchise's darkest beginnings, are literally taking their work home with them.

While most Americans are preparing to watch football and eat turkey today, assistant coach Marc Ivaroni is expecting a written homework assignment from Stepania and Marks, who have filled in admirably for an ill Alonzo Mourning and injured Brian Grant on the front line.

"When you lose six in a row, you do some crazy [stuff]," said Ivaroni, who works exclusively with the frontcourt players. "I'm interested in what they don't know."

After three years of bouncing around in Seattle and New Jersey, Stepania, a 7-foot-1, 250-pound center from the Republic of Georgia, has charmed coaches and fans with his hustle and back-to-back double-doubles (11 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday's loss to the Timberwolves and 19 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks in Friday's loss to the Hornets). But he has also forced shots, committed turnovers and missed free throws.

Marks, a 6-10 New Zealander who played in 13 games with Toronto, has exhibited the same hustle.

"I can't be thinking great, I'm getting to play 20 minutes of the game and we're losing," said Marks, who is averaging 6.6 points and 5.4 rebounds. "I made some costly mistakes out there. I'm always striving for more. I got some homework to do, some things to write down, pen-to-paper stuff to clear our heads, get some of our thoughts in there and let him know what we need help on."