If misery loves company, it's appropriate for the disappointing Jazz and the struggling Heat to meet up tonight in Miami.

As unaccustomed as the Jazz are to losing like they have been this season, it's nothing compared to what the Heat have endured.

The 11-13 Jazz, who have made 18 consecutive playoff appearances, ended November with the second-worst record in the Western Conference. The 5-17 Heat, who have averaged 54.5 wins over the past four full seasons, remain at the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings, thanks in large part to a 12-game losing streak.

But while the Jazz have been hurt by a wide variety of factors, ranging from the age of their key players to the impact of defensive rule changes to a lack of confidence and consistency, Utah coach Jerry Sloan sees Miami's problems coming down to nothing more than bad breaks with injuries.

""They've just had a tremendous amount of tough luck injury-wise," Sloan said. ""Look at the number of games those guys have missed and try to compare it if John (Stockton) and Karl (Malone) had missed games. We wouldn't have even been in games probably in some cases."