The Heat Head to Sacramento, Needing Someone to Lead

Andrew Wiggins was expected to be Miami’s third piece behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. So far through this season he has been no where to be found. His shooting percentages are genuinely horrific. He is currently at 40% from the field, 29.7% from three and then just 66% from the free throw line. These numbers just don’t cut it.

More than just his shooting numbers though is his inability to play any defense right now. He is consistently getting bullied on that end of the court. He is unable to mark his man with any sense of reliability, which has led to a collapse of the defense as a whole. If he continues this level of play his starting spot will be lost and his spot in the rotation will be in serious jeopardy

Who Will Step Up and Be the Leader?

The Heat has shown more fight than at the start of the season but it has not reportedly been consistent. Miami needs consistency and they need someone to be a voice. The first person that comes to mind is Adebayo. The captain needs to set the record straight and get everyone on the same page.

A team needs to be a unit, not a collection of individuals. Right now, the Heat are not a team and are clearly not used to playing together. There is plenty of time for this to turn around but it has to start with Adebayo and then secondly Antetokounmpo. If they get everything set right, then the rest of the team will follow.

The good news for the Heat is that they do have some favorable games coming up on the schedule. If they are able to take advantage of these, then it could be a get right point for the team as a whole. Momentum is real in the NBA and Miami has a chance to pick some up this week. Their two next games are against Sacramento and Utah who are both tied for the bottom of the NBA at 1-8.