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No place to go but up for hapless Heat

Feb 4, 2008 - 3:19 PM Toronto (25-21) at Miami (9-36) 7:30 pm EST

MIAMI (Ticker) - The Miami Heat won the NBA title just two years ago. Now the Heat are not only a last-place team, but owners of the worst record in the league.

Miami, which won the Southeast Division for the third consecutive time last season, are 9-36 on the year and look to avoid its 19th loss in 20 games on Monday against Toronto.

"To me, it's trying to play 48 minutes of consistent, team-oriented, unselfish - on both ends of the court - basketball," said Heat coach Pat Riley, whose team's only win since Christmas was a 98-96 victory over Indiana on January 26.

"You try to strive for that, and we just play the game in segments. It's almost as though every time we do something offensively, it's got to be a home run. It can't be simple. It can't be just moving the ball."

The Heat have dominated the series with the Raptors, winning 14 of the last 18 games and 30 of 43 overall.

"I think the toughest part is looking forward for the next 30 games and what are we looking forward to," said Miami All-Star guard Dwyane Wade. "I'm used to going into games feeling great and feeling very confident. Now you just go into games and you don't know what to expect from one minute to the next."

The Raptors, led by All-Star forward Chris Bosh, are four games over .500 and firmly entrenched in second place in the Atlantic Division. The problem is that Toronto trails Boston, owners of the league's best record, by 12 games in an effort to defend its division title.

Wade is averaging 34.8 points, 5.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 58.7 percent in his last four games against the Raptors. Bosh, picked one spot ahead of Wade in the 2003 draft, is averaging 21 points and 11.3 rebounds in his last six games against the Heat.