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Heat look to stay in sync vs. Bobcats

Nov 1, 2008 - 10:41 AM Miami (1-1) at Charlotte (0-1), 7:00pm EDT

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Through two games, the Miami Heat seem pretty far removed from solid ground.

After a porous defensive effort in a season-opening loss to the New York Knicks, the Heat buckled down on Friday as they shut down the Sacramento Kings en route to their first win of the season.

Now, they try to make it two in a row as they visit the Southeast Division rival Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday.

The Heat have done major retooling over the last several months - and for good reason. A squad that won a championship two years ago sunk to the bottom of the league last season. Shawn Marion was acquired at midseason last year in a deal that Shaquille O'Neal to Phoenix. This summer, the club added forward Michael Beasley with the second overall pick in the draft.

Needless to say, it may take a bit of time for everything to settle. In their season debut, they certainly showed they had the offensive prowess to keep up in the East, posting their biggest scoring output in nearly two years in a 120-115 loss to New York. However, they looked completely out of sync on the defensive end.

That all changed in Friday's win, as they held budding star Kevin Martin to nine points and the Kings to 77 - their fewest since March 19, 2007 against the Atlanta Hawks.

The biggest positive for Miami thus far has been obvious - star guard Dwyane Wade looks healthier than he has in two years. He is averaging 23.0 points and 8.5 assists.

The Bobcats have been doing some redecorating of their own. They brought in veteran head coach Larry Brown to lead a talented but raw roster, added point guard D.J. Augustin in the first round of the draft and are welcoming back Adam Morrison and Sean May - both of whom missed all of last season with injuries.

Early returns haven't been good, as the Bobcats dropped all of their preseason games and looked unimpressive in a season-opening loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.