The Miami Heat is one of only two Eastern Conference teams with winning records. That doesn’t mean they don’t have problems. Dwyane Wade’s nagging injury has reared its ugly head again.

The Heat has long been criticized for its lack of centers, post defenders or rim protectors. Chris Bosh is not a real center, he doesn’t play like one nor does he have the desire to take the post. Coach Erik Spoelstra had use the anti-Chris Bosh players: Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony, both below 6’9” taking the center position.

In recent years they picked up Chris Andersen and even Greg Oden to take the center slot. They were not expected to play major roles, but eventually, Andersen proved everyone wrong and became a keeper.

The Miami Heat still play small ball, as none of their “centers” are dependable post scorers. The scoring is still concentrated on the middle positions. Recent acquisition Michael Beasley, who also plays the three spot (while Lebron James shifts to the four) became a surprise contributor. Since Beasley is 6’9” he can also help in interior defense and rebounding under the Heat set-up, making one of those centers dispensable.

The backcourt is lacking, as they placed Roger Mason Jr and forward James Jones at the starting shooting guard spot (Ray Allen plays limited minutes off the bench). ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has reported that the defending champions are actually shopping around for a shooting guard. (VIDEO)

But why is the Heat worried at this point? Wade is listed as ‘day to day’ (how is that different from ‘indefinitely’) which means he is not really out for a long time. Are they looking ahead toward the playoffs? Is Wade’s injury more serious than they lead us to believe?

The downside is that Joel Anthony and/or Udonis Haslem are very poor trade chips. They might need to trade real assets. However, Miami will not have high draft picks and they are a team of reserves and role players rotating around three superstars.
As of this writing, there are no teams with reported interest in Joel Anthony.