Heat Struggling; Knicks/Pacers

     They've lost 5 out of their last 8 and look like a very complacent team at the moment. But should any Heat fan be worried? Not really. The national panic-meter is low and they have two Finals MVPs on the roster, including, you know, LeBron. The Heat will always see more scrutiny than your average team, but here's what Miami can do to help fans breathe easier in the coming weeks.
     First, they can get a better rotation. Erik Spoelstra is far from being a great coach, but even he should know the importance of a solid player rotation. Once all the Heat players are healthy, he will to find consistent answers to position battles like Cole/Chalmers, Lewis/Miller and also the possibility of playing with Bosh AND Anthony, or Allen AND Battier. I'm just not entirely sure that all Heat players know their role yet.
     The second and final adjustment for Miami is the tendency to over-pass. This starts with LeBron. He's surrounded by shooters and he always finds an open man, but LeBron often passes up six-foot shots for corner three-pointers by cold shooters. This isn't a bad idea early in games, as it is important to get role players going. But late in games he needs to be finding the hot shooters more. In the Finals last year, both Miller and Chalmers went off from three in separate games. And the games where no one was scorching from distance? Well, LeBron won those himself. It wouldn't hurt if he played some more "hero ball".
     The Heat have rarely looked great this season, and they've still got the inside track for the number one seed. Last night they improved their defensive rebounding and just lost to a young West Coast team that plays great at home (credit Nic Batum's D). By the end of this road stretch, the Heat's recent struggles will be an aberration. It's January in a long NBA season. That's how it is.

And Who's Chasing the Heat?
     Two teams are and they played last night, actually. The Pacers, lead by Paul George, have won 5 out of 6 and play torrid defense. They also beat the Knicks last night, holding them (without Melo, but still) to a season low 76 points. So who's the scarier team?
     For Miami, it's still the Knicks. Carmelo and Tyson Chandler play well against the Heat and the Knicks are the one team in the East that can score with Miami. The veteran shooters can get hot against an aggressive Heat defense. Heat-Knicks is still the likeliest scenario for Eastern Conference Finals. 
     But how about those Pacers? They've quietly played good basketball and are third in the East at 22-14. They've done it all without their best scorer, Danny Granger and starting center Roy Hibbert has virtually given them nothing after signing a big contract. There's no middle ground with the Pacers this year. They're a top-two team in defense and rebounding, but a bottom-two team in scoring and assists. With Paul George having made "the leap" and David West and George Hill helping out, Indiana looks primed to stay as a top-three team in the East.
     A Pacers/Knicks conference semi could be waiting in the wings. And while the Knicks are easily more talented, the Pacers (and Bulls) seem to be built to beat them. New York is now 0-3 against Chicago and Indiana. Getting Melo back tonight, they need to beat the Bulls at MSG.