The call for urgency and accountability from Heat coach Erik Spoelstra after three consecutive losses has fallen on young ears.Second-year players Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers will no longer get passes for inconsistent performances because of their youth and inexperience. They are being challenged to turn promise and potential into consistent production.
That's the message going into Sunday's home game against New Orleans as the Heat looks to end a three-game losing streak and halt a stretch of poor defense.
Spoelstra never mentioned players specifically by name during a postgame media session that seemed more like an emotional state-of-the-team address after Friday's 120-113 loss against Toronto.
But after seeing Beasley and Chalmers combine for 51 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and four steals during a rally from 23-point deficit that came up just short, Spoelstra is demanding effort from start to finish.
``I have to step back and look at everything objectively,'' Spoelstra said as he measured his team's uninspired play in the first half against the energy, urgency and grit that finally arrived down the stretch. ``It's a collective thing. It's being reliable every single possession to your teammates, to our system, to our identity. It can't just be during certain pockets of the game.''
DEFENSIVE LAPSES
Beasley performed up to the standards of a No. 2 overall pick by finishing with 21 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. But even that performance came in the midst of several defensive lapses and blown assignments that left coaches and teammates offering corrections in Beasley's ear during timeouts.
``Coach is 100 percent right,'' Beasley said. ``I haven't been able to put it all together, and that's what I've got to do to help the team.''
Chalmers will try to carry his momentum from Friday's second half into Sunday. He had 24 of his career-high 30 points in the second half after he was a non-factor the opening two quarters.
While it might be natural to defer to Dwyane Wade's dominant role, Chalmers said he could no longer take a passive approach with his playmaking duties.
``They're always telling me to be more aggressive, more aggressive, more aggressive,'' Chalmers said of Wade and Spoelstra. ``I have to start from the jump and not wait too long to get into the flow of things. I have to take this game and build on it.''
`GROWING PAINS'
Wade has tried to be patient through what he frequently refers to as the team's ``growing pains'' early in the season. Wade already has told Beasley that the 6-9 versatile power forward is too talented to continue making the same mistakes in games.
Wade needs Chalmers to step up, too. Chalmers took 11 shots in the second half Saturday and also had seven free-throw attempts. There have been 10 games this season when Chalmers hasn't attempted more than nine field goals overall.
``For a young player, that kind of game can set you off,'' Wade said. ``It can give you that confidence. You need these games to show that you can really do this.
``Not saying he needs to try to score 30 a night, but we need him to be that aggressive.''
11/23/2009 12:38 PM