Mounting losses a crying shame to Heat

MIAMI - Having LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh together was supposed to be the Miami Heat formula for many championships.

And it might. Someday.

Right now, it isn't. With the playoffs a little more than a month away, time is running out.

So maybe it was fitting that Heat coach Erik Spoelstra had his back to the wall of Miami's practice court Monday while trying his best to clear up the crying controversy. Here was his clarification: He saw glossy eyes, but heard no whimpering.

Ultimately, little of that matters. A day after Spoelstra said there was "a couple guys crying in the locker room" in the moments that followed Sunday's 87-86 loss to the Chicago Bulls - the latest entry in a growing list of last-second chances gone awry - whether tears were falling or not is irrelevant.

Shots aren't falling.

That's the bigger issue for the Heat, which has lost four straight and is early in its toughest stretch of the season. Portland, hardly a slouch from the suddenly surging Western Conference, visits Tuesday. Kobe Bryant and the two-time defending champion Lakers, who just happened to roll over a San Antonio team that embarrassed the Heat last week, stop by Thursday. The Spurs visit Monday.

Even with that, the Heat confidence remains.

"We're a team that no one wants to see in the first round," Wade said. "We lose every game from here on out, somebody's got to see us in the first round. And the Miami Heat isn't really a team you want to see in the first round. We're fine."

That's debatable, of course.

Although the "Big Three" averages a combined 69.9 points, 22.4 rebounds and 13.3 assists per game, the Heat has clear issues, including consistency at point guard and center along with the bench. Miami is 43-20 - 21-1 from Nov. 29 through Jan. 9 and 22-19 the rest of the time.