ORLANDO - No need to beat around the bush here. The Heat just simply didn't measure up in Wednesday's 90-86 loss to the Magic at Amway Arena.
That much was obvious from the end of the national anthem. That notion really sank in minutes into the game, when Dwight Howard not only slammed home a thunderous dunk in the first quarter, but almost stuffed Udonis Haslem's torso through the rim right along with it.
It's only the second preseason game. Still, you could easily see Wednesday that one team in the state of Florida is locked and loaded for a shot at a repeat run to the NBA Finals this year. Meanwhile, the other hopes to do a bit better than tread water until it can make some major moves next year.
Orlando was without Rashard Lewis, who sat out as coach Stan Van Gundy looked to work in other perimeter players in preparation for Lewis' 10-game regular season suspension for a drug violation. The Heat was without Jermaine O'Neal (ankle) and Daequan Cook (thumb).
The Heat now carries an 0-2 preseason record into Sunday's home game against San Antonio - yet another championship contender using these exhibitions to fine-tune while Miami works out frustrating kinks.
D. WADE'S DOINGS: For the second time in two preseason games, Dwyane Wade flexed his season-ready muscles in limited doses. His shot was off, but he attacked the rim and made several aggressive plays around the basket. One move in particular - a crossover dribble and pull-up jumper - left J.J. Redick reevaluating his purpose in life. Wade finished with 17 points, two rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes. He was 6 of 18 from the field.
TURNING POINT: The Magic never seemed threatened. But it broke the game open midway through the third quarter with a 14-2 run fueled by Orlando's offseason additions. The run opened with a pair of Vince Carter free-throws and included a Brandon Bass dunk and a pair of 3-pointers from Ryan Anderson and Matt Barnes. As Wade said after the game, this team is loaded enough for another run at the Finals.
LOSING EDGE: When Joel Anthony is shooting a far better percentage from the field than Michael Beasley, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers, you can expect a rough night offensively. And that's what was delivered as the Heat shot 33.8 percent from the field. That's after the team was 36.6 percent in Monday's 87-83 loss at Detroit. Spoelstra and Wade both said afterward that they were confident the offense would come around. The majority of camp was spent on the defense.
HEAD-SCRATCHER: The fouls piled up in a hurry for the Heat. Quentin Richardson was 3 of 3 from three-point range, but he was hardly around to sustain that hot-shooting streak. He picked up three fouls in four minutes. Haslem, who has been in foul trouble all preseason so far, had his fourth foul by the 9:15 mark of the second quarter. Both Haslem and Anthony would foul out. A total of 45 fouls were called, with players and coaches from both sides barking frequently at the replacement officials. "You're messing up a good game," Carter yelled at one ref after he was called for a foul. "Pay attention," Spoelstra shouted moments later after the officials got another call mixed up. "Just pay attention. Is that too hard?"
KEY CONTRIBUTION: Joel Anthony, who started at center in the absence of O'Neal, was far more active in the game than his numbers indicated. Anthony was essentially all the Heat had for interior defense. He finished with five points, five rebounds and two blocks before fouling out with two minutes left in the third quarter. He disrupted about a dozen shots at the rim. His offense and touch with the basketball is slowing coming around. Is he a savior at center? Hardly. But he does give the Heat energy and a legitimate shot-blocking threat.
DAMAGE DONE: Dwight Howard had 11 points and nine rebounds. His five blocks, however, did the most damage to the Heat. In all, the Magic had 16 blocks in the game compared to two for the Heat, both by Anthony (pictured left).
NEXT UP: San Antonio Spurs at Heat, 6 p.m. Sunday - AmericanAirlines Arena.
(For live news, notes and updates on the Heat, follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/wallacesports. To post a question or join our live Heat chat each Thursday from 1-2 p.m., click here.)
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