CHARLOTTE - And then there was this.
Among the many blunders, bloopers and flat-out bad mistakes that played out in Wednesday's blowout loss to the Bobcats was the gaffe I committed in the locker room after the game. I approached Udonis Haslem and asked how could this team look so good against Indiana, turn around 48 hours later and look so bad against Charlotte.
I stood corrected. Quickly.
"It wasn't even 48 hours," Haslem shot back. "It was 24. Come on, man. You losing your mind with your hair, man? Come on, man."
That was about the best effort at a comeback the Heat made all night. Because the blowout got out of hand so quickly, it seemed like it took ages for Wednesday's 104-65 rout to end. And that performance by the Heat on Wednesday seemed weeks removed from the dominance it showed in Tuesday's 113-83 victory at home against Indiana.
At the end of the day, it was my bad. I had given the Heat too much credit and time between its latest unexplainable, inconsistent performance. The 39-point loss tied for the eighth-worst in franchise history and the 28.9 percent shooting by the Heat was the fifth-worst in team history.
This one also went down in the Bobcats record books. Charlotte set franchise marks for field goal percentage defense, points allowed and margin of victory in embarrassing the Heat. Of all the words to describe the effort Wednesday, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra might have summed it up best.
Unprofessional.
"It wasn't professional at all," Spoelstra said afterward.
D. WADE'S DOINGS: When Wade is going at a rate when he racks up more fouls than made field goals, you know it has the makings of a horrendous night. And that was the case against Charlotte, when Wade picked up his fourth foul late in the first half. At the time, he made only three shots. This was a night when Wade's anger was directed at the officials. He was taken out of the game mentally by a few missed shots and unfavorable calls early. By the time his night ended, Wade was 6 of 16 from the field and 4 of 8 from the free-throw line for 16 points. He had four fouls and four turnovers in 32 minutes. The night was so bad that Wade had to take comfort in the fact that he's been through worse, making mention of the Heat's dismal 15-67 season as his version of basketball's rock bottom. That's at least one point he scored Wednesday.
TURNING POINT: The game was close at 8-6 in the early minutes. Then, the floodgates opened and Charlotte went on a 28-9 run to pull ahead by 21 points with a minute left in the first quarter. The Bobcats never looked back. Instead, they nearly doubled that lead to 41 points in the second half and flat-out blew the Heat out of Time Warner Cable Arena. It was truly sad to watch at some stages.
WINNING/LOSING EDGE: Forget the Bobcats main workhorses for a second. This wasn't even about Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace. This was about Raymond Felton and Nazr "Freakin" Mohammed combining to outproduce Rafer Alston and Jermaine O'Neal by a combined 30-7 in points, 13-3 in rebounds and 6-4 in assists. At worst, you expect the Heat to collectively hold its own in the point guard/center battle. Instead, the Bobcats set the tone with their supporting cast.
HEAD-SCRATCHER:This is now 12 double-digit losses for the Heat, including four since Dec. 13 by margins of 28, 29, 30 and 39 points. Spoelstra emerged from the locker room talking as if changes might be on the horizon. We've heard it before and there has been little shakeup in the rotation. The Heat is what it is, an inconsistent team. I know Spo takes his fair share of criticism here. But this isn't high school. These dudes are professionals. A bit of this has to fall on them. I don't know what changes, barring trades, would actually change the identity of this team. It has to come from within. I've also said before that Spoelstra and co-captains Wade and Haslem have the tough jobs of answering for these performances every day. Or every other game. Team president Pat Riley only has to come out every once in a while to address the roster. It's a tough spot all the way around. But accountability has to go beyond one or two faces in this franchise.
KEY CONTRIBUTION: Dorell Wright's line was nice. 16 points, a handful of rebounds, a few defensive plays. Nothing against Dorell. But when it comes in one of the worst losses in franchise history, it doesn't even matter, does it?There was nothing key to any of the contributions.
NEXT UP: Heat at Washington Wizards, 7 p.m. Friday - Verizon Center
(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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