There's no question this was the first win on the road against a winning team for Miami. But there are other elements that make this win the best the Heat's had so far this season.
First, the Heat continued to rebound the ball well, and did it with different contributors. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 10 boards to go with his 16 big points, as the Heat outrebounded the Jazz 42-28, which is a huge number, especially on the road against a physical team. Last time these teams played, Joel Anthony was starting at center, which you would think would give Miami a better rebounding group. But Big Z was leading the way this time around.
"The biggest thing is rebounding," Ilgauskas said. "We're winning all the rebounding battles game after game after game. Before we were not. We have the same guys, but we're doing it with more effort, doing it collectively."
It also helps when the Heat is simply making shots. The Heat was 9 of 20 from three, including Dwyane Wade rediscovering his three-point shot, while the Jazz was just 1 of 14 from distance. These two teams were the two best in the league in FG percentage against, and yet both teams shot better than 50 percent Wednesday.
Most importantly, though, was Wade hitting nine of his 14 shots. In the Heat's 15 wins, Wade is shooting 20 percent better than he is in the Heat's losses. That's a huge number. Meanwhile, LeBron is actually averaging more points in Heat losses than in wins. It just goes to show you that when Wade scores, the Heat's probably going to win. Because the other components are usually going to be there.
When you look at the schedule now, it's hard to imagine the Heat not being favored in every game until Christmas. That doesn't mean there aren't some interesting games before then. The Heat plays in New York on the 17th, which suddenly becomes a battle of high-powered teams. And the Heat gets a rematch with Dallas in Miami on the 20th. You can assume there will be little to no bumping between players and coaches on the bench that night.
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