The Miami Heat have been under scrutiny from the moment LeBron James and Chris Bosh signed with the team, especially since the season started and has not been going so well. The Heat have a record of merely 9-8, and have lost 4 of their last 5 games. Following their last loss, the Heat held a players-only meeting, to discuss what was going on and what they need to change.
"It was a well-needed team meeting where everybody had a chance to get off whatever they had on their chest or in their head about us figuring things out," James said. "Right now we are a 9-8 team and we have to own up to that. Does our record speak of the quality of team we can become? I don't think so. But right now we're 9-8 and we're playing like that."
The Heat’s troubles have been discussed thoroughly in the media, and everyone seems to have an opinion on what should happen. The popular opinion seems to be that Erik Spoelstra is not the right coach for the Heat, and that Pat Riley should come back to coach the team. This seems to be everyone’s “easy fix” for the Heat, as most people think that changing the coach will solve all the team’s problems.
Yet some people know that this is not what will fix everything. Dwyane Wade is stepping forward and taking responsibility, stating that the Heat’s problems do not rest solely on the coach, but that it is up to the players to play better and work through their issues.
After the last loss, Wade stated, "I never would put anything on the coach -- win, lose or draw -- because they can give us the game plan but they're not on the court playing. ... Now it's time to take ownership. This is our team, even though we respect our coaches for what they do."
It is very important that this is realized - that while a good head coach will affect a team, when it comes down to it, it’s on the players to perform on the floor and get the win. A coach can lay the foundations for the team - designing the plays, determining what the team needs to work on to improve, running through drills at practices, telling players what is going wrong during a game, and so on – yet it is up to the players to perform during the game.
Wade realizing and stating this, especially at a time when James is being scrutinized for bumping into Spoelstra on the way to the bench, shows that he is indeed the leader of the Heat and is trying to work at establishing that. It has been stated by a member of the Heat organization that the team is indeed suffering from a lack of leadership, but that it is missing leadership from its players, rather than the media’s view that the coaching leadership is not there.
"They don't want to step on each other's toes," the person said. "There's no leader on the team. Somebody has to speak up and be the leader on the team. They can't be afraid to step on people's toes. They need a vocal leader who's going to make everybody accountable. I don't think it's on the coach. It's on the players."
If that is indeed the case, perhaps Wade will be able to prove himself as that leader, considering he has already realized and publicly stated that Spoelstra is not the one to blame for the team’s troubles.
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