Miami Heat loses second straight game

The Miami Heat suffered their second straight loss Thursday, two days after LeBron James's "karma" comment. LeBron haters must have felt good watching him sprain his ankle on Wednesday; and must have felt even better watching the Heat get manhandled by the Denver Nuggets. As a Miami fan (thus, de-facto LeBron Fan), allow me to rain on their parade and establish the facts. The Miami Heat have historically performed poorly in Denver, and haven't won there in nine years. Therefore, a loss at the Pepsi center with LeBron sitting on the bench doesn't really say anything.

Dwyane Wade also had a poor game, leaving Chris Bosh to carry the team all by himself. Bosh was able to put up 24 points and 6 rebounds, but that wasn't enough to stop Carmelo Anthony and the rest of his crew.

If I had to give an award for the most impressive player of the game, it would go to Heat's back-up point guard, Eddie House. House looked really motivated Thursday night, scoring 15 points in 17 minutes. He went 4-8 from three point range and played the way I wished the remaining role players would. Mario chambers performed well off the bench as well, putting up 14 points; twelve of which came from three pointers. Carlos Arroyo scored the least of all the points guards, making 5 or his 7 shots for 10 points.

Hopefully, LeBron missing a few games will end up being a blessing in disguise. The rest of the bench will emulate the performances of all three point guards last night. We all know the big three can easily go for 80 points on any given night. It's now time for the rest of the guys to figure out what their roles are, and deliver for their team consistently.

The Heat will have the opportunity to do just that against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. The Bulls are 17-3 at home, and the Heat have their work cut out for them. Weirdly enough, I'm actually hoping LeBron sits out the game and gives his teammates another opportunity to find themselves.
*David is a Miami Heat fan that has followed the team for 15 years.

Sources Associated press, " J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony help Nuggets drop Heat " ESPN All stats and game information from espn.com