The Miami Heat were the perennial favorite to repeat as NBA Champions. They boast the greatest player on the planet in LeBron James and have a supporting cast that consists of two all-stars in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and as if that wasn’t enough they have one of, if not the best three-point marksman in league history in the form of Ray Allen.

Team president Pat Riley maxed out the salary cap by stacking the bench with veterans willing to sign at league minimums all for the sake of chasing down an elusive championship. Riley has literally mortgaged the Heat’s future for the chance to win as many Larry O’Brien trophies as possible. The current Heat team can not exist in the highly punitive luxury-tax system as it would be cost-prohibitive to run basketball operations knowing that at minimum the team would be kicking back $20 million to the league come season end.

The gamble seemed to be well-worth it as the Heat took their first championship last season with the newly signed trio of stars. With one championship under their belts (two for Wade as he won one with Shaquille O’Neal) the trio looked at pulling the elusive repeat this season.

The Heat cruised during the regular season as they went seemingly untested. They won 66 games and dropped only 16 games all season, of those 16 losses only eight were by double-digits. Only two teams beat the Heat on more than one occasion; the New York Knicks did it three times while the Indiana Pacers beat them twice.

Both of the Heat’s losses to the Pacers came in Indiana and they lost by 10 points and 13 points respectively. If the Heat are wanting to play for the opportunity to be crowned as repeat NBA champions they had better figure out how to win in Indiana. No one said that this feat would be easy and one had better believe that the Heat walk around with a giant target on their backs wherever they go.

Here is the current problem for the Heat; James supporting cast is coming up well short of their expectations. Throughout the regular season Wade averaged 21.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 5.1 apg. Bosh averaged 16.6 ppg and 6.8 rpg and Allen chipped in with his 10.9 ppg averages. In the playoffs, Wade’s averages have dropped to 13.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 5.3 apg. Bosh’s numbers have fallen to 13.5 ppg while Allen has remained constant at 10.9 ppg. Granted the Heat are surely missing the combined 10.6 ppg between Wade and Bosh; however, that in itself isn’t too alarming given that defenses have a tendency to tighten during the playoffs.

Here is what is alarming for Heat fans. During the regular season Wade was the Heat’s leading scorer against the Pacers as he was averaging a robust 23.3 ppg. During the playoffs against the Pacers, Wade is only averaging 16.5 ppg. Against the Pacers, Bosh has completely forgotten how to rebound as his rebound averages are a lowly 3.5 per game and while Ray Allen had been contributing a healthy 10 ppg; against the Pacers in this series thus far he is averaging only 5 ppg.

Adding to the Heat’s playoff troubles is the fact that this series highlights their inability to rebound the basketball. They were the league’s 30th ranked rebounding team in the regular season while the Pacers led the league in rebounding. This is becoming a glaring advantage for the Pacers as they have dominated the glass thus far in the series.

Interesting fact for the Pacers; they win every game in which Roy Hibbert scores over 20 points and grabs 10 or more rebounds. They are a perfect ten for ten when this occurs and that includes game two of this series when Hibbert scored 29 points and added 10 boards.

The Miami Heat are tied with the Pacers at one game apiece; however, to anyone who has watched this series the Heat could just as easily be down 0-2 heading into Indiana. The Heat are in real trouble here and if they can’t find their inner toughness on the boards and start knocking down shots offensively they just might return to South Beach facing elimination.