"We're not having fun right now."
-LeBron James, 11/22/10

That's an odd statement for one of the best players in the NBA to make so early in the season.

You'd think with all the buzz surrounding the offseason moves of LeBron James and Chris Bosh to the Miami Heat, those two, along with Dwyane Wade, would be having the time of their lives.

Each of those three is in their eighth year in the League. They're all in their primes. Although I didn't believe the trio joining forces would immediately translate to championships, I did believe the Heat would win 65-70 games simply because of the number of bad teams in the NBA.

Early on, those wins haven't come so easily. A lot of talk this summer was that Miami had a realistic shot to match the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls record for regular-season wins at 72. At 8-6, Miami would have to win its next 40 games to keep pace with Chicago. That's seven more wins that the 1971-72 Lakers garnered in what is the longest winning streak in league history.

Miami currently sits in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Most pundits picked the Heat to run away with the East. That is still possible, but Miami needs to fix some glaring issues it has.

Last night while watching the Heat get blown out at home, 93-77, by the Indiana Pacers, I couldn't help but think that, whenever Wade or James has the ball in a halfcourt offensive set, it looks eerily similar to what James had while in Cleveland. There is no movement without the ball. No cuts to the basket. No backscreens set. Just isolation either at the top of the key or in the post. The other four guys on the court just stare like they're watching Kim Kardashian run across the court naked.

Mike Miller's return could solve some of that problem. He won't be calling for any clear outs. Miller, who shot a remarkable 48 percent from three-point range last season and has shot 40 percent from deep for his 10-year career, will help spread the floor on offense. That's something Miami doesn't have the ability to do right now. The Heat has streak shooters in James Jones and Eddie House, but no one who is a consistent threat from deep.

Miami's spacing on offense so far this season - when the Heat has played solid competition - has been putrid. Miller's return could, and should, remedy that problem.

Movement without the ball on offense has easily been Miami's biggest problem early this season. There's more movement by a paraplegic in a triathlon than by anyone on the Heat in the halfcourt. Miami has two of the 10 best playmakers in the League in Wade and James, yet the Heat offense is surprisingly stagnant at times.

This team doesn't have an identity. And the pieces it has behind Wade, James, Bosh and Miller just aren't that good. Players 1-3 don't win NBA titles. Players 4-9 do. Many people believe Miami executive Pat Riley pulled a major coup bringing three All-stars together. I agree. But questions remained, such as, "who are they gonna fill the rest of the roster with? Rony Seikaly and Sherman Douglas?"

That's pretty much what's happened. Carlos Arroyo and Mario Chalmers are a point guard pu-pu platter. The bigs have helped make the Heat one of the worst rebounding teams in the league. Miami as a whole is solid defensively, but it gets done in by any team with a competent point guard and serviceable big men.

Bosh was supposed to be the one who provided the majority of the bulk for the Heat. But his reluctance to guard centers, or do anything else, really, has helped make him a forgotten man on South Beach. You would expect Bosh's scoring to take a dip playing with Wade and James, but the rest of his game has taken a significant dip. Bosh's rebounds are down almost 4 a game. According to 82games.com, Bosh has had 375 chances at offensive rebounds. He's grabbed 16 in 14 games.

For most of the early part of the season, he looked more like Chris Washburn than Chris Bosh. Bosh has stepped up recently, hitting the 20-point plateau in each of Miami's last four games. He's hit that mark just five times so far this season. He seemed uncomfortable at times early on. Maybe Bosh is finding his way.

The Heat's two leading men need to find their way, as well.

It's always fun to think about how the best players in any given league would play if given an opportunity to do so outside and All-Star game. But the Wade/James experiment, so far, looked like a failed one.

Both players, although phenomenal, do pretty much the same thing. They both need the ball in their hands at all times to be effective. They both love isolation plays. And early on, it seems like neither of them is willing to take a backseat to the other.

James is obviously a better all-around player than Wade. But I think it should be James who makes a change to his game - a change that many have clamored for.

LeBron needs to start playing out of the post. He's a 6-foot, 8-inch tall small forward. His reluctant to hit the low block has always puzzled me, simply because he usually outweighs whoever is guarding him by at least 30 pounds. He's so strong. But James is also extremely fast. His first step upon catching a post entry pass and facing up toward the basket, would be devastating. No one could stop him. James' court vision is off the charts, meaning he could make any pass or find any cutter.

So why doesn't he do this? I seriously don't believe the question has ever been posed to him. I've seen him try and do it in the past. He looks sort of uncomfortable playing on the low block. I would suggest to LeBron he take the route of Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant and seek out a swingman who played out of the post. I suggest Adrian Dantley, Mark Aguirre or Bernard King.

All of these are fixable problems. It's up to all parties involved to address them.

I'm just not sure they will.