Q: Ira, teams are going to continue playing zone defense against us to force us to shoot threes as long as we continue to shoot them at a rate of 24%. Never mind signing another power player. How about someone who can shoot 3-pointers – Barry, Deerfield Beach.

I've always liked Barry from Deerfield Beach.

A: ...for the 3-point shooting...the Heat aren’t getting up enough, and when they do, they’re missing. ... it can’t just be Norman Powell or bust. The Heat need Tyler Herro to get back to his 3-point self. Or else help would seem necessary, if not essential.

So they're not playing as fast and they're missing shots, one fundamental spec of the Wheel, and the sine qua non spec of basketball.

Q: Well that didn’t last long. It looks like the prince has turned back into a frog. What happened to the 130 points a game team we were enjoying a few short weeks ago? How does Miami fix this? – Jerry, Miami.

A: By making shots and defending. The NBA is not a gimmick league. Yes, a unique twist can help over a short period. But you have to make shots. And you have to defend. That is the ultimate simplicity, with the Heat over the past week not very good at either.

And the other team is scoring more points. Yes, that does add up to "the Heat [are] not very good". Ira Winderman.