Will Miami's Losing Streak Reach 20?

That headline may seem a little presumptuous at first glance. Miami is 0-3 to open the regular season; big deal, right? Well, consider this: Miami lost their last two regular season games in 2006-07, then got swept out of the playoffs in four games by the Bulls, and then lost all seven of their preseason games.

All together, this team isn't just winless in their last three, they're losers of 16 straight! And as The Howeva Files points out, the Heat travel to San Antonio on Wednesday, where they've lost 19 of their 20, before returning home to host the Phoenix Suns. Seriously, it's not a stretch at all to think this team will be 0-5 (or 0-18, depending on your perspective) heading into their matchup with the Knicks at the Garden on Sunday. Are the Heat starting to panic? Perhaps: it seems they've cleared Dwyane Wade to return to action sooner than he's comfortable. From the AP:

He wants to make absolutely certain that his shoulder is ready for the rigors of NBA play.

"That's why I'm not coming back tomorrow," Wade said Saturday at an event promoting his newest Converse shoe. "I'm cleared, but I know that will be on my mind. It's not like I'm not going to think about it at all, but when I'm on the court I just want to be thinking about the game."

I said it before the season and I'll say it again: for an alleged title contender, the Heat are much closer to the lottery than most people realize. Shaq is a shell of his former self (and, um, possibly being motivated by promises that he'll be allowed to miss games) and Wade is nervous about returning to this train wreck. Considering the Wizards will eventually straighten things out, Atlanta finally looks competitive (7-1 in the preseason, beat Dallas in the opener, lost to the Pistons by one last night), Orlando was a playoff team last year and Charlotte improved this summer, Miami figures to have a very hard time digging themselves out of an early-season hole this year.

Update: I see that the Miami Herald (and SLAM) has picked up the Heat's 0-16-ness, as well.