Wade is Hurt by Williams' Injury

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Though he was up for the challenge of playing against Allen Iverson this past Friday, Dwyane Wade didn't necessarily want to defend the 76ers star guard.

Wade admitted to looking toward the bench at every break while he was at point guard, trying to figure out how long it would be until Gary Payton came back in the game.

That's why Jason Williams' absence because of a knee injury has been a significant problem for the Heat: Wade is not a point guard anymore.

The third-year guard managed the position well as a rookie, but during the past two seasons, Wade has built his body to where he's much better suited guarding players bigger than him than the small, quicker guards he has to chase around the floor.

And the Heat has another defensive challenge at the position Wednesday, with the Trail Blazers starting the lightning-quick Sebastian Telfair at point guard and bringing first-round draft pick Jarrett Jack off the bench.

With Williams expected to miss at least one more game, the Heat might need to turn to recently re-signed point guard Gerald Fitch just to match up at the position and keep Wade from playing out of position.

But the defensive end is not the only area that Williams' injury is felt. Offensively, the Heat's current starting five is in trouble if it's not scoring in the paint.

When Wade or Alonzo Mourning draws the attention of the defense inside, it often leaves Payton open at the three-point line. The problem is Payton has hit just four of his 28 attempts from beyond the arc, and that leaves James Posey as the only perimeter threat the defense has to respect.

Payton's deficiencies from the perimeter aren't as noticeable when he's a member of the second unit because he would be playing with Jason Kapono more often, or alongside Williams and wouldn't be counted on for outside scoring as much. In his two games as a starter, Payton has gone 5 of 20 from the field, including 0 of 7 from three-point range.

Heat coach Stan Van Gundy has talked about Payton possibly stepping inside the arc more often rather than taking the three-pointer, but that allows defenses to sag in the paint easier.

As is, the Heat would benefit from a backup point guard with more range, and the Heat had a chance to sign one who is currently serving as the third-string point guard for the Blazers. Steve Blake, who attended Miami High and Miami Killian High and is a 37 percent career three-point shooter, signed with Portland as a restricted free agent this summer just before the Heat signed Payton.</div>

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