This isn't how this was supposed to go.

Whatever anyone thought of the Miami Heat's deficiencies, and how they would manifest or could be mitigated, few anticipated such a rough start to the 2026-27 season -- and that it would happen this way. The offense? Sure. That was projected to take some time, as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo sorted out their spacing, and everyone else found their place in the Giannis ecosystem.

But the defense?

Twenty-seventh in defensive rating, out of 30 teams? Routinely giving up 70 point halves (Monday against the Lakers it was 79)? Consistently failing to stop the ball or close out on shooters? Looking disconnected and disengaged?

No, this has been uncharacteristic of an Erik Spoelstra -- and honestly, unacceptable.

There have been very few stretches in the Heat's 2-5 start in which the defenders have imposed their will. They repeatedly seem to be on skates, reacting rather than disrupting. Drop? Blitz? Switch? Zone. It hasn't seemed to matter that much. Miami has been sluggish and susceptible in every scheme.

And it hasn't been just the supposedly suspect defenders either.

Prior to the season, it was assumed that Bobby Portis Jr., Tim Hardaway Jr. and Klay Thompson would be the weak defensive links among Miami regulars -- but Andrew Wiggins hasn't been much better. Antetokounmpo has sometimes been slow to rotate. Even Adebayo doesn't seem quite himself.

So how will the Heat address this?

Here they are, in their own words.....

"What wasn't I trying to tell my defense? seriously -- I'm not going to go on a rant right now, it's between the coach and the team...we had no chance...you score 72 -- you're not expecting to be down"

Coach Erik Spoelstra

Indeed, they were down seven at the half, even after scoring 42 in the second quarter.

Coach Spo is NOT happy about the defense from this Heat team:

"What wasn't I trying to tell my defense? seriously -- I'm not going to go on a rant right now, it's between the coach and the team...we had no chance...you score 72 -- you're not expecting to be down" pic.twitter.com/PiK67ovXPU

— The HEAT Realm (@WadexFlash) November 3, 2026

Spoelstra added: "I put myself in there as well -- I need to do a better job to get this group to defend to their potential. We're all accountable to this -- everybody in the locker (room) ....we gotta figure it out."

What's the "locker room" saying?

"If you don't want to play defense as a team, then you can't do it by yourself," Davion Mitchell said. "So it's not surprising. We got to have a better sense of urgency. We got to be intentional about the situation, about our game plan, and we got to stick to it.”

Bam Adebayo has anchored the defense for years, but now that defense is sinking even with him out there.

"“We got to really trust each other on that end," Adebayo said. "I feel like we think we give enough and it's not. A lot of times I feel like fatigue sets in, we stop communicating. That's when the mistakes happen and when the lack of effort is there. We got to figure it out because no team is going to be like, ‘We'll stop shooting threes on y'all.’”

He spoke of better attention and intention at shootaround and practice.

“We have to turn the incredible individual defenders into a team defense. Once we figure that out, that’s when this team can really be great”

— Bam Adebayo on the Heat’s bad defense https://t.co/0SKzHsT3wc pic.twitter.com/1ISXl6rHQ9

— Heat Central (@TheHeatCentral) November 3, 2026

Adebayo said that when the Heat turn "incredible individual defenders into a team defense," then "we will be great."

Nothing incredible or great so far.

It needs to change quickly.