BasketballThe Pat Riley countdown

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LeBron James of the Miami Heat looks on during the game against the Charlotte Bobcats. The Heat won 95-87. (Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)

I suppose the speed of which the Pat Riley countdown has kicked into high gear in Miami shouldn't be surprising.  I gave it to mid-season, with the thought that all it was really going to take was a bad start by Miami. And that's exactly what's happened.

It was almost five years ago to the day, Dec. 12, 2005, that former Heat coach Stan Van Gundy resigned his job to "spend more time with [his] family." Team president Riley inherited a squad of Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal, who were a disappointing 11-10.

At that time there was no "Bumpgate"  which increases the pressure even more.  The LeBron James' bump into current coach Erik Spoelstra Saturday night against the Mavericks has been the most over-analyzed piece of footage to come out of Dallas since the Zapruder film.

You've got to remember that LBJ had this sort of collision before with his former Cavs coach Mike Brown.  And let's be honest here.  If somebody is walking directly toward you and your head is up, do you not see them? 

Stories out of Miami Monday from ESPN's Chris Broussard (known to be well-connected to James' people) suggest some Heat players are frustrated by Spoelstra's conservative offensive style and characterized him as a guy simply coaching to keep his job.

Frankly, the latter doesn't make much sense, but you have to consider it came from unnamed sources. James himself told South Florida media that he, Wade and Bosh have to adjust to playing off the ball.

Wade specifically has had a rough stretch, playing out of his element and turning the ball over seven times against the Mavs. The Heat appeared to get into gear Monday against the 5-11 Wizards, scoring more than 100 points for the first time in almost two weeks. They also showed some fire as a unit after Montreal's Joel Anthony took a flagrant hit under the basket from Hilton Armstrong.

In the NBA however, if your stars are losing respect for your coach, your coach is gone. Whether Spoelstra is running enough pick-and-rolls or not is only part of the issue. While Riley has an ego himself, he's also an ego manager. And at the end of the day this Heat team is still an unprecedented experiment.

In the meantime, all eyes will be on Cleveland Thursday for LeBron's return.

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The loss of Raptors power forward Reggie Evans with another foot injury is unfortunate. I wouldn't call it huge, because it's not like this team is a true playoff contender. But a front court with Evans and Andrea Bargnani was fluidly effective for several games with Evans putting up the sort of point-to-rebound stat lines reminiscent of a poor man's 2003 Ben Wallace.

Bargnani's game is directly tied to his confidence, and the loss of Evans is a blow to that. Amir Johnson has the ability to pick up some of the slack, but he's such a foul machine that he can't be counted on for more minutes. The Raps did recall rookie Ed Davis from their D-league team in the shopper's paradise of Erie, Pa., on Monday.

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One guy who went the other way in D-League action was the Nets' Terrence Williams, whose demotion to Springfield Armor last week is unheard of in the NBA. This isn't a baseball team demoting a young pitcher to Triple-A to work on his cut fastball. It was punishment from coach Avery Johnson and GM Billy King for repeated tardiness. It's hard to see how this will work in a positive fashion; NBA first-round picks who make $2 million US a year aren't used to this sort of treatment. Then again, King has never been accused of brilliant strategy.

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Nobody expected the Spurs to possess the NBA's best record after the first month of the season. But at 14-2 through Monday, San Antonio is surprising people despite their advanced years and the media distraction of Tony Parker's personal drama. Manu Ginobili is relishing his starter's role on the league's second-highest scoring team. While he's unquestionably lost a step, Tim Duncan still qualifies as one of the top big men in the league. And in addition to providing much-needed legs under the age of 30, point guard George Hill has been able to spell Parker when needed.

Sunday's 17-point comeback win in New Orleans is proof this is still an elite team, but can they keep up this pace? Of course not. It's only early December and they're old. But they'll win 50 in a Southwest division that is ultra-competitive with Dallas and to a lesser extent, the cooling Hornets (as long as Chris Paul is there).

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