The team that would challenge 72-10 is 2-2 (unless you insist on counting a victory over CSKA Moscow, then it is 3-2).
Of course, the team that would challenge 72-10 has been on true display for a grand total of 3 minutes, 17 seconds. That was when Dwyane Wade was lost in the exhibition opener with a strained right hamstring, an injury that might not allow a return until the Oct. 26 season opener in Boston.
And now LeBron James is out, too, with a sore right hamstring.
Suddenly, Chris Bosh is back in Toronto, only instead of having Andrea Bargnani alongside, his running mate at center is Joel Anthony, who lately has been making Bargnani look like a rebounding machine.
Not even a 20-point third-quarter Wednesday by Bosh was enough, in a 90-76 loss in New Orleans.
Training camp certainly couldn’t have been better. The time spent at the Hurlburt Field Air Force installation in the Florida Panhandle was productive on so many levels.
The preseason for the Miami Heat? That’s a different story.
No, this isn’t about the dueling hamstrings of Wade and LeBron, it’s about getting a read on continuity.
With Wade out, Mike Miller has been in the starting lineup. Only the plan had been to play Miller almost exclusively as a sixth man, to be paired alongside former University of Florida roommate Udonis Haslem.
Then there is the rebounding issue with Anthony, who in his first four preseason appearances grabbed exactly one rebound, leading to the question of whether an NBA center has ever gone four starts with four total rebounds. Wednesday in New Orleans there were a whopping three, as well as Anthony’s first points of the preseason, after going those first four games, all starts, without even attempting a shot.
And yet, with Anthony there at least the stability provided by his shot blocking.
At point guard, stability has been rumor. Mario Chalmers continues to battle a troublesome ankle that had him sidelined for two months this summer and two games this preseason. A balky groin has limited Carlos Arroyo to a single appearance. And someone named Patrick Beverley has been playing significant minutes, a rookie whose last college game was three seasons ago.
For veteran contenders, the preseason is considered an insignificant blip. The Celtics, Lakers, Spurs hardly need such an annoyance.
But for a Heat team that redefined itself this offseason, these could add up to missed opportunities.
Invincible?
Tuesday night, Russia’s best held a 10-point lead at one stage.
Invincible?
Wednesday, a Hornets team that lost its previous appearance by 54 in Orlando, won going away.
Having bucked conventional wisdom already with its free-agency approach, the Heat seemingly would like to buck another notion.
This is the rare team that might actually need a longer preseason.
As it is, the Heat will enter the regular season with the same questions that followed that early July celebration at AmericanAirlines Arena:
Does this combination guarantee success?
Darned if we know. Darned if we’ve gotten a chance to know.
Ira Winderman writes regularly for NBCSports.com and covers the Heat and the NBA for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/IraHeatBeat.