Heat-Nuggets Preview

A rough first month of the season has the Miami Heat eager to start December on a better note, but a lengthy road trip could make that difficult.

On Sunday, the Heat begin a season-high six-game road trip as they visit the Denver Nuggets.

Miami (4-11) is trying to rebound from a dismal start, and its task won't be easy with four of the six games on this trip coming against teams currently with a winning record. The Heat's four wins were their fewest in November since 2001-02, when they lost 13 of their first 15 games en route to a 36-46 season.

Trying to avoid a similar end, Miami is hoping guard Dwyane Wade will start playing better. The Heat star missed the first seven games following knee and shoulder surgeries, which helped contribute to Miami's 0-6 start.

Even with Wade back, however, the Heat are struggling offensively. They are averaging 88.7 -- second-fewest in the league.

Wade's inconsistency since his return has been part of the problem. Wade, who averaged a career-high 27.4 points last season, is averaging 20.1 thus far. After scoring 31 and 32 points against Houston and Orlando, respectively, he was held below 15 in each of the last two games, including a season-low 10 points in Miami's 95-85 loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday.

Wade was 2 of 11 from the field and just 6-for-11 from the free-throw line. He also committed six turnovers.

"We try to use him as a trigger to get off the ball," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "It's very frustrating for him right now I'm sure. We just have to keep working to find things for him."

With Wade still trying to find his shot, and Shaquille O'Neal also struggling with consistency issues -- currently averaging a career-low 16.3 points and 7.7 rebounds, just off his career low -- the Heat realize the importance of everyone stepping up.

"Everybody has to contribute," center Alonzo Mourning said. "We can't just sit back and sit on our hands and wait for someone else. Everybody has to be an active participant. ... We can't expect Shaq and D-Wade to do it all."

O'Neal, who had 13 points and 11 rebounds Friday for his fourth double-double, said Miami's road trip, which includes three sets of back-to-back games, will be crucial to getting back on track.

"We damn near have to win at least all six games," O'Neal said. "We don't want to get too deep in the hole."

Denver (10-7), though, has won four straight over the Heat and eight of the last 10. The Heat's last win in Denver was Jan. 29, 2002.

Wade is averaging 29.4 points in seven carer games against the Nuggets.

Denver snapped a three-game losing streak with a 123-107 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. The Nuggets, whose three losses came by an average of 19.3 points -- including a 127-99 defeat to the Lakers on Thursday -- shot 54.1 percent from the field and had a season high in points.

Allen Iverson had 26 points, Carmelo Anthony added 24 and J.R. Smith contributed 22 off the bench.

"We're headed in the right direction when everybody's on the same page and playing defense like that," said Anthony, who sat out the fourth quarter with the game in hand. "It's exciting to watch us play."

The Nuggets had been held below 100 points in four of their previous five games. They are fourth in the league offensively, averaging 106.1 points.

Anthony is averaging 27.1 points in eight lifetime games against the Heat, but 35.0 points in the last three.