Miami Heat already playing from behind

With their season set to start in a little over two weeks, LeBron James and the Miami Heat know they have plenty of work to do.

"Boston, Orlando and the Lakers are going to be ahead of us," James said Monday. "We're a little behind those teams."

The Lakers and Celtics are coming off of winning their respective conferences while the Magic turned in a 54-point preseason throttling of the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday.

While talented, the Heat have yet to form a cohesive unit thanks to the early departure of Dwyane Wade in Miami's preseason opener last week against Detroit.

The Heat know that without Wade, who is a week into a hamstring injury that still has an uncertain return date, the team isn't making the progress it hoped.

Also out is key reserve Eddie House and he will be for at least another 10 days recovering from a shoulder injury.

Carlos Arroyo, who was the starting point guard in the preseason opener, is out with a groin injury and won't play in the Heat's next preseason game, which is Tuesday against CSKA Moscow. His competitor for the position, Mario Chalmers, has been dealing with an ankle injury.