Filed Under » Miami Heat

Miami Heat president Pat Riley surprised Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra today by presenting him with a baby he adopted for Spoelstra to raise as a single father.

"It is Erik's call on whether or not he's going to stay with the team or go spend time with the new family I created for him," said Riley. "I'm not going to force him either way. But there's a little baby that is counting on him right now for undivided attention."

The Heat have gotten off to a disappointing 10-8 start, sparking rumors that Riley will push Spoelstra aside as he is thought to have done with former Heat coach Stan Van Gundy under similar circumstances in 2005.

But Riley insists that is not the case.

Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh promised to make history in Miami and, despite a disappointing start that has seen them win eight games already, the trio believes an NBA record-tying 9-73 regular season mark is still within reach.

"I'm as upset as anyone with our start," said James. "I need to do my part. Wade and Bosh have stepped up with some truly terrible games so far, but I need to pull my weight, too. I can't rely on them for all the failure."

Sitting at 8-6 after losses to the Grizzlies and Pacers, the Heat will have to finish 1-67 to match the Sixers' record of 9-73 in the 1972-73 season.

"It's going to be tough," said Wade. "As much as we want it, we still have games left against teams like the Sixers and Clippers. It's almost impossible not to win a few of those."

Despite saying their sole purpose of playing together was to win NBA titles — and multiple NBA titles, not just one — the Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh Miami Heat have now extended their title-less streak to 9 games with a 112-107 loss to the Celtics on Thursday night.

"It's a disappointing loss," said James. "Sure, it would have been nice to have won an NBA title or two by now, but maybe that's not realistic."

The Heat are 5-4 with none of their victories coming in the playoffs or NBA Finals, meaning they remain 73 regular season games and a full postseason away from being able to come together as a team and prove themselves.

"Not only that, but we all have six-year deals," said Wade. "We probably can't be truly evaluated until after those six years are over. I mean, what if we had won an NBA title in our regular season opener this year but then never won one again? That would be a failure, right? But what if we start this season 5-4, like we have, and still win 3 or 4 titles in the next 6 years — that would be pretty good, right? I'm honestly asking. I'm so overcome with personal failure right now I can't think straight."

James said he didn't want to focus on Miami's many failings.