Miami Heat Routs the Nets MIAMI - With contracts signed, the roster set and their summer transformation complete, the Nets quickly crafted a vague outline for their bright new future, with one overarching goal: to catch the Miami Heat. No team was mentioned more often by Nets officials this fall. With a starry new backcourt and a replenished lineup, their sights were set high. Eventually, the Nets might meet that lofty vision. For now, the gap remains considerable, even glaring. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade needed less than three quarters Wednesday night to demonstrate the point, and the Heat cruised to a 103-73 rout at American Airlines Arena, dealing the Nets (1-2) their worst loss of this young season. The Nets shot poorly from the perimeter, rarely got into the paint and never did find a way to slow down the N.B.A."s pre-eminent superstar tandem. James and Wade combined for 42 points, nearly matching the entire Nets starting lineup. "Nobody said we were on Miami's level," Coach Avery Johnson said. We aspire to get there. We're not there. We're definitely not there with three games in the regular season. As Johnson pointedly noted, it took the Heat (4-1) a while to develop an identity when they brought Wade, James and Chris Bosh together in 2010. Wade himself stressed that the Nets will need patience as Deron William and Joe Johnson get acclimated to one another. The process apparently will be ugly at times. "We feel like this team shouldn't be losing by 30 to anybody," Williams said. But it's a work in progress. And we can all play better. Williams scored 14 points Wednesday but had as many turnovers (seven) as field goals. Johnson made only 4 of 14 shots, finishing with 9 points. Neither one got to the foul line. Brook Lopez was no better, finishing with 8 points, 7 rebounds and only one free-throw attempt. The Nets were built on the premise that those three players could lead a dynamic offensive attack. So far, they are sputtering. "It's still early in the season," Williams said. We're 1-2. It's not like it's time to start panicking. We told people it's going to take some time for us to come together. And it's looking that way still. James had 20 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists in 30 minutes, then rested the fourth quarter. Wade had 22 points. The two combined to make 17 of 26 field-goal attempts. And although Wade played briefly in the fourth quarter, neither was really needed. The lone bright spot for the Nets was a resurgent game from Kris Humphries (11 points and 11 rebounds). Otherwise, the night was a disaster. The Nets were inefficient on offense and typically dysfunctional on defense. They committed 19 turnovers, leading to 31 points for Miami. They took 21 3-pointers - most of them wide open - and converted only three. Hours before the game, Wade and James gushed over the Nets, praising their off-season makeover, their All-Star backcourt and their shiny new image in Brooklyn. Wade said the Nets could "compete at a high level in the Eastern Conference," once they establish their chemistry. James said the Nets are "right up at the top, with New York and with Boston," in the Atlantic Division. They spent the rest of the night making those statements sound ludicrous, or at least frightfully premature. "Everyone wants to come out and think it's going to happen right away," Humphries said. That's not the case with anything in life. Miami led by 9 at halftime, then blew the game open with a 10-0 run early in the third quarter, capped by 3-pointers from Shane Battier and Mario Chalmers. The burst was fueled by Nets miscues, including Williams's fifth and sixth turnovers. James closed the quarter with a 3-pointer, and Miami took a commanding 79-56 lead. The Nets are a team still in search of an identity, a point that Johnson readily acknowledged at the morning shootaround. He is still experimenting with lineup combinations, a process that could last for weeks. The rotation got another wrinkle Wednesday. Mirza Teletovic played 17 minutes and made his earliest appearance in a game this season, entering late in the first quarter. Teletovic made his first 3-pointer, then missed his next six, finishing the game 1 for 8 from the field. He was also victimized by Wade on a driving baseline dunk. The Nets again played without Gerald Wallace, their top defender, which left Johnson with the unenviable task of guarding James. It was a struggle. James scored 11 points in the first quarter, while Johnson missed 5 of 6 attempts. Wallace might not have fared much better. But the Nets surely could have used another big body to throw at James. "He's a good defender," James said earlier in the day, though he declined to say whether Wallace is among the top defenders he has faced. I don't believe there's one guy that can stop me one-on-one. Gerald Wallace was still wearing a walking boot to protect his sprained ankle, and his status remained day-to-day. But Avery Johnson indicated that Wallace might take part in Friday's shootaround in Orlando, which would open the possibility of his playing that night. Johnson dismissed the suggestion that Wallace, at 30, might need to play a more measured game to stay healthy. "I think he is who he is," Johnson said. I think he has the name Crash for a reason. I don't see him playing any other way.