While trying to offer an accurate assessment of his team's uneven performance through the first quarter of the season, Heat president Pat Riley started by sizing up Miami biggest star.

Both Dwyane Wade and the team are slightly off pace.

Riley said Wednesday the team plans to address some concerns about Dwyane Wade's conditioning that might be a factor in the guard's drop-off in production from last season.

``He's not there right now,'' Riley said. ``So I get out of my president's chair and into my coaching chair -- I know he'll probably say I'm nitpicking. His efficiency is down. We'll address what it is we can do to help you maintain that lean, mean scoring machine you were a year ago.''

While Wade still ranks among the league's top scorers, his shooting has hovered at a career-low 42.7 percent from the field through a frustratingly inconsistent start.

Miami (12-11) ended a four-game home losing streak with Tuesday's 115-95 victory over Toronto, and continues its six-game homestand Thursday night against Orlando.

Wade has had some of his best games against the instate rival Magic, led by former Heat coach Stan Van Gundy. So it's possible Wade could show flashes of his form from last season, when he led the league in scoring with a career-high 30.2 points after guiding Team USA to gold in the Beijing Olympics.

But the player that worked himself into peak shape last offseason to recover from debilitating shoulder and knee surgeries is not the version of Wade on display now.

According to NBA.com, Wade ranks 13th in player efficiency through 23 games this season. That ranking has him not only behind elite players such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, but also Carlos Boozer and David Lee.

During what has been a week of team-wide soul searching after a recent 5-10 stretch, on Wednesday, Wade took inventory of his own performance and conditioning.

Although the Heat's roster lists Wade at 220 pounds, he said recently he has been at 228 pounds for years.

``Sometimes, you start off the season, your legs get heavy, and it's about getting them back under you,'' Wade said. ``I can play a lot better. I pride myself on efficiency. I haven't been as efficient as I've been in the past. I was in game-ready shape [last year], so it was a bit different.''

Coach Erik Spoelstra said the team places a tremendous burden on Wade to have to live up to the standards that he set last season. But Spoelstra said the team's statistical analysis has shown that Wade's number of free-throw attempts, layups and his overall defensive is close to those from last season.

The only difference, Spoelstra said, was that Wade has been inconsistent with his mid-range jumper this season.

``He was simply in freakish shape coming off the Olympics,'' said Spoelstra, drenched in sweat after a one-on-one workout with Wade on Wednesday. ``Guys who reach that level have to live up to that standard of play. Those are the expectations of greatness. He set the bar for himself and for the team.''

But has Wade set himself up for the potential letdown of getting lost in the shadow he cast last season? There have been three games already this season when Wade has not scored at least 20 points. He had only eight such games all of last season.

``I don't look at it as setting myself up,'' said Wade, whose lower-scoring efforts also have been a result of deferring more to teammates. ``Some nights are greater than others. I don't worry about it. If I have five straight where I'm phenomenal, then you don't hear that (criticism). If I have five straight when I'm not, you're going to keep hearing it.''

Riley, who addressed several team issues Wednesday, said Wade was driven by ``the perfect storm'' coming into last season to get into top shape and prove he had was again one of the league's elite players. Wade finished third in MVP voting behind Bryant and James.

``He started training camp and it was like an exhale to him,'' Riley said of Wade's seamless transition from the Olympics. ``He didn't have to do anything. So he went into that season in the best shape of his entire life.''

Entering this season, Riley's expectations were for Wade to maintain that form, for young players Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers to further develop, for veteran Jermaine O'Neal to be more productive and for Miami to contend for the fourth seed in the playoffs.

From Wade's play to the team's overall performance so far, the Heat is a step or two off the intended pace.

``So if Dwyane is down 10 or 15 percent from last year everybody has to look in the mirror about how to make this year better,'' Riley said of Wade, who can opt out of his contract and become a free agent in July. ``There isn't anybody that loves Dwyane more than me, and there isn't anybody that will be more honest with him than me. There isn't anybody in this organization, believe me, walking around on eggshells because of Dwyane.''