Miami Heat starting to unlock full potential
miamiherald.com
Sunday, 02.06.11
By Joseph Goodman
jgoodman@MiamiHerald.com
Ninety-seven days.
Thirty-three wins.
Fourteen losses.
One wrecked thumb.
A couple sprained ankles.
A bump.
The badness of Dallas.
The baptism in Cleveland.
The heartbreak that was Memphis.
The boos — the countless boos.
Forty-seven games.
That’s how long it took the Heat to peer over the horizon and glimpse its full potential. And you thought this was going to be easy.
It happened in Oklahoma City, of all places. Heat 108, Thunder 103 — that’s when Pat Riley’s vision finally began to come into full focus. Forty-seven games. Now look into the future. Another 47 games, perhaps? Look to the NBA Finals.
Is there enough time? Is there enough time to figure out how to beat Boston?
“Time — the No.?1 thing is time,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra after defeating the Thunder. “We need time on the court. We need to take advantage of practice days, shootarounds, because there are some lineups we’re playing right now that literally have not played together after 47 games.”
The Heat, winner of five consecutive games, is 35-14 after defeating the Bobcats on Friday night. Miami plays host to the Clippers at noon Sunday. It will be the team’s 50th game. Continuity, teamwork, trust – these are Spoelstra’s buzz words when describing the Heat’s goal for the final 32 games of the regular season.
“Our guys, I know, are feeling enthusiastic about our team right now in terms of we’re about as complete as we’ve been all year long,” Spoelstra said. “It only took 47 games, but we’ve gotten to that point, and now it’s a matter of continuing to build that consistency where we’re defending every single possession like it’s the most important possession, and we’re not there yet.”
Eyeing the Celtics
The Heat hopes to reach its full potential by next Sunday, when it returns to Boston for its third game of the season against the top team in the Eastern Conference. Boston has defeated the Heat twice so far this season and neither game was that close.
If the first 47 games of the season represented the time it took the Heat to learn about itself, the remainder of the season will be about unlocking a championship contender. Miami is on the right track.
On Thursday, Heat forward LeBron James scored an NBA season-high 51 points. On Friday, Dwyane Wade recorded his first triple-double since 2006, despite a sore back.
“Everyone is playing with confidence,” James said. “I had 51 but at the same time it was in the flow of everything and everybody stayed in the game. [Eddie] House has probably been our best player the last couple weeks.”
Getting role support
House’s role has expanded despite the return of Mike Miller to the rotation. Consider it a sign of a healthy team. Against Charlotte, House and Miller combined for seven three-pointers on eight attempts.
While James and Wade have played like MVP candidates throughout the season, the recent contribution by the Heat’s bench might be the biggest indicator of good things to come.
The Heat’s reserves scored 26 points in the win over Orlando and 34 in the victory over Charlotte.
“There are pieces of the puzzle everywhere,” forward Chris Bosh said. “I think we’ve played some great fourth quarters, we’ve had a phenomenal month, we’ve had good first quarters — we just have to put it all together.
“We’ve been in a cram session because we have championship aspirations, and we’re probably the least experienced team trying to win a championship.”
The Celtics, the class of the Eastern Conference, led the Heat by 1 ½ games in the standings entering Sunday. Boston ran circles around the Heat during the first game of the NBA season and then did it again in Miami a few weeks later. A lot has changed since then, but one thing has remained the same: Boston’s advantage as the more experienced team.
“We have to fast-track the learning process, the continuity — guys getting on the same page and being familiar with each other, knowing we don’t have three years of games to play to catch up to Boston’s continuity,” Spoelstra said. “That core unit has been together for 3 ½ years. You have to respect that.”
Time spent together is an advantage the Celtics will have against the Heat this season no matter how quickly Miami galvanizes as a team.
That shouldn’t be an excuse, though. After all, the current Celtics found a way to gel in their first season together.
They won the NBA Finals in 2008 after signing Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join Paul Pierce.
Quick learners
“Boston did it with guys who were very good players but not at the level at that point where the Heat’s guys are at, so certainly it’s possible but I certainly hope it doesn’t work out,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said Thursday before losing 104-100 to the Heat.
The Celtics did it with defense in their first season together. Garnett was the linchpin, earning the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Similar to Boston coach Doc Rivers during the Celtics’ 2008 championship season, Spoelstra has preached the importance of a solid defensive foundation since the beginning. Although the Heat’s offense seems to be hitting its stride entering the All-Star break, the team’s defense is still developing.
The next level
“We need to reach another level and that will be with consistency,” Spoelstra said. “We can do it at times at a high level but the times when we can eliminate those lapses will allow us to get to a level where we’ll need to be in the playoffs.”
In the season’s infancy, Spoelstra said James had the ability to earn the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
It was hopeful request more than anything. His offensive game is robust but James’ versatility as a defender could be the key in a playoff series against an elite team.
“Every practice and every shootaround and every game means a lot more to us than those other teams because we can’t afford to take a step backwards; we don’t have a lot of time,” James said.
“There’s a lot of competition in the Eastern Conference and it’s going to be sweet to see how things shake out.”
Follow Joseph Goodman on Twitter: @MiamiHeraldHeat
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