Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
INDIANAPOLIS â€" In the space and time between Thursday night's Game 3 loss to the Indiana Pacers and Saturday's full-squad practice, Heat players tried to get away from the fray as much as they could.
Erik Spoelstra "locked the keys to the bus" so players would rest their legs, rather than getting shots up at the gym. Dwyane Wade got a ride out to Bloomington, an hour away, to visit the Indiana University campus and catch up with his college coach, Tom Crean. LeBron James got a movie ticket, spending Friday night laughing loudly with friends in the back of a half-empty theater.
James, however, didn't find even the best gags in The Dictator any funnier than one line of questioning posed Saturday, about whether he had heard about Lance Stephenson - the Pacers reserve guard who has played all of six post-season minutes - giving him the choke sign as he shot free throws. James said he wasn't aware, since he had stayed away from ESPN and social media.
"Lance Stephenson?" James said. "You guys want a quote about Lance Stephenson? I'm not even going to give him the time."
After a few questions on other subjects, and with his interview session over, James peeked back, grinning and shaking his head.
"Come on guys," James said. "Man, Lance Stephenson, guys? Really? Come on."
The Stephenson story line is one of the several trivialities that have sprouted to the forefront in this series, some to the amusement of Heat players.
Such as the hyperventilation on ESPN and The Jim Rome Show, among other outlets, about Spoelstra canceling Friday's practice after a short video session, a body-saving exercise the coach has chosen often on the road throughout this challenging season.
Such as the assertions that Pacers forward Danny Granger has distracted James with physical play that has led them to be separated in each of the past two games, assertions that James disputed Saturday: "I'm not no monster. This ain't no horror movie. I'm not trying to scare nobody. I'm trying to play basketball. He's got to hype himself up to say he's not scared of me. Have I ever been intimidated by anybody in this league? I don't think so. I go out and play my game and let my game do the talking."
Such as the timeout confrontation between Wade and Spoelstra, replays of which aired ad nauseam Friday and served as fodder for speculation of deeper cracks in the Heat's core.
All of that is beside the primary point:
The Pacers who actually play, unlike the sidelight Stephenson, are a major problem for the Heat right now. That's what Heat players and insiders have quietly and nervously acknowledged, pointing to more than the 2-1 deficit in the series, which has come with Miami scoring just 75 points in each of the two losses.
The Heat might have the top two players in the series even without Chris Bosh, provided that Wade returns to form, but Indiana still could boast the five or six next best, especially in light of Mike Miller's broken body, Udonis Haslem's dwindling role, Shane Battier's errant jumper and Mario Chalmers' inconsistency, through Chalmers was exceptional Thursday night. The Pacers not only are bigger and deeper, but their pieces fit better.
"We understand the level of play that we have to play at - in terms of intensity, toughness but also efficiency - in order to come up with this win (Sunday)," Spoelstra said.
They need to play not just at the customary road level from the regular season, but far above it: The Heat is 3-12 in the buildings of the top six seeds in both conferences, including 1-2 in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. They need to neutralize Pacers center Roy Hibbert, not just offensively or on the boards but as a defensive disruptor, and they need to somehow do that even as he's able to ignore all of the Heat's frontcourt options to hassle the guards. They need to hit some outside shots, especially Battier, but also Miller and James Jones when they get opportunities.
And, of course, they need the real Wade, who worked out with some of the Hoosiers, and seemed to come to work Saturday in a good frame of mind.
"One thing you learn when you are in the public eye, a lot of people are going to send you their opinions," Wade said. "And you always listen to the ones that have been in the fight with you before. You know, Coach (Crean) knows me from when I was 18, emotional kid, when I had my good days and I had my bad days, he was there. It's always good to spend time with him, and hear a different side."
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