As playoffs give Heat new life

　　

The Heat's disappointing 98 start. The LeBron Jamescoach Erik Spoelstra shoulder bump 2009 women air max. The emotional initial victory before an intensely hostile crowd in James' return to Cleveland after a bitter split from the Cavaliers.

wins in 22 games. Injuries to Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem. A player supposedly crying, the coach said, in the locker room after a loss to the Chicago Bulls. The indignity of losing to the thenNBAworst Cavs on March 29. Finally beating the rival Boston Celtics on Sunday.

struggle to blend AllStars Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and James with an imperfect supporting cast nike tn black black. The joy, the tumult, the 58 wins and 24 losses, all in the daily national spotlight.

Now, the really important games begin, starting with Saturday's firstround series opener against the Philadelphia 76ers.

GALLERY: The Heat's 201011 season in pictures

For a team that had a championshiplike celebration in July after the stunning free gent coup when James and Bosh joined Wade, who won a title with Miami in 2006 it's championship or disappointment.

"Listen, there's no reason they can't win it this year nike air max 2009. They have the strongest core base of players certainly in the East," said ABC/ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy, who famously had predicted they would win 70 games.

What once looked impossible, then possible, then unlikely, now seems plausible. The Heat are playing championshipcaliber basketball.

"The regular season is about building a team, getting guys on the same page, building a philosophy and getting better," Spoelstra said. "Ideally, you're getting better each month to the point where everybody feels comfortable and confident once the playoffs start. We feel we're there.

"But until we prove it on the court, the rest of it is just talk."

LOPRESTI: Playoffs a marathon worth watching

LAKERS: Disarray could be contributing to poor playThe Heat got a break by avoiding the New York Knicks in a firstround series that would have attracted Eastern Conference finalstype attention. If Miami eliminates Philadelphia, it faces a secondround matchup against the Knicks or Celtics; Boston was 31 against Miami this season. If the Heat reach the Eastern Conference finals, their opponent could be the topseeded Bulls, who beat the Heat all three times this season by a total of eight points. All offer mediarich markets and increased attention.

Sixers coach Doug Collins, who has seen championship teams up close as a player, coach and TV analyst, understands what his young club is up against.

"They have a great chance, if they beat us, to get out of the East," Collins said.

The Heat knew the gargantuan expectations they created. But it was a challenge, not an insurmountable barrier.

Wade said no team has been expected to win like Miami and no team has faced the pressure Miami faced not even the twotime defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. Analysts dissected the Heat with chain saw and scalpel.

"We went through times where it didn't bother us, and we went through times where we wanted to win so bad and we wanted to shut everybody up so bad, we were stressing too much," Wade said. "You can't perform at your best when you're stressing that much."Publicly, Spoelstra has talked in aphorisms, from the mundane to the inspirational. "Greatness is consistency" is one of his goto lines. "Band of brothers" is another favorite. He gave players the DVD box set of the miniseries Band of Brothers and the book written by Stephen Ambrose.

Spoelstra drilled the Heat to play his way, concentrating on defense first.

"The first three months of the season, we spent such an inordinate time on defense that our offense was significantly behind," he said. "It's tougher to build championship defensive habits, and you have to do it right out of the gate."

The Heat are sixth in points allowed a game (94.6) and tied for second in field goal percentage allowed (43.4%).

Developing the offense was a twopart process: first, teaching James, Wade and Bosh to play together, without dominating the ball, and then, helping them learn to involve the complementary parts to make the offense more diverse.

That wasn't always easy. James and Wade were used to controlling the offense air max 95, and Bosh was the main option with the Toronto Raptors last season.

"We struggled early offensively, and that's where you have to have trust in the plan," Spoelstra said.

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