By Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel –
INDIANAPOLIS — So what now? The answer Friday was nothing. At least nothing involving the bouncing of basketballs.
With a two-day break in this best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series that the Indiana Pacers lead 2-1, Friday was about mental health, with both teams bypassing practice.
For the Miami Heat, it meant a retreat to the team hotel for video study, and away from the outside chatter of a championship window closing without an actual championship during this Big Three era.
“We have a lot of veteran guys and they have to be able to manage all of your emotions that go on during the playoffs where everything is heightened,” coach Erik Spoelstra said in the wake of his team’s 94-75 Thursday Game 3 loss at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, where the teams will return for practice Saturday in advance of Sunday’s 3:30 p.m. Game 4.
“Everything can change in the next two days with a win on Sunday, and we have a lot of veteran guys who understand that.”
While Spoelstra spoke confidently of his team’s mental health, its physical health is another issue.
Foremost are the concerns with guard Dwyane Wade, who was limited to five points on 2-of-13 shooting in Game 3, clearly lacking his typical explosiveness, with almost all of his shots from the perimeter, save for two attempts in the paint.
Since the Heat’s 78-75 Tuesday Game 2 loss at AmericanAirlines Arena, Wade has been taking additional treatment for a leg issue, believed to involve his knee.
According to a source familiar with the situation, there is not an injury per se, but rather increased discomfort, an ongoing concern with the veteran.
Wade downplayed the ailment, as did Spoelstra and teammates. But just as the Heat are working around the clock back in South Florida to treat the lower-abdominal strain that has power forward Chris Bosh out indefinitely, so are the Heat working to get Wade at a higher level for Game 4.
Then there is point guard Mario Chalmers, who closed Game 3 with 25 points, his career playoff high, but also with a left wrist packed in ice. Postgame X-rays came back negative.
Chalmers said it simply is time to move on, endorsing the approach the Heat took Friday.
“Watch film, see what we did wrong, then get ready for Game 4,” he said.
Asked about his level of concern, he said, “nothing really.”
“They’re a good team; we’re a good team,” he said. “We never slept on Indiana. We know they’re a good team. It’s just time for us to step up.
“Our spirits are still good. It’s just one game. We’ve got another game Sunday. Just get ready for that one.”
While Spoelstra canceled Friday’s team bus to the Fieldhouse, gathering the team made sense in the wake of a game when it appeared to be pulling apart, including an ugly third-quarter moment with Wade during a timeout.
“We’ve got a lot of alpha males in this locker room,” power forward Udonis Haslem said. “We’re going to encourage each other and get on each others’ case when need be. But it’s all constructive criticism. I don’t think it’s personal with anybody. Emotions get high. It’s the playoffs.”
Tensions within the locker room involve more than Wade, with Haslem, to a degree, disappointed over how he has been handled this postseason by Spoelstra. Haslem was removed from the starting lineup for Game 3, playing just 7:18.
To Spoelstra, the fire to want more and do better is a positive, even amid such public moments as that spat with Wade.
“There’s going to be a lot of times where guys say something, you don’t like it,” he said.
“You get over it and you move on. We’re all connected. Dwyane and I have been together for a long time, a long time. We’ve been through basically everything, a lot of different roles, a lot of different teams. That really is nothing. That is the least of our concern.
“That type of fire, shoot, that’s good. That’s the least of our concerns. Our concern is getting ready for Sunday.”
Saturday, the balls again will bounce, with the Heat hoping there will be a bounce to their step Sunday.
“The guys who have been in the playoffs know this is a series,” said forward Shane Battier, who was injected into Thursday’s starting lineup in place of Haslem. “We can play better, that’s just a matter of fact.
“We know if we bring a better effort in Game 4, we have to chance to even the series. It’s all about perspective.”
