By Joseph Goodman, McClatchy Newspapers –
INDIANAPOLIS — Suddenly, the Heat feels like the lesser of two teams here in Indiana.
Pushed around for two games ina row, Miami finds itself in a must-win scenario against the Pacers on Sunday in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. It came without warning, but the defining moment of Heat’s grand experiment is here.
“We know we didn’t play well in Game 3, so we’re going to get an opportunity to go out and make amends for what we did in Game 3 and try to bring it back to our house with this series tied 2-2,” Heat forward LeBron James said. “We’re a confident bunch. We’ve got a veteran ballclub.”
But that veteran ballclub is hurting.
Down 2-1 in its best-of-7 series, the Heat returned to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday for a light practice. On Friday, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra issued a mandatory rest day for a team that played sluggishly in the second half of Game 3. The Heat scored 14 points in the third quarter and couldn’t overcome a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit.
“The two days of rest I think helped with everybody,” Spoelstra said. “This time of year when you get two days, it probably feels like a week during a regular season. . . . So, guys I think will have fresh legs (Sunday).”
Dwyane Wade certainly needed the time away. He called Friday a “mental day away from the game of basketball, but not too far away from it.” Wade scored five points in Game 3, and his verbal confrontation with Spoelstra during a third-quarter timeout seemed like a tipping point in the series.
On Friday, Wade traveled to Bloomington, Ind., to visit with an old friend, former Marquette coach Tom Crean, who is now the coach at Indiana University. Wade said Crean reminded him to be “honest with myself.”
“He’s always told me that I’ve seen everything — that’s there’s nothing I can go through that I haven’t already been through before,” Wade said. “And you know how to get back from it, and no one else can do it but you.”
In no uncertain terms, Sunday will be one of the most important games of Wade’s time in Miami. How he bounces back from his historically poor shooting night in Game 3 will define his career. His five points on Thursday was Wade’s smallest scoring total in a playoff game since his rookie season. For the first time in his career, Wade failed to score in the first half.
Although he wouldn’t disclose a specific injury, Wade acknowledged that he’s not completely healthy.
“If I don’t feel great physically, I can beat you with my mind,” Wade said. “And at this point, it’s just about being a complete player. It’s about doing what you can to help your team win.
“It’s not just on the offensive end, even though that’s a very big part of it. You got to find other ways. If the ball is not going in the basket, as a complete player, you’ve got to find other ways to win and be effective.”
James, who scored 22 points in Game 3, said Saturday that he plans to make a “conscious” effort to get Wade easy baskets at the beginning of the game “to get him going.”
“I know enough to know not to put too much pressure on him,” James said. “I didn’t have to say anything to him. I didn’t have to watch film with him or anything. He’s one of the best players we have in this league, so I’m not worried about it.”
A central theme of the series has been the Pacers’ aggressive style of play. On Saturday, Pacers forward Danny Granger, who has initiated several altercations with James, said he’s “not going to back down from anybody.” James called it false motivation.
“I’m not no monster,” James said. “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.”
Heat forward Chris Bosh continues to rehabilitate his strained abdominal muscle in Miami. Spoelstra said Bosh will not be joining the team for Game 4. . . . Chalmers, who injured his left wrist in Game 3, practiced Saturday.
