Beatles bow to Heatles

MIAMI – The defending back-to-back NBA champion Miami Heat may be peaking at the right time with nine games left in its regular season schedule before the playoffs as coach Erik Spoelstra’s squad is back on top of the Eastern Conference since regaining the lead from Indiana. Cynics are quick to point out that the ascendancy was more the result of the Pacers’ undoing than Miami’s doing. The Heat finished March with a so-so 10-8 record but Indiana has done worse, losing six of its last seven in a horrendous tailspin.

The Pacers looked awful in their last three outings, succumbing to Washington by 13, Cleveland by 14 and San Antonio by 26. If Miami holds on to pole position, the Heat will gain homecourt advantage through the first three rounds of the playoffs.

The Heat is rockin’ everywhere Miami goes so that LeBron James has coined a new nickname for the team – the Heatles, a take-off from the Beatles. It’s actually a second take for James. In 2006, when he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the King called Drew Gooden, Damon Jones and himself the Cleatles.

Last January, James, Udonis Haslem and Dwyane Wade got together on stage to sing for a charity event organized by teammate Shane Battier and his wife Heidi at the Fillmore Miami Beach. They were dubbed the Heatles although their singing was nowhere near the Beatles’ key. Still, the moniker stuck and with the Heat selling out stadiums on the road like the Beatles used to on tour, it was inevitable that James would take the nickname to a different level. Now, they’re selling T-shirts with The Heatles emblazoned on the front all over the city.

Last Monday, the Heatles performed in synch just like the Beatles did when they turned Shea Stadium into their personal studio in 1965. They played beautiful music in disposing of the Toronto Raptors, 93-83, at the American Airlines Arena.

The King was majestic from the start. He ruled the court like a King Arthur surrounded by his knights of the round table. James played democratically, showing no signs of dictatorship. It was James playing basketball at the highest level “With A Little Help From (My) Friends.” Toronto jumped to a 6-0 start but Miami countered with its own 8-0 blast. You could almost hear the Heatles singing “Get Back.” James dished out five assists in the first period “From Me To You.”

The Raptors refused to roll over and die. In the second period, Toronto opened a 10-point lead then the Heatles started a “Revolution.” James was “Here, There and Everywhere” as he hit back-to-back baskets to knot the count, 49-all and closed out the half with two free throws to lift the Heat to a 54-51 edge.

Miami sent Toronto reeling with a 6-0 surge to start the second half as the Raptors had “No Reply.” James inspired the Heat to “Come Together” so “We Can Work It Out” in extending the lead to 14 at 71-57 in the third quarter. The Raptors were in “Misery” and suffered “A Hard Day’s Night.” Toronto coach Dwane Casey signalled for “Help” but the Heatles kept a steady refrain, “Let It Be.”

Down the stretch, the Raptors made a last ditch effort to turn things around. Greivis Vasquez struck for three straight points to trim the gap to three at 81-78. You could almost hear Heat owner Micky Arison cry out to James “Don’t Let Me Down” and the King didn’t. James drove hard to the basket and threw up an impossible shot under heavy pressure, finding the mark despite a hard foul by Landry Fields. The King completed the three-point play as if to assure Arison “I’ll Keep You Satisfied.” That iced the contest with Casey heading back to the dressing room singing “I’m A Loser” and leading scorer DeMar DeRozan quietly humming “I Should’ve Known Better.”  It was an incredible climax to another leg in the Heatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour.”

With the win over Toronto, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra raised his career win-loss regular season record to 310-156, ranking fifth in the all-time standings in winning percentage in NBA history. Only four coaches are ahead of Spoelstra in the totem pole, namely, Phil Jackson, Billy Cunningham, Gregg Popovich and K. C. Jones in that order. Spoelstra now outranks the legendary Red Auerbach.

Spoelstra won his 300th game in his 448th appearance, becoming the sixth fastest coach to record the milestone ever. The five coaches who reached the milestone quicker than Spoelstra were Pat Riley, Jackson, Cunningham, Jones and Larry Costello. What a coincidence that Riley is the Heat president and retired from coaching to hand over the reins to Spoelstra.

Miami clinched a playoff spot as early as last March 10 with 21 games to go. Last season, the Heat clinched with 22 games left. Spoelstra said claiming first place in the East is something the Heatles worked hard to achieve. “Guys will look at the standings,” he said. “We’re not naïve to it. Guys are aware. The results will take care of themselves. That’s just ancillary benefit of the work we’re putting in.”

The work that Spoelstra referred to was on the defensive end. With the playoffs just around the corner, the Heatles are turning it up defensively. Before the Toronto contest, Miami held its four previous opponents to 80 points a game on 36.7% from the field and 27.5% from beyond the arc. Against the Raptors, the Heat yielded only 32 points in the second half as Toronto struggled with 40.6% from the floor.

“I think defense always comes faster than the offense,” said James. “Defensively, you start talking and start communicating and start flying around, you can cover up for a lot of mistakes. As far as the rhythm of our defense, we look like our old selves once again. We got guys who are out there who know the system and that’s big time that we’ve been able to play that side of the floor at an all-time high right now.” James finished the game with 32 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. It was just another “Day In the Life” of the Heatles.