Spo’s latest book for the Heat

Since Phil Jackson introduced it when he was with the Chicago Bulls, the practice of coaches giving inspirational books to players is no longer a rarity. Michael Jordan will never forget the 1974 book “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” by Robert Pirsig from Jackson and neither will Kobe Bryant who got the 1993 novel “Montana 1948” by Larry Watson.

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has made it a personal tradition to give books to his players every Christmas. “Clutch” by Paul Sullivan and “Band of Brothers”by Stephen Ambrose were two books he passed around. Writer Couper Moorhead said, “with each book, there’s an accompanying message and this year, after back-to-back NBA championships, the message is right in the title of Fred Hassan’s ‘Reinvent: A Leader’s Playbook for Serial Success.’”

Spoelstra’s challenge is to motivate Miami’s Big 3 at the highest level to keep excelling, achieving and winning. It becomes more and more difficult to defend the title as the years go by especially if there is a streak to preserve. This season, the Heat is out for a three-peat but it won’t be easy to accomplishing the feat.

Miami ended the regular season with a 54-28 record, first in the Southeast but second in the Eastern Conference to Indiana at 56-26. In the West, Portland and Houston finished with the same record as Miami and three other squads had superior marks, San Antonio (62-20), Oklahoma City (59-23) and the Los Angeles Clippers (57-25).

Last season, the Heat enjoyed the homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs with a 66-16 slate. Miami didn’t lean on the American Airlines Arena edge in disposing of Milwaukee in four and Chicago in five in the first two rounds of the playoffs but it came in handy in surviving Indiana and the Spurs in a pair of Game 7s. In the Finals, Miami came back from a 2-3 deficit to win the last two meetings at home to clinch. That cushion won’t be with Spoelstra this season.

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Entering the playoffs, Miami looked far from fearsome, losing its last three and five of its last six with the only exception, a 98-86 win over the East leader Indiana. The last three decisions were an embarrassment to the franchise as the Heat bowed to Atlanta by 13, Washington by 21 and Philadelphia by 13.

Without the benefit of the homecourt advantage, Spoelstra has his work cut out for him although first round opponent Charlotte shouldn’t be too dangerous. The Bobcats, owned by Jordan, are still searching for their first-ever playoff win. Last March, Miami’s LeBron James torched Charlotte with a career-high 61 points. The Heat beat Charlotte in their four regular season meetings. Game 1 was played in Miami yesterday morning (Manila time).   

If and when Miami disposes of Charlotte, the Heat will advance to play the winner of the Toronto-Brooklyn series. If the cards fall as expected, Miami and Indiana will clash in a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals.

It will be a sentimental journey for Miami forward Shane Battier who’s retiring at the end of the playoffs. Battier can still contribute to the title run with his three-point shooting and hard-nosed defense. But Spoelstra may allocate more minutes to Rashard Lewis instead of Battier to create mismatch situations. Versatility is what separates Miami from the rest. Michael Beasley, for instance, can play three or four, James Jones two or three, Mario Chalmers one or two, Dwyane Wade one or two, Chris Bosh four or five, Udonis Haslem three, four or five, Chris Andersen four or five, Ray Allen two or three, Battier three or four, Lewis three or four and King James one, two, three, four and even five. Spoelstra has the luxury of playing big or small, depending on how he intends to address the opposition. The only players set in a single spot are rookie center Justin Hamilton and point guards Norris Cole and Toney Douglas.

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Health issues hounded Miami during the regular season as Wade played in only 54 games, averaging 19 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists. Even James didn’t play the full distance, averaging 27.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 77 outings. Bosh averaged 16.2 points and 6.6 rebounds in 79 appearances. Now that the playoffs are here, Spoelstra hopes he’ll play with a full complement, healthy and hearty. That’s the only way Miami has a chance to three-peat. If anyone of the Big 3 goes down, the Heat will be hard pressed to make it three in a row.

Regarding Hassan’s book, Spoelstra said it was appropriate for this season’s mission. He said it was critical for the Heat to understand that the team had to improve, to get better for a third championship. “It’s so much easier just to stay with what you know,, stay with what you’re comfortable with and think that’s enough,” explained Spoelstra quoted by Moorehead. “Hassan calls it the Discomfort Zone. To break through and improve, you have to get into that discomfort zone. By constantly pushing for new ideas and working on new things within the context of what we’re trying to do. For me, that meant looking at more efficient ways to do things with our group by looking at different concepts, offensively and defensively without making us play in a different way. For our players, even the older veteran players, how can they add to their game? The second part is how to be able to incorporate all the individuals improving into the team concept. Doing that is the hard part.”

Spoelstra said the Heat will retain the title if the team puts itself in a position to be better than last year. As for himself, Spoelstra said he has matured through the years with more trust and communication with the players. “Initially, when any coach first comes in, you want to set your plan and your philosophy and you think that the less deviation there is, then the more consistently you’ll get to all of it,” he said. “But with this group, it’s different. More player-to-coach, coach-to-player and player-to-player input was better for this team.”

Spoelstra’s Christmas book-giving worked wonders the last two years. It remains to be seen if three’s a charm for the Heat.