Miami on a Heat streak

With Fil-Am coach Erik Spoelstra given a vote of confidence by team management via a contract extension, Miami is off to its strongest start ever in 24 years as a pro basketball franchise. The Heat are now 5-0 in the NBA’s 66-game regular season shortened by a bitter lockout due to protracted collective bargaining agreement negotiations.

What’s scary is the Heat are doing it with starting center Joel Anthony averaging only three points a game. Clearly, Spoelstra is finding different ways to win and moving power forward Chris Bosh to the middle could be a key adjustment that might just put Miami over the hump.

In the offseason, Miami signed up 7-foot Eddy Curry to shore up the frontline but the 29-year-old behemoth is still recovering from a hip injury and hasn’t suited up since the campaign began. Curry has lost 70 pounds in a struggle to settle to his fighting weight but whether that’s good or bad is still a question mark. In 2006-07, he averaged 19.5 points and seven rebounds for the New York Knicks but that was five years ago. Curry has played only 10 games in the last three seasons. What makes Curry an attractive option is his ability to clog the lane. Aside from his wide body, Curry boasts a 90 1/2 inch wingspan – which is incredible, considering Manny Pacquiao’s reach is 67 inches.

But does Miami need a dominant center? Maybe, Anthony is a perfect fit because he doesn’t get in the way of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Bosh. He’s a role player who’s supposed to rebound and defend, not score points. In Miami’s 103-101 win over Minnesota a few days ago, Anthony was scoreless in 23:05 but James netted 34 and Bosh had 20 so nobody chewed on the 6-9 University of Nevada at Las Vegas beanpole.

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This season, Miami has beaten Dallas, 105-94, on the road, Boston, 115-107, Charlotte, 96-95, on the road, Minnesota, 103-101, on the road and Charlotte once more, 129-90. Two wins over the Bobcats must have infuriated Charlotte majority owner Michael Jordan, newly engaged to long-time Cuban girlfriend Yvette Prieto. James is often touted as Jordan’s Air Apparent and if you were once the King, it’s tough to watch your successor trample all over your Kingdom. By the way, James, too, is newly-engaged. He’s marrying long-time partner Savannah Brinson, mother of their two boys, LeBron, Jr., 7, and Bryce Maximus James, 4 – it’s about time.

Spoelstra, 41, hasn’t taken a step back since replacing Pat Riley as Heat coach in 2008-09. He piloted the Heat to a 43-39 record in his first year, 47-35 in his second and 58-24 in his third. Miami fell two wins shy of capturing the NBA title last season, bowing to Dallas in the finals. The season before Spoelstra took over the helm, Miami had a woeful 15-67 record.

A revelation for Miami is 6-2 rookie point guard Norris Cole who’s pushing starter Mario Chalmers for minutes. Cole is averaging 12 points a game, one of only four Heat players in double figure scoring clips – the others are, of course, James (29.6), Wade (20.2) and Bosh (18.2). He hit 14 of his 20 points in the fourth period in Miami’s recent win over the Celtics. In the blowout over Charlotte the other day, Cole and Chalmers tallied 16 apiece. Cole isn’t your regular jock. He played four years at Cleveland State and earned a degree in health sciences. Cole was salutatorian of his high school class so the kid’s not just a hoop phenom. Cole, 23, averaged 21.7 points as a varsity senior last season and reported for work in the NBA ripe and ready.

Gone from last season’s roster are Mike Bibby (to New York), Jamaal Magloire (to Toronto), Eddie House, Erick Dampier and Zydrunas Ilgauskas (retired).  Spoelstra tweaked the lineup to bring in rookies Cole, 6-11 Mickell Gladness of Alabama A&M and 6-5 Terrell Harris of Oklahoma State. He also moved in defensive specialist Shane Battier and Curry. Sophomore Dexter Pittman, a 6-11 center, is still available with 17-year veteran Juwan Howard, 38, a guaranteed standby. 

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Spoelstra has surrounded the Big Three with role players like Anthony, Udonis Haslem, James Jones and Mike Miller (recovering from hernia surgery). Haslem is a rugged rebounder while Jones and Miller are three-point riflemen. 

James, 27, has played in two NBA Finals so far. The first experience was forgettable as Cleveland, with James at the forefront, was blanked by San Antonio in 2006-07. Then came last season’s 4-2 defeat to Dallas. With eight seasons under his belt, James is now a mature leader on the court. In five games, he has taken only one three-point shot yet his average is close to 30 a game. He scored only 16 in the second victory over Charlotte as his teammates picked up the slack, crushing the Bobcats by 39 and leaving Spoelstra with a big smile on his face.

Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated said in his pre-season analysis, Miami will be tough to beat with a reliable point guard. “Paging a point guard, any point guard (as) Riley is not sold on Chalmers as a starter,” he said. “If the Heat can acquire a capable playmaker, an offense that jelled toward the end of last season could become frighteningly efficient. The troika is back with the benefit of a season of mental bumps and ego bruises under their belts. Valuable role player Haslem is healthy after missing most of last season with a torn ligament in his left foot.”

Cole’s arrival might be what Mannix envisioned as the last piece in the Heat puzzle. Throw in Curry, too, as a backup for Anthony if he’s in game-shape. James, Wade and Bosh were thwarted in the Finals last season. They’re like wounded tigers with a taste for blood. Spoelstra might just get it together in the end.