By Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY
MIAMI � Flying home on the team plane from Chicago to Miami early Thursday morning, Heat forward LeBron James finally had time to appreciate what he couldn't during Wednesday's victory at the Chicago Bulls to tie their Eastern Conference finals at 1-1.
By Gregory Shamus, Getty Images
From left to right, Dwyane Wade (3), Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem (40) and LeBron James took the court together with Mike Miller for the first time this year in Game 2 against the Bulls.
By Gregory Shamus, Getty Images
From left to right, Dwyane Wade (3), Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem (40) and LeBron James took the court together with Mike Miller for the first time this year in Game 2 against the Bulls.
James, guard Dwyane Wade, forwards Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem and swingman Mike Miller were on the court at the same time during a meaningful game this season.
"We talked about that, too, on the plane. We were watching the film," James said. "This is the first time the lineup we envisioned at some point in the season finally had happened with us."
Miller injured his right (shooting) thumb in preseason, causing him to miss the first seven weeks of the season, and Haslem tore a ligament in his foot and missed all but 10 games of the regular season.
"It only took us, what, 95 games to get to that point," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It was a surprise to all of us. It reminded me of our training camp at the Air Force base. It had been that long since we had our whole group together during the preseason. It was encouraging to get those guys out there. And it did give us a lift, Mike, UD and the other guys who came off the bench. I think it's something we can build on."
That lineup wasn't particularly effective, getting outscored 8-4 in five minutes, 49 seconds, but it gave the Heat an emotional lift, and Haslem had his moments with 13 points (six on dunks), five rebounds and two assists.
Miller missed practice Saturday to be with his wife, who is expecting their third child "any minute now," said Spoelstra, who gave Haslem the day off from practice.
Haslem's 23 minutes was his longest stint since Nov. 19 against the Charlotte Bobcats, the game before his injury against the Memphis Grizzlies.
How much will Haslem be able to give going forward?
"He's worked extremely hard to get his body right," Spoelstra said. "It probably felt like he could contribute three weeks ago, but we didn't really feel he was ready at that point. So we'll just have to see. We'll see how he responds in the next game. We'll give him some more minutes again."
Spoelstra isn't worried about Haslem's return disrupting the team's chemistry.
"With UD coming back, (the rotation) changes things slightly. But again, he's an intangible player, so not a player who needs touches," Spoelstra said.
"Again, he's an effort, energy and intangible player. ... It's all the other little things that he does."
Wade, for one, is happy to have his longtime teammate back.
"Like I keep saying, he's the heartbeat of this team," Wade said. "We missed him for a while. We're glad he's back. And hopefully he continues to improve."
Wade doesn't even really care what Haslem can offer offensively. "What we expect from him is his energy and effort," he said. "We don't know what we're going to get on the offensive end, but we know on the defensive end and what he's going to bring is going to be consistent."
Physical series
Spoelstra took note of his players as they left Chicago.
"When you see all the ice packs on everybody after the game and you see guys laboring to get on to the bus, you see how physical of a series it is," Spoelstra said. "Fortunately, we were able to have some days to recuperate. ... We've proven we're an aggressive, attacking, physical defense for three rounds of basketball. It's not something we're trying to reinvent right now. In the Eastern Conference finals it has proven to be the same."
Wade said he doesn't remember if it was as physical in the mid-2000s as it is now, save for the Detroit Pistons teams that had multiple Eastern Conference finals appearances during that era.
"This is a grind-out series," Wade said. "When you look at our series compared to the other series, it's night and day in terms of style. They are very physical. I'm sure both teams in between games, you know, are in the ice tub trying to get their bodies ready for the next one."
An pricey decoy
With 5:57 left in the fourth quarter of Game 2, Wade cut his elbow on Bulls reserve center Omer Asik's.
Wade had the elbow taped to stop the bleeding. While Wade said it won't be an issue in Game 3 Sunday, Wade took just one shot the rest of the game and admitted the elbow wrap bothered him.
"Yeah, I'm glad I had this guy," Wade said, motioning to James. "It wasn't comfortable on my elbow. So I didn't really want to shoot the ball too much."
"I was a good decoy at the end."
An expensive decoy? "Very," he said.
The law of averages
The Bulls made 28-of-82 shots (34.1%) in Game 2 after shooting 43.7% in Game 1. They are shooting 42.9% in the playoffs and shot 46.2% in the regular season.
"We missed shots we normally hit," Bulls point guard Derrick Rose told reporters in Chicago Friday, referring to Game 2. "Wide open threes, layups, floaters, all that stuff. We were just missing them. If anything, I think that next game they should fall."
One player Rose hopes starts making shots, especially three-pointers, is swingman Kyle Korver. Korver is an outstanding three-pointer shooter and made 58.8% during he first round against the Indiana Pacers. But his percentage dropped to 38.1% against the Atlanta Hawks in the conference semifinals, and he is 2-of-7 (28.6%) against the Heat, including 1-of-5 in Game 2.
"He's got to keep shooting," Rose said. "That's God's gift, the way he shoots the ball. We have a lot of confidence in him every time he comes off the pick that he's going to make the right decision. We tell him, if anything, just shoot it up there, because most of the time it's going to go in."
Korver was 0-for-3 in the fourth quarter of Game 2, missing both three-pointers he took in the final 6:38.
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau was fine with Korver on the court.
"That's the way we finish games," Thibodeau said. "That's what we've done all season. You need shooting on the floor. We have to try to open it up. Kyle is fine.
"As with all shooters, you look at the type of shots they are getting, and, you know, when he's raising up to shoot, before the ball goes in, you ask yourself is that a good shot or bad shot? So those are the same shots he's made all year. He's proven he's an excellent shooter. If he's open, we want him to take.
"As with the entire team, there's other things that he can do to help us. He spaces the floor. He's an excellent passer. A very good team defender. There's a lot of things he can do to help."
Avoiding losing streaks
The Bulls haven't lost back-to-back games since losing on the road to the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 5 and Portland Trail Blazers on Feb. 7.
The Bulls haven't lost more than two games in a row all season and have shown an ability to bounce back after losses.
"Don't jinx us like that," Rose said.
Why have the Bulls been so resilient?
"We look at film, and we look at the reason that we lost," Rose said. "Our energy, our intensity wasn't there. Rebounding the ball, the smalls got to get back and rebound the ball. Thibs explained to us that we just didn't play with a good pace during the game, especially on the offensive end. And it shows on the film. We felt bad about it, and now we're on to the next game."
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