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ATLANTA -- Every couple of weeks or so, basketball enthusiasts are treated to the perfect version of the Miami Heat. Like a flash flood, the arrival comes without warning and, frequently, against a reasonably good opponent. On Sunday night, the Heat unleashed that storm in Philips Arena as they walloped the Atlanta Hawks 107-87 in a game that, as they say, wasn’t that close.

An NBA head coach has a constitutional duty to restrain his praise, even after a picturesque win during which his team gets virtually everything it wants at the offensive end. But even a perfectionist like Heat coach Erik Spoelstra offered a bounty of praise for his team.

“It was a solid, disciplined team win,” Spoelstra said. “There was a real focus and commitment to play to our identity.”

Spoelstra has a well-established lexicon that’s familiar to anyone who spends time around the Heat. Just as “process” was the Word of the Year during the 2010-11 season, “identity” might be the usage leader this go-around for the Heat.

How often does Spoelstra use the word identity when counseling his team?

“Over and over and over,” Chris Bosh said good-naturedly. “It just means we’re going to play our style, playing good defense, running teams off that 3-point line, keeping them out of the paint, giving them one shot, starting the fast break and getting the best shot possible.”

The Heat succeeded on most of those accounts -- though their defense behind the arc continues to be a nagging concern -- and also had a prolific night on the boards, outrebounding Atlanta 52-38 (with the Hawks trimming the margin during garbage time). Bosh’s 16 rebounds were a season high, while James notched his all-time high as a member of the Heat with 13.

“When you get stops, you’re going to clean up the defensive rebounds,” James said. “When we’re able to do that, we’re able to get out and do what we do -- and that’s run.”

The Heat racked up 21 fast-break points -- 18 during the first half when they effectively put the game away. Credit James with the lion’s share of them. He finished the night with 23 points to go along with six assists and those 13 rebounds.

The blowout couldn’t have come at a more opportune time for Miami. The Heat began their only back-to-back-to-back of the season on Sunday in Atlanta, after which they travel from the Deep South to the Great Lakes to face the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, then move on to Indianapolis for a date with the Pacers on Tuesday.

By virtue of putting the Hawks away early, Spoelstra was able to pull Dwyane Wade at the 2:58 mark of the third quarter, while James checked out of the game for good at the third-quarter buzzer. They played only 24 and 30 minutes respectively on Sunday night.

“It’s a big luxury,” Wade said. “We came out and took care of business. It was a very professional win by us.”

Wade’s professionalism was on display in the second quarter, when he decimated the Hawks every which way. With 7:17 to go in the second quarter, Wade saw a double-team come from top in the form of big man Zaza Pachulia, he deftly spun baseline, encountered another line of defenders, but managed to muscle up a shot that almost fell in and drew the foul. In the box score, the sequence will look like nothing more than a pair of free throws, but it stymied a 7-0 spurt by Atlanta and buried the Hawks’ last legitimate stand to stay in the game.

A moment later, Wade initiated early offense for the Heat when, courtesy of a screen from Udonis Haslem, he sliced through the Hawks’ interior defense to restore the Heat’s lead to 15 points. Wade finished the half -- and the game -- with 21 points.

Armed with that 15 points lead with 4:22 remaining in the half, Spoelstra opted to go small, with James at the power forward spot alongside Bosh at center. During that stint, the Heat were able to stretch that 15-point lead to 22, as crunch time came early.

“The common denominator out of that was LeBron at the 4,” Spoelstra said. “We’ve been doing that all year long. It’s been a good lineup for us.”

Bosh affirmed Spoelstra’s impressions, emphasizing that making James comfortable at that spot is an ongoing exercise, but one that’s coming along nicely.

“Everything is interchangeable,” Bosh said. “It’s just ‘Who’s at that spot?’ We run the offense every day. It’s sickening how much we run it. ... It’s really starting to get a lot of overturn and it’s working for us.”

Repetition breeds a certain brand of competence, even if it is -- as Bosh kidded -- “sickening.” There’s a reason we hear players say that getting their “reps” in an important ingredient to their success.

Spoelstra has seen his top-ranked offense flourish, but still feels that the Heat haven’t achieved -- as he calls it -- their breakthrough: the great convergence of talent and precision. Even for a team as stacked as the Heat, experiencing that full awakening is elusive.

“We’ve played some very good basketball for large stretches this season, but we haven’t been able to do it consistently enough, ” Spoelstra said. “Like I said, knowing your identity and then being disciplined to that identity is more than half the battle.”

Could Sunday night’s near-perfect performance be the platonic ideal the Heat are looking for? Was the thrashing of the Hawks that crystalizing moment for Miami?

“You never know your breakthrough game until you look back on it,” Wade said. “When you’re in the middle of it, you never know.”

Blake Griffin and Chris Paul play host to the Heat's Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh for the first time this season.

Should the Clippers be considered title contenders along with the Heat? Is Blake Griffin better than Chris Bosh? Is Chauncey Billups better suited for the Clippers than the Heat? Is Vinny Del Negro sitting on the same hot seat as Erik Spoelstra did last season? Who has the deadliest pick-and-roll?

In another edition of the Heat Index's 5-on-5 series, our stable of writers play some "Fact or Fiction" with some of the story lines surrounding the Lob City and Hollywood Heat matchup.

1. Fact or Fiction: the Clippers and Heat are both title contenders.

Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN.com/ClipperBlog: Fact, but this is a louder statement on parity in the Western Conference than it is on the readiness of the Clippers. If they can address their defensive shortcomings, it's not outrageous to believe the Clippers could advance out of the West, even if they're not a morning-line favorite.

Tom Haberstroh, Heat Index: Fact. Too early to rule the Clippers out. We have a trade deadline and 50 games worth of marinating before we see the final product of the Clippers. Oh, and yes, the Heat are title contenders.

Michael Wallace, Heat Index: Fiction. The Heat clearly are. We've seen the evidence. The Clippers are a promising playoff contender. That's about all I'll give them right now. They haven't shown us much of anything yet. Could they make a surprising run through the wide-open west? Sure. But when I look between the lobs, I see a team that must sort through conditioning and chemistry issues and learn how to win together on the fly. They may well be on their way, but they're not in that title class just yet.

Brian Windhorst, Heat Index: Fiction. Different people will have different definitions here but this Clippers team hasn't won a playoff series since Sam Cassell and Elton Brand were roaming around. Perhaps in the next few years but I don't see them as a title contender right now.

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VOICE OF THE FAN, (via Facebook)

Rian Fike: Fact. Dallas was gutted, Oklahoma City has not proven they have the heart, and the Lakers might explode. We saw last year here in Miami how top-tier talent can find a way to make it to the Finals, even without the time to fit together just right. The Heat are title contenders for at least the next five years. The Clippers have the natural ability to join them, starting right now.

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2. Fact or Fiction: CP3/Blake's pick & roll is more deadly than Wade/LBJ's

Arnovitz: Fiction. Paul and Griffin will quickly establish a rapport and will make beautiful music together. But last season's numbers don't lie: Wade and James are a devastating pick-and-roll tandem -- and that was before James developed a modest appreciation for being a screener.

Haberstroh: Fact. Consider this a protest to Erik Spoelstra: Why must he hide the most intriguing basketball play known to man? I get why Spoelstra wants to keep it in his back-pocket, as he likes to say, but can we all agree that it might have been useful against the Warriors? Basketball junkies everywhere demand more Wade-LeBron pick-and-rolls. Let's make it happen.

Wallace: Can I go "non-fiction" here? It's not a fact because I still think LeBron and Wade are the most feared tandem in the league regardless of what set you have them in. But it's also not necessarily fiction to say Blake and CP3 are more deadly for the simple reason that they both know and embrace their roles as soon as the set is called. That gives them a slight crease of an advantage over the Wade-James pick-and-roll threat. But I'll defer to the stat guys on this one.

Windhorst: Fact. First, Wade and LeBron don't run pick-and-rolls for various reasons. Second the best screen roll teams in history have involved great point guards and great big men. That's what Clippers have.

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VOICE OF THE FAN, (via Facebook)

Shanna Jones: Fiction. If you really think hard about it, everything that Blake can do in the pick and roll, LeBron can do as well. The advantage that LeBron has on Blake is that he has a better mid-range shot as well as can dish it if he gets trapped on the roll. Paul is clearly a better dribbler than Wade, but who scares you more?

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3. Fact or Fiction: Del Negro's seat is hotter than Spoelstra's was last year.

Arnovitz: Fiction. The pressure surrounding Spoelstra last season could fuel a reactor. Del Negro will be closely scrutinized, but won't encounter anything along the lines of what Spoelstra faced prior to his extension. If the Clippers get antsy, they're more likely to make their move during the summer.

Haberstroh: Fact. I don't think Spoelstra's job was seriously in jeopardy mid-season just like I don't think Del Negro is really sweating his job right now. But Del Negro doesn't have a precedent of getting teams to play championship-caliber defense; Spoelstra did. For now, Del Negro's seat is as lukewarm as his track record.

Wallace: Fiction. Or at least it should be. This should be about reasonable expectations. And the fact is, the Clippers are still the secondary team in Los Angeles, a distinction they'll carry under current circumstances as long as Kobe Bryant is in a Lakers uniform. There is far less pressure on Vinny to win it all right away - or at least get to the Finals - than what Spoelstra faced last season amid that 9-8 start. Take this for what it is - a view from afar. Vinny's seat should always be uncomfortable, but not so hot just yet.

Windhorst: Fact. Spoelstra's seat didn't ever get hot last year, Pat Rliley was not coming back to the sideline. As for Del Negro, the dynamics of this team have changed to create new pressure. Plus there's a few out of work high-profile coaches who would love his job.

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VOICE OF THE FAN, (via Facebook)

Ben Lash: Fiction. Del Negro could be forgiven for underachieving with a team that was put together ten days before the season. Even if the Clippers only reach the Western semifinals, it might be considered the best season in franchise history. Spoelstra, while a better coach, is squarely in championship-or-bust territory after last season’s disappointing Finals loss. The expectations are simply higher.

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4. Fact or Fiction: Chris Bosh is better than Blake Griffin

Arnovitz: Fiction, but measuring Bosh's value has become one of the more difficult analytic exercises in the NBA because he defers to two teammates who use the vast majority of his team's possessions. Griffin's value is less difficult to approximate -- he's easily one of the top-ranked big man in the league headed into Wednesday's game.

Haberstroh: Fiction. Here's how I frame the question: Would Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley prefer Blake Griffin over Chris Bosh for this season if he had a training camp to teach him defensive principles? I think the answer's "yes" even if they'd never admit it. And that's not a knock on Bosh; this is close.

Wallace: Fiction. OK, you win. Full disclosure: Haberstroh is behind these Bosh comparison questions! Haha. Happy now? First it was Bosh vs. Garnett, then Bosh vs. Love, then Bosh vs. Horford. Eventually, Bosh will run into a comparison he can't win. This is one of them. In fact, I'd be surprised if anyone else on the panel says anything to the contrary about Bosh and Blake. I just can't wait until we start with the Shane Battier matchup comparisons.

Windhorst: Fiction. Today is a bad day to ask. Consult game film from Warriors game.

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VOICE OF THE FAN, (via Facebook)

Jonathan Comack: Fact, Chris Bosh is a better overall player than Blake Griffin because he is vastly better on the defensive side of the floor. Blake Griffin does have only a third of a salary cap burden though...

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5. Fact or Fiction: The Clippers needed Billups more than the Heat.

Arnovitz: Fact. The Heat seem just fine at the point guard, thank you, and without Billups are still title favorites. Minus Billups, the Clippers are starting Randy Foye or Mo Williams at shooting guard.

Haberstroh: Fact. Billups is a misfit there but he's hugely valuable. Also, by getting Billups, the Clippers built some leverage at the trade deadline to swing a deal and fill in the roster holes. Norris Cole and Mario Chalmers fit seamlessly with the Heat's brand of basketball this season anyway.

Wallace: Fiction. For the simple reason that I don't think either team really, really, really needed Billups. The Clippers have a point guard emporium. And what we've seen out of Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole, collectively, through the first 10 games should be enough for the Heat to at least be encouraged about what they have moving forward at the position. We wouldn't have been able to see that had the veteran Billups slipped through the amnesty cracks and ended up in Miami.

Windhorst: Fiction. Billups is a luxury item for the Clippers now that they have Paul. Wade and James were great in the Olympics playing with a great point guard and they've never been able to do that in the NBA.

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VOICE OF THE FAN, (via Facebook)

Kevin Mayer: Fact: Who needs Billups when you've got Mr. Big Shot? While Mario Chalmers still makes mental mistakes from time to time, he's the leading the league in FG% for guards. On defense, his knack for creating turnovers is a big reason the Heat are able to run so much.

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On Friday night, the Heat look to continue their hot streak in the tundra of Minnesota. Sporting a 3-0 record, the Heat have ridden their new up-tempo playing style in victories over the Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics and, most recently, the Charlotte Bobcats.

Now, the Heat are poised to finally meet their equal -- in terms of pace at least. The Timberwolves were the fastest-paced team in the NBA last season, and with the addition of Ricky Rubio, there should be nothing but fireworks in the open court Friday night. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh enter Friday night's game averaging 67.3 points per game along with 18.3 rebounds. Kevin Love? He's averaging 16 rebounds per game by himself.

Lots of good fodder heading into the game. Was Ricky Rubio the biggest teenage sensation since LeBron James? Is Kevin Love better than Chris Bosh? Are the Timberwolves more entertaining than the Heat on the hardwood? Was Michael Beasley at No. 2 the wrong call by the Heat? Will the Heat win by double-digits?

In another edition of Heat Index's 5-on-5 series, our stable of writers play some "Fact or Fiction" with some of the biggest storylines heading into Friday's fast and furious matchup.

1. Fact or Fiction: Ricky Rubio had the most teenage hype since LeBron.

Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN.com: Fiction. Sebastian Telfair's entry into the league in 2004 was a huge event. Like LeBron, he'd been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a prep player. And there was an entire mythology built around his career at Abraham Lincoln High School in Coney Island.

Tom Haberstroh, Heat Index: Fact. It's easy to forget now, but aside from LeBron, no one was stamped with the "young phenom" label more than this guy. He played pro ball at 14 -- the youngest ever to do that, mind you -- and started getting Pete Maravich comparisons shortly thereafter. His dishing skills, international appeal and catchy name made him into a teenage hype machine. Doesn't mean he deserved it.

Zach Harper, Daily Dime Live: Fact. Unless I’m able to make some joke about Justin Beiber. The thing about when LeBron came into the league and when Ricky came into the league is a lot of the hype died off for Rubio because he waited two years after being drafted. It wouldn’t have been as intense as when James entered the NBA, but we would have made a much bigger deal out of it.

Michael Wallace, Heat Index: Fiction. Freddy Adu quickly comes to mind in this discussion on highly hyped teenagers in sports. Heck, I could even argue Michelle Wie had more worldwide hype and acclaim when she entered professional sports. And even if you want to limit the debate to NBA players, Dwight Howard didn't do too badly in the publicity department when he jumped from the prom to the pros as the top draft pick in 2004 a year after LeBron.

Brian Windhorst, Heat Index: Fiction. Maybe if Rubio had come to the NBA when he was a teenager and the unknown factor was higher. Rubio isn't even starting for a lower level team at this point. I think there was more interest nationally in Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose when they came into the league. Perhaps Greg Oden as well.

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2. Fact or Fiction: Kevin Love is better than Chris Bosh.

Arnovitz: Fiction ... by a hair. Love will win the point-and-rebounds battle and has already established himself as a lethal threat from beyond the arc, but Bosh has a more varied game than Love and is a far more capable defender. Feed the ball to Bosh at 18 feet and he can make any number of things happen. On the other hand, credit Love for being able to manufacture offense without being fed.

Haberstroh: Fiction. Yes, it seems crazy to say that a guy who averaged 20-and-15 last season isn't better than a guy who averaged 18-and-8. But here are two things to keep in mind: context and defense. I love Kevin Love's unique talents as much as the next guy, but if Bosh played on that team and played at that blinding pace, he'd post some eye-popping numbers too.

Harper: Fiction. I would rather have Kevin Love on my team because age, skill set, etc., but I think technically Bosh is an overall better player. It’s mainly about the defense for me. Love hasn’t showed that he can be a consistent defender yet. Once he even gives us a glimmer of being a decent defender, he’ll be hands down better than Bosh.

Wallace: Fiction. More productive statistically? Certainly. But better overall player? Nope. At least not yet. While Love would be a double-double machine on a strong playoff contender right now, it's not outlandish to suggest that his stats are at least slightly inflated by the fact that he's been on a young and struggling team in Minnesota. Now that I think about it, Love is similar to what Bosh was when Chris played in Toronto from a production standpoint -- back when those 24-and-12 nights came far more frequently north of the border.

Windhorst: Fiction. It is potentially a nice debate, but I don't think Love is better. They are comparable certainly. Love is clearly a better rebounder. But Bosh is more offensively skilled, though Love's improving jumper could have him there soon.

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3. Fact or Fiction: Michael Beasley was the right pick for the Heat at No. 2.

Arnovitz: Fiction, but it's a fait accompli now. The Heat wanted a versatile frontcourt player, and Beasley was brimming with potential. In retrospect, they could've taken Kevin Love or Ryan Anderson -- or opted for a point guard such as Russell Westbrook.

Haberstroh: Fact. But they should have immediately traded him for known quantities while his stock was at its peak. That said, hindsight is 20/20, and for all I know, the Heat probably tried like mad to deal him for a big-impact veteran and then some. Someone had to have valued him more than the Heat did.

Harper: Fiction. He was definitely the player who should have been taken second in the draft, but I’m still confused as to why the Heat kept the selection. I don’t know what the trade options were, but I find it hard to believe someone wasn’t willing to spend heavily on acquiring the potential and talent of Beasley. You know... if you want him back, I’d be willing to arrange a Beasley and Randolph for LeBron package...

Wallace: Fiction. At the time, Beasley was a no-brainer at No. 2 for the Heat. He was the best player available on the board. The Heat needed a point guard, but Rose was taken No. 1 overall when the pingpong balls didn't fall Miami's way. The second-biggest need was at center, and nobody was taking Brook Lopez at No. 2 at the time. But I credit Pat Riley for being apprehensive from the start about taking Beasley. He seriously considered trading down in the draft to pick up an All-Star-caliber veteran and a later lottery pick.

Windhorst: Fiction. It's understandable why they didn't go with O.J. Mayo because they had Dwyane Wade. But the team needed a point guard badly at the time, and Russell Westbrook had the perfect makeup to play with Wade. Beasley had a high talent level, but Westbrook's makeup looked like a better fit.

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4. Fact or Fiction: The Timberwolves are more watchable than the Heat.

Arnovitz: Fiction. Watching the Heat's offense morph into something more dynamic and less predictable is the best game in town right now -- but as League Pass wild cards go, you can't do much better than the Baby Tees.

Haberstroh: Fiction. Once Ricky Rubio announced he was finally coming over, everyone wanted to put the toddler Timberwolves atop of the League Pass rankings. But then the Heat decided to play their own version of Showtime and that was that.

Harper: Fiction. The Wolves were extremely fun to watch opening night against the Thunder. If you asked me that after the first game, I’d say absolutely. However, under Terry Porter against the Bucks, it was liking watching the debacle of last season all over again. Give Rubio 30-plus minutes per game and I’ll easily be swayed. We’re just not quite there yet.

Wallace: Fiction. For me, at least. If you prefer video games, stat-sheet stuffers and open-court shootouts, then I guess you'd prefer the Timberwolves' brand of carefree basketball. But you'll often be left walking away with entertaining losses. The Heat are a far more attractive team to watch because there's more starpower, more defense, more quality structure and more experienced players who know how to win together. It'll be fun to see Minnesota really grow this season. But the Heat are a more worthwhile investment of my time.

Windhorst: Fiction. Wade and LeBron James. That is all.

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5. Fact or Fiction: The Heat will win by more than eight points tonight.

Arnovitz: Fact. The Heat were feeling pretty invincible during the season's opening week, but the Charlotte game served as a wake-up call. No matter how prolific they were against Dallas and Boston, this still isn't as easy as it looks.

Haberstroh: Fact. But I predicted the Heat would blow out the Bobcats too, so clearly I'm a moron when it comes to picking games.

Harper: Fact. I think we’ve got a competitive game on our hands here. The Wolves should be able to go small with a Love-Williams-Beasley frontcourt and find themselves right in the thick of this game. And I think Rubio can traverse the passing lanes being stalked by LeBron and Wade. However, the score might get away at the end. I’ll say Heat by 11 but a close 11.

Wallace: Fiction. Might as well keep rolling on the "fiction" since I've taken it this far. I had the Heat easily beating the Bobcats the other night, and look what happened. The dynamics of a game can change the instant a key player comes down awkwardly on an otherwise routine play. Expect birthday boy LeBron James to have a big game, but Minnesota has enough firepower to keep it relatively close. This also is a getaway game for the Heat, who will return home after playing their third game in four nights.

Windhorst: Fiction. The Heat have a strong chance of doing it, but as a general rule, I always assume the home team will keep it close.

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How did the Heat blow it? How did a team with such an impressive collection of talent become so listless when it mattered most? Was it personnel? Coaching? A lack of will or desire? Mental errors?

When a team such as the Heat spirals into oblivion, there's no single contributing factor. As convenient as it might be to identify one scapegoat, miscue or bad acquisition, losing is almost always a team effort.

As we examine the tea leaves of the Heat's failures, a number of questions come to mind:

What if LeBron James and the Heat had managed his move to Miami more smoothly?
Whatever is driving the pitchfork crowd to direct a bizarre level of collective hatred toward a basketball player, one thing is undeniable: LeBron and his handlers managed to take one of the era's most marketable and talented athletes and turn him into Public Enemy No. 1. That feat requires a special kind of mismanagement, but they pulled it off. Then the Heat compounded matters with the pyrotechnics show in July.

A lack of execution and aggressiveness doomed the Heat, not a pep rally or the fumes from LeBron's jerseys burning on the streets of Cleveland. But try as they might to reject the idea that outside distractions adversely affected on-court play, James and the Heat played their worst ball when the spotlight was the brightest.

What if the Heat had played more small ball?
When you break the Heat down to their component parts, they have one asset that stands above all others: athleticism.

There are a number of ways to maximize that attribute, and playing James at the power forward position is one of them. Over the course of his career, James has been resistant to embrace that shift, even though lineups that feature LeBron at the 4-spot perform incredibly well. He was more receptive this season, but what if the coaching staff had pressed the issue and established a front-court rotation of James, Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem (with Joel Anthony's defense on call if necessary)?

It's confounding that James prefers to play along the perimeter, where he pressures defenses far less than he does in the basket area. That's unfortunate, but it's a reality the Heat can solve only by challenging him to fully embrace his size and strength. It's a project that should've been pursued more aggressively from the outset (not merely out of necessity when Bosh went down in January), and one that could've paid dividends in June.

What if Spoelstra had used his lineups more proactively in the Finals?
In most competitive seven-game series, one team emerges as the tactical aggressor while the other is forced to react.

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle was the bolder general in the Finals, deploying J.J. Barea as a starter in Game 4. It was more than a cosmetic move, as Dallas was able to more ably respond to defensive matchups and got its most efficient players on the floor in crucial spots.

Meanwhile, Spoelstra was much slower to adjust, staying with stale, unproductive units rather than taking a more proactive approach. All season long, Spoelstra lauded the versatility on the Heat's roster. Yet when the team desperately needed to combat the Mavericks' guerilla warfare with less conventional responses, he remained conservative -- perhaps fatally so.

What if Udonis Haslem hadn't tried to save that ball in Game 2 of the Finals?
With a 1-0 lead in the series, the Heat led by two points with possession of the ball in Game 2 inside of the two-minute mark.

The Mavericks ratcheted up their defense, and the Heat couldn't generate anything other than a pair of contested 25-footers for James. Haslem doggedly pursued James' second miss. As Haslem gathered himself for a putback, Jason Terry got his hand on the ball.

Had Haslem let the ball fall out of bounds, the Heat would've inbounded with about a minute remaining and a fresh shot clock. Instead, Haslem lunged across the baseline and saved a ball that didn't need saving. In doing so, Dallas seized control of the ball and tied the game on a fast-break bucket by Dirk Nowitzki.

The Heat ultimately lost the game 95-93, and the victory -- made possible by Haslem's well-intentioned but errant decision -- changed the complexion of the series.

What if Mike Miller was healthy?
The Miller acquisition last summer was supposed to be crucial for the Heat. Not only did Miller have the capacity to serve as an ideal backup in the Heat's three-man wing rotation, but he could actually play alongside Wade and James in an untraditional, hyper-versatile perimeter unit. Here were three guys who were excellent ball handlers and among the best rebounding perimeter players in the NBA. Throw in Miller's deadly shot from long range, and it was a coaching staff's dream.

All that changed on Oct. 20, six days before the Heat's season opener at Boston. Miller got his right thumb caught in James' jersey and suffered serious ligament damage to it. In April, he suffered a ruptured tendon in his left thumb.

Miller never found his groove. Simply catching the ball was a painful task, and he finished the season with a lowly 9.73 Player Efficiency Rating (PER). Miller didn't give the Heat a whole lot in the postseason, in which he averaged 2.6 points and about 12 minutes per game.

What if the Heat had stocked their bench differently?
After the Heat signed their Big Three, Haslem and Miller, they had little money left to offer basketball's legion of free agents. Pat Riley pursued the low-risk strategy of finding aging veterans who knew their way around an NBA locker room: Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jamaal Magloire, Juwan Howard, Eddie House and, later, Erick Dampier and Mike Bibby.

Identifying cheap talent is a tough exercise in personnel management, but the Heat's low-risk scheme yielded low-reward results. Rather than taking a waiver on an eager young player who might have worked hard to achieve the Heat's professional standards we hear so much about, the Heat got a geriatric ward.

Would things have been different had the Heat been more creative? What if they had opted for an Anthony Tolliver over one of their veteran centers? Or pursued a Gary Neal? The Mavs won a title with improbable contributions from Brian Cardinal and Ian Mahinmi. The Heat lost one with a lot of veterans sitting on the sidelines in street clothes.

What if James Jones had seen playing time in the Finals?
James Jones' disappearance from the Heat's rotation continues to be one of the more mysterious riddles of the postseason.

Jones was the hero of Miami's Game 1 conference semifinals win over Boston. He continued to come off the bench in the Boston series and the opener in Chicago before being sidelined by a toe injury. Although Jones went 17-for-37 from beyond the arc during the first three rounds of the postseason and insisted he was ready to play, he was never heard from again.

Dallas' complicated zone defense gave the Heat fits. It confined the Heat to the perimeter, where they indiscriminately fired up jump shots. A long-distance shooter would've come in handy, and Jones had traditionally performed in that capacity, yet he racked up a DNP-CD for the Finals.

It's entirely possible a proud competitor such as Jones would minimize his injury and was in far worse shape than advertised. That might be the only satisfying explanation for his absence.

What if Dwyane Wade hadn't barreled into Brian Cardinal?
With just under four minutes remaining in the third quarter of Game 6 of the Finals, the Heat got out in transition trailing by six points. House pushed the ball ahead to Wade on the left side, where only Cardinal stood between him and the basket.

Rather than using his speed to burst by Cardinal, Wade decided to slow-play the opportunity with his patented Eurostep. Cardinal read it perfectly and planted his feet just outside the restricted circle. Wade barreled into Cardinal but drained the shot on the collision -- count the basket and the ...

Before the ball could fall through the net, Wade got whistled for the charge. He barked at official Scott Foster, who promptly hit him with a technical foul.

Turning points are easy to spot in retrospect, and this one pushed the game -- and series -- a little further out of reach for Miami. Although there were still 16 minutes left to play, the emotional tenor of the game changed at that moment. Dallas was clearly the more poised and opportunistic team, while the Heat were coming unglued.

What if the Heat had stuck with Carlos Arroyo, warts and all?
It's unreasonable to believe Arroyo, who was the Heat's opening-night starting point guard, would have saved the Heat against the Mavericks. Yet Arroyo has one vital quality as a ballplayer:

He's not Mike Bibby.

As Tom Haberstroh noted on Monday, Bibby's performance this spring was historically bad, the worst individual postseason in NBA history among a player who recorded at least 400 minutes.

Arroyo is no great shakes, but he did shoot 46.6 percent from 16 feet and beyond for the Heat this season before being cut to make room for Bibby. That capacity to spot up coupled with a mistake-free brand of basketball would've been a vast upgrade on what Bibby offered the Heat this postseason.

What if Bosh had been more assertive when things got rocky in the Finals?
For all of Wade and James' talents, this experiment in Miami can work only if they have a power forward who can operate as an offensive catalyst. Bosh was signed to be that guy and, despite a bevy of criticism, he was for the vast majority of the season.

When the Heat lost their fifth straight home game in early March, Bosh demanded more opportunities to play like a big man. From that moment on March 8, the Heat lost only six games until Game 2 of the Finals, and Bosh flourished down the stretch. Although he hit a bump in the Boston series, Bosh had a strong series against Philadelphia and was brilliant against Chicago's bruising front line.

Bosh had it going in Game 6 of the Finals, both his midrange jumper and his inside game, but ended with only nine field goal attempts (seven of which were successful). What if Bosh had made the in-game version of his podium plea? When James stepped back, what if Bosh stepped forward?

What kind of game can we expect from LeBron James?
Game 6 is a do-or-die affair for Miami and a potential clincher for Dallas, but all eyes will be on LeBron James. Virtually everyone tuning in wants to know if James can turn the page and write a heroic third act to his Finals melodrama or if he'll continue to sputter.

At this point, no midnight shooting sessions at AmericanAirlines Center or motivational speeches from Pat Riley can snap James out of his slump. If he's going to embrace the moment and deliver on his otherworldly talent, it will have to come from within.

However impressive James' playmaking, defense and activity might have been over the first 43 minutes of action Thursday, he must find a way to wreak havoc when it matters most down the stretch.

Late-game basketball can be riddling to watch. What is it about the final five or six minutes that causes a guy who found shots in close proximity to the hoop for two hours to settle for a contested long-range jump shot against an inferior defender or a 25-footer when there's still plenty of time left on the clock?

There are no simple answers, but James must tackle the same nagging issue that's festered for years at inopportune moments. He must find opportunities close to the hoop, where he can exploit his size and strength. Whether that's attacking off the dribble or demanding the ball on the low block, where he can either overpower his matchup or pass out of a double-team, LeBron must be more assertive.

His talent simply demands it.

How can the Heat make sure 13-for-19 doesn’t happen again?
The Heat lost by nine points in Game 5, equal to a margin of three 3-pointers. Framing it in that context feels appropriate, considering the Mavericks made 13 of their 19 shots from downtown, which goes down as one of the hottest displays of 3-point shooting in playoff history. Sure, we knew the Mavericks had a 3-point downpour somewhere in their back pocket, but not to this extent.

The reality is that the Mavericks hit a ton of contested 3s. As painful as it was for the Heat in Game 5, it also provides a silver lining heading into Game 6. Miami contested almost every 3-pointer with a hand in their face, but Jason Terry, Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki each hit shots that were going in regardless. That’s just how it goes sometimes.

Of course, there are ways to prevent the Mavericks from getting those looks in the first place. The Heat’s defensive rotations must be sharper. When a Mavericks shooter received an open look beyond the arc, it usually came off of a slow rotation early in the possession that triggered a chain reaction of late recoveries. The Mavericks dart the ball around the perimeter, so every moment in the defensive rotation counts. All too often, the Heat were playing catch-up.

The Heat said they lost Game 5 because of their defense, not because James disappeared in the fourth quarter again, or that their offensive execution was shaky. And for the most part, they’re right. After all, Miami’s offensive efficiency in Game 5 was the team’s second-best of the playoffs. But they have to be quicker on the rotations in Game 6, or else they may not live to see Game 7.

Will Dwyane Wade’s hip injury be an issue?
At the Heat’s practice Saturday, Wade bluntly addressed the concerns about the right hip he injured in Game 5, saying “I'll be totally fine.”

He didn’t look totally fine in Game 5. Wade missed the first seven and a half minutes of the second half after finishing out the second quarter. Wade looked grounded, rarely jumping around like his normal self. In fact, Wade didn’t pull down his first rebound until there was five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. He collected only two boards during the entire game, and both of them fell into his lap. This is a guy who averaged 7.3 rebounds per game in the playoffs coming into the game.

The Heat can get away with playing Joel Anthony, one of the worst rebounding centers in the game, for long minutes because Wade and James crash the boards like big men and pick up the slack. But if Wade plays tentatively underneath the rim like he did in Game 5, the concerns over the hip will only grow louder.

As a player who relies on changing directions at full speed, Wade will have a harder time with that bum hip in planting one foot and exploding in the opposite direction at the same time. The devastating Euro move doesn’t happen with a sore pelvic bone.

Wade received some much-needed rest and treatment in time off, but keep an eye on Wade’s explosiveness in the opening minutes. If he’s rising up and pulling down rebounds, juking players left and right, then Wade is back to his old self. If he’s not, the Heat will be in serious trouble with their backs up against the wall.

Can the Heat stay on a roll offensively?
Lost amid the historic barrage of 3-pointers by the Mavericks was the fact the Heat had a pretty darn good offensive night in Game 5 -- their finest since Game 3 of the first round.

Even as they rolled though the Eastern Conference bracket with a 12-3 record, the Heat struggled offensively in nearly every game. But on Thursday night, the half-court offense was humming. And one of the Heat's more impressive feats was their ability to pick Dallas apart on pick-and-roll sets.

Nine times the Heat hit the roll man, often with pinpoint pocket passes from James and Wade, for a total of 14 points (which would have been 16 had Chris Bosh drained both ends on two trips to the line in the second half).

It's a formula that seems elementary. After all, James and Wade will almost always command a trap or, at the very least, a very hard show by the Mavericks' big men defending those high screens. That will inevitably leave the likes of Bosh and Haslem with open space as they rumble to the rim.

Dallas' defensive rotations have typically been very prompt, but the Heat lifted their big men and spread the floor. This created longer commutes for Dallas defenders to rotate, a task made harder by the speed and momentum of Bosh and Haslem rolling hard to the rim.

If the Heat want to sustain their offensive momentum in Game 6, they'll need a repeat performance from all involved.

Is there truth to the Heat's claim they play their best ball in adverse conditions?
From the very outset of the season, the Heat have promulgated this us-against-the-world theory: When it looks like the roof is caving in, the Heat can bounce back so long as they don't ... let ... go ... of ... the ... rope.

That was true when they opened the season 9-8, when the media pounced on "BumpGate," "ChillGate," "TweetGate" and "CryGate."

Headed into Game 6 with no margin of error, there's no "Gate" to describe the Heat's predicament. For Miami, the adversity they face can be summed up in a familiar NBA chestnut:

Win or go home.

Fortunately for the Heat, they are home at AmericanAirlines Arena, a place where they've racked up a 10-1 record during the postseason.

Whether they can parlay home-court advantage into the kind of comeback staged by the Los Angeles Lakers last season, who also returned home with a 3-2 series deficit, will depend on whether they can stay true to their offense, apply the defensive intensity that enabled them to roll through the Eastern Conference finals and, as Spoelstra has said so many times over the past eight months, trust each other when it matters most.

The Heat assembled three of the four most efficient offensive players from the 2009-10 season. That congregation of talent was supposed to be the foundation for their title run this season. If they want to stave off mortality, it will fall upon James, Wade and Bosh to bring their very best.

From the Miami perspective, there's one dominant storyline headed into Game 5: What is going on with LeBron James? In today's "5 Things," we focus on prescriptions. What do James and the Heat need to do to get James going?

Here are five suggestions:

Why isn't James attacking more?
Why do the Mavericks send a double-team when Jason Kidd is guarding James? Because it’s an incredibly unfair one-on-one matchup for the 38-year-old. But the funny thing is that James doesn’t seem to realize it.

In Game 4, when James caught the ball in a post-up or isolation against Kidd, who stands 6-foot-4, James waited … and waited … and waited for the double-team to come. Instead, he should have the mindset to attack, attack, attack when a mini-Juwan Howard attempts to guard him. Considering James’ size and athleticism, Kidd should be roadkill in the half court, but somehow the Mavericks point guard has managed to be a spike strip in front of James.

James will tell you he isn’t attacking right away -- called a "quick attack" in coaching circles -- in these situations because he wants to facilitate and get his teammates involved when the help comes. That’s a perfectly acceptable and rational response at some junctures, but not 100 percent of the time. Right now, James is playing nice to a fault.

Whether it’s turning the corner on a pick-and-roll or simply exploding off the block, James needs to show us that he’s firmly in attack mode if he wants the Heat to take control of this series. There’s no more time to waste. As James tweeted early Thursday morning, “It’s now or never.”

Will Erik Spoelstra find some minutes on the bench for LeBron?
The past couple of seasons in Cleveland, the Cavaliers had such a comfortable cushion atop the standings that they were able to rest James headed into the playoffs with little consequence. The Heat didn't have that luxury in early April this season.

With Dwyane Wade and Mike Miller ailing, Spoelstra consistently played James in excess of 40 minutes, even calling on the superstar to log 43 minutes in a 19-point blowout loss to Minnesota on April 1. Were the Heat fools to assign that kind of workload to James, knowing they'd want him fully energized for what they hoped would be an extended playoff run into June?

James' critics roundly ridiculed him in November when he said "42 minutes are too much, and Spo knows that.” But are we now seeing the effects of those heavy minutes? Is 3,900 minutes over the course of the regular season and playoffs too many, even for a guy we widely regard as a superhuman athlete with no physical limitations?

With the media circus swirling in Dallas for the Finals, James knows better than to offer casual suggestions of fatigue. All he essentially said Wednesday was that a few minutes of rest can't hurt.

"You can always use -- if you can get a minute or two minutes there, it helps anyone," James said. "It would help me as well."

There's never a convenient time to lift your most dominant threats from the lineup in favor of a less potent player, but Spoelstra might not have a choice in Game 5.

Should we being seeing more of LeBron at the power forward slot?
Spoelstra has been reluctant to go to smaller lineups this series, though for two very brief stints during the second quarter in Game 4, we saw James log his first minutes at the 4 in this series.

Sixers coach Doug Collins has always maintained that the power forward was James' natural position. Before his team's first-round series against the Heat, Collins called James "a monster" at the power forward. "You can’t guard him," Collins said. "And he's big enough to guard you. He's bigger than Karl Malone because he's got speed and quickness and power and grace and agility and skill. So when they go small -- and that’s what you’re going to see in the playoffs, as much as Chris Bosh probably doesn’t want to play the 5, when they put Wade out there and LeBron at the 4 and Bosh and a couple of other guys who can shoot that ball -- they’re tough.”

The numbers back Collins up. As has been the pattern over the past few seasons, James' production when he was at the power forward position this season were mind-blowing. He recorded a Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of 37.1. His effective field goal percentage jumped from 53.2 percent to 57.5 percent. Curiously, his assist rate also ticked upward when he manned the 4.

Could this be a tactical move that gets James going? Would setting up closer to the hoop and finding opportunities in what Spoelstra refers to as the "Karl Malone" area at the foul-line extended move James away from the weakside corner where he's been loitering aimlessly? Would getting another shooter on the floor and moving Bosh to the 5 for stretches decongest the Heat's half-court offense and provide more seams and angles for James to attack?

The likely answer to all these questions is yes. That's not to say that sliding LeBron to the 4 wouldn't have adverse effects on the glass. But Miller and Wade are among the best wing rebounders in the game. In addition, Bosh would have his hands full trying to move Chandler underneath the hoop on both ends. But when Chandler checks out for his rest, the Heat should immediately mobilize themselves and go to the LeBron-at-the-4 lineup.

Given James' alarming slump, it's time to break the glass -- even though such a scheme isn't all that radical.

Did James forget he's a train in the open court?
Remember James’ thunderous fast-break slam in Game 4? Trick question -- it didn’t happen.

The truth is that James only tallied one fast-break bucket in Game 4, and it was a light two-handed dunk on which he barely touched the rim. That’s not James’ game, and he’s aware of it.

“I have to be more aggressive,” James said at Wednesday’s practice. “Even if that takes for me getting out in the open court sometimes, getting the rebound, getting out in the open court where I'm at my best.”

The call for James to be more aggressive extends beyond the half court. One of the most terrifying experiences for Heat opponents is seeing a two-on-one fast break developing with Wade and James. Absent in Game 4 was the open-court magic between these two even though it has been an essential part of their playoff routine.

Maybe James needs to remind himself that no one can stop him – or slow him down for that matter -- once he gets a full head full of steam. There’s not a player on the Mavericks roster who has the athleticism to keep up with him, but he’s playing like his emergency brake is on. According to Synergy Sports, James ranked first (with Wade) in the regular season in transition points per game, but you wouldn’t know that by watching Game 4. Time for him to step on the gas.

Can the Heat re-establish that Wade-James synergy that carried them through the spring?
After Wade struggled during Chicago series and in Game 1 of the Finals, James played a pivotal role in helping his counterpart emerge from that slump.

As the Heat's primary playmaker, James was constantly on the lookout for Wade, rarely missing an opportunity to get watch a pitch-and-drive on the weak side or streaking across the baseline.

Now's the time for Wade to come to the aid of his comrade. Getting James back into the flow of the offense will require more than just one-on-one basket attacks by James.

The Heat need to return to that lethal Wade-James pick-and-roll -- and not just the half-hearted version in which James dances for a few seconds, then slips a couple of feet toward the foul line. We're talking about rev-up-the-engine dives to the hoop that draw the defenses in. At that point, James has a bevy of options, even with Chandler guarding the basket.

James has spent so much time as the trigger man on actions designed to get Wade the ball -- and has done so effectively dating back to Game 3 of the Chicago series. But now's the time for Wade to return the favor. And it's incumbent on the Heat's coaching staff to draw up those schemes.

Will LeBron James ever please his critics?
Basketball, especially at the highest level, operates on a few basic rules and strategic principles. Five defensive players guard five offensive players -- usually in a series of one-on-one matchups.

A player who has possession of the basketball has three options. He can shoot, dribble or pass to a teammate. Even in the NBA, not every player excels at all three skills -- but the best ones, including James, do.

As anyone who has ever strolled the cereal aisle of a large supermarket chain knows, choice can be a paralyzing thing. For a talent such as LeBron (or Dwyane Wade or Dirk Nowitzki), exercising the discipline to make the correct choice is often the biggest challenge. He has to read the opposing defense and identify where the best opportunities lie.

On Sunday night in the fourth quarter, James appraised the Dallas defense and saw something. Like the Bulls and Celtics before them, the Mavericks were loading up on James when he crossed the 3-point line. As a result, James decided the best way for the Heat to score was to leverage all that attention and find open shots for teammates.

To a simple observer, a pinpoint, perfectly timed pocket pass to Chris Bosh for a wide-open slam dunk could be interpreted as shrinking from the moment -- so too could a backhanded dish against a double-team to one of the best midrange shooters in the game who is wide open for a game winner.

Then there's the defensive side of the court, where James' perimeter pressure and ability to rove and recover enable him to be a looming threat wherever he sets up on the floor. Dallas has totaled five points on the 10 fourth-quarter plays when James was the primary defender on the potential scorer.

For those who see superstars as circus seals or action heroes, none of this matters, of course. But ignoring all but the most rudimentary facets of the game makes for a fairly dull viewing experience -- and even duller critiques.

Is Chris Bosh’s eye an issue?
After accidentally getting raked in the eye by Jason Kidd in the first quarter of Game 3, Bosh could barely keep his left eye open as he battled up and down the court. Would it be fair to say that his vision was being affected?

“I don't think so,” Bosh said before Monday’s practice. “I wasn't thinking about my vision or anything. I can't remember if I could see or not.”

Bosh could clearly see, but he did say somewhat jokingly after Game 3 that he only had use of one and a half eyes. The better question is whether this is something the Mavericks can exploit in Game 4.

When Bosh downplays the damage to his eye, it appears he’s doing this as a battle tactic. In the Finals, players do not want to lose an inch of competitive advantage. Revealing that you have a blind spot – or rather, a blind eye – wouldn’t be the wisest move in the heat of battle.

But rest assured, the Mavericks will test him. Bosh’s shooting abilities didn’t seem to be greatly hindered by his battered eye. He shot 7-for-17 after the injury, which is actually much better than he had shot before the injury against Dallas. He opened the third quarter splashing a midrange jumper from the top of the key and nailed the game winner on the left baseline.

But rebounds might be a real issue. Bosh collected just three boards in Game 3, just one more than J.J. Barea’s total Sunday. More than shot-making, the ability to rebound the basketball depends on peripheral vision, something Bosh lacks at the moment. On several rebounding opportunities in Game 3, Bosh looked lost, allowing Tyson Chandler to swoop in for dunking putbacks. Expect the Mavericks to try to exploit his blind spots even further.

Can the Heat continue to make Dirk Nowitzki work hard for shots and limit Dallas' weakside threats?
The Heat were under no delusions they'd be able to stop Nowitzki, and his numbers continue to impress. He's averaging 28.3 points and 10 rebounds per game.

But the Heat have made a strong statement to Dallas: Getting Dirk open looks will require a whole lot of work and will disrupt the overall flow of the offense.

That crisp ball movement we saw from the Mavericks in extended stretches of Games 1 and 2 has gone missing. On Sunday night, the Mavs recorded assists on fewer than a fifth of their possessions. For a team that was second in the NBA in assist rate in the regular season, that's a disconcerting number.

So much of what Dallas did offensively against the Lakers and Oklahoma City was about creating opportunities on the weak side, sometimes for Nowitzki but sometimes for the Mavs' platoon of shooters.

Against Miami, the Mavericks are working so hard to get the ball to Dirk that their secondary actions have often disappeared. When the Heat's ball denial makes an entry pass to Dirk impossible, the Mavs' guards dribble aimlessly. When they try to reverse the ball or drive it into the gut of the defense, they're too often turning it over.

When the ball finds its way to Dirk, Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony are doing an admirable job of denying him space and forcing him to be a playmaker. Dirk drained about half a dozen contested jumpers in the Mavs' half-court offense, but the balance of his scores came in transition or, on one occasion, a scrambled second-chance opportunity.

The Heat must continue to play Dirk straight up with their active big men because the combination of results has been impressive -- contested shots for Nowitzki and virtually nothing substantial anywhere else.

When did Dwyane Wade become a post-up machine?
It seems like ages ago when Wade would work one-on-one with Jerry Stackhouse on the far side of the Heat's practice floor while the rest of his teammates fielded questions during media availability.

At the time, Wade said that filling out that part of his offensive repertoire was vital because he wouldn't be 28 forever. But who knew that, seven months later, Wade would use his post game as the foundation of one of his great Finals performances?

That's what happened in Game 3, as Wade repeatedly looked to post up Jason Kidd at the left elbow and back him down.

Posting up Wade does a number of things. First and foremost, it's an opportunity to get Wade closer to the lane, where's he's at his most dangerous. He went 8-for-11 inside of five feet in Game 3. Posting up a guard is also a lot less taxing than launching basket attacks from 20 feet and throwing yourself into the teeth of the defense.

Second, by initiating the offense with Wade on the left block, the Heat have the luxury of using LeBron as a weakside threat. Dallas -- like most teams -- simply can't account for Wade with the ball 12 feet from the hoop and James diving from the perimeter on the other side of the floor. On the off chance the defense can, perimeter shooters will be wide open for kickouts.

For an offense that too often falls stagnant, Wade-in-the-post against Dallas' smallish guards gives the Heat yet another viable option.

Is Mario Chalmers a better option than Mike Miller?
Before the series, we witnessed the debut of the "big five" lineup that featured the Heat’s five highest-paid players -- James, Wade, Bosh, Miller and Haslem. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra tabbed that unit to close out games in the Chicago series and he experienced immense success with those five.

But surprisingly enough, he has barely used this lineup in the Finals. We’ve seen it on the floor for just five of the 144 minutes thus far in the series. Why?

The emergence of Mario Chalmers.

Miller was acquired for his versatility. But with two bum thumbs, Miller’s penetrating and playmaking abilities have been largely neutered on the wing. But the Heat have another option. Chalmers can put the ball on the deck and can hit a 3-pointer with consistency.

If you created a checklist of duties that Miller was supposed to fulfill on offense for the Heat, Chalmers would receive more marks than Miller right now. But the most distinguishing quality between the two players is the level of confidence.

For better or for worse, Chalmers does not hesitate, pushing the envelope offensively, whereas Miller’s hampered hands have made him tentative with the ball. Right now, it’s for the better, as Chalmers scored 14 points off the bench, including another critical 3-pointer late in the game.

Spoelstra relied on Chalmers to play the final 18 minutes of Sunday’s game without rest while Miller barely got off the bench in the second half. With Chalmers exuding assertiveness and drilling 3s in the half court, expect more minutes for the backup point guard in Game 4.

What’s up with Chris Bosh?
For Bosh, Game 3 is a homecoming of sorts for the Dallas native. But it’s much more than that; it’s a chance to quiet the doubters.

In his first career NBA Finals, Bosh has picked a bad time to have one of his coldest two-game shooting slumps of the season. In the two opening games in Miami, Bosh shot just 26 percent from the floor, including just 24 percent on shots within 10 feet. Up to this point, Bosh looked completely unfazed by the gravity of the playoffs, but he admitted Saturday the scrutiny has never been this magnified.

“Here it’s a little different,” Bosh said about the Finals stage. “The microscope is a lot more focused.”

Bosh has beaten tough defenders before. He has already defeated Kevin Garnett, the defensive player of the year runner-up, during the Heat’s playoff run. But Tyson Chandler, who placed third in the voting, has given Bosh all kinds of problems.

Bosh has struggled to get past the 7-foot-1 Chandler off the dribble, and even when he does the rest of the Mavericks defense refuses to let him get a clean look at the rim. The only two buckets Bosh got at the rim in Game 2? One came against the immobile Peja Stojakovic and the other on a putback dunk on which no one boxed him out.

Sure, Chandler will continue to challenge Bosh on the block, but the Heat power forward also missed plenty of shots he normally hits. Sometimes, there are adjustments that need to be made, and sometimes the ball just rims out. In Bosh’s case, it’s a little of both. In Game 3, expect him to look for more contact on Chandler and push him in foul trouble. With just four free throws in Game 2, Bosh can only go up from here.

Did the Mavericks figure some things out defensively during their Game 2 rally?
Lost amid the madness of the closing seven minutes of Game 2 was a subtle defensive adjustment made by the Mavericks down the stretch. As noted by Two Man Game's Rob Mahoney, Dallas' decision to switch up its defensive coverage and aggressively blitz LeBron James was a primary reason the Heat had trouble finding good looks at the basket during those final 12 possessions.

"They did a great job of playing two on the ball," James said. "They used Tyson Chandler to come off pick-and-rolls, Tyson Chandler or Dirk. They blitzed me and D-Wade's pick-and-roll. Something different."

Something different, indeed, and a possible breakthrough for Dallas. The Mavs aren't generally a trapping team. Chandler tends to be most useful defending the paint, and Nowitzki isn't a big man endowed with great speed to trap and recover.

Yet, the Mavs applied pressure and it paid huge dividends against James and Wade. Neither felt comfortable attacking from the perimeter and, more times than not, the ball never found its way across the 3-point line.

If that's the Mavs' strategy going forward, James should think back to Game 3 of the Chicago series in which he decided to make the Bulls pay for their pressure by acting as facilitator extraordinaire. Rather than forcing the issue, James leveraged that attention by dishing to open teammates on the weakside.

James' willingness to forego hero-ball and act as distributor marked the turning point of the Eastern Conference finals. If the Mavs decide to double-down on their fourth-quarter game plan, James will need to adjust accordingly.

When did the Heat suddenly become a 3-point shooting team?
Erik Spoelstra isn’t pleased with the Heat’s migration to the perimeter. The Heat took 30 3-pointers in Game 2, their second-highest total of the entire season, and 11 of those came in the disastrous fourth quarter. That’s not a coincidence.

At Saturday’s practice in Dallas, Spoelstra was stern with his response to a question about the Heat’s newfound 3-point attack.

“Our guys know. That hasn't been a successful formula,” Spoelstra said. “It was well documented, obviously, during the regular season when we settled and became a jump-shooting team. We could win a lot of games, but we also experienced a lot of pain.”

3-pointers are an important part of a balanced offense, but the Heat have never tilted this far away from the basket. In Game 2, the Heat took 42 shots outside of 16 feet. In a regular-season game, they had not shot more than 37 from there.

The Heat’s offense has been a mess, and the reliance on jump shots has been both a cause and an effect. Not only are they prematurely settling for jumpers before they reach their second and third triggers on offense, but they revert to three-balling as a bail out when a set goes haywire. Spoelstra said he believes his team won’t be so passive in Game 3.

“We're an attacking team,” Spoelstra asserted. “We're a free throw shooting team. The 3-point ball is a weapon for us. It's a necessary weapon. It has to happen within the context of establishing our game first.”

Is the old Dwyane Wade back?
For the better part of three weeks, an unsettling pattern had emerged for Miami. Wade would appear exhausted toward the end of the first half of games. Curls and cuts he'd normally make as if shot out of a cannon were executed in slow motion. By the midway point in the second quarter of the Chicago series, speculative whispers of sore shoulders, migraines or other mysterious injuries would fill press row and Twitter streams.

Finally, on Thursday night, the old motor was back. Wade buzzed around the court with boundless energy.

He made 11 of 12 shots inside of 15 feet in Game 2, including five slam dunks. He was deadly in transition and converted buckets on many of the Heat's bread-and-butter sets that had gone missing during Wade's lull. And for the first time in a while, he exploded off high ball screens, splitting defenders and devouring paint en route to the basket.

Defensively, he was up to his old tricks. He blocked a couple of shots, shot the gap and harassed the Mavericks for three steals.

The Heat are in for a fight in Dallas, and they must have Wade fully engaged. His long-range exploits in Game 1 were nice, but the Heat really need Wade's aggressiveness attacking the rim, something they got for three quarters in Game 2.

Have the Heat found their running shoes?
Had the Heat not melted down and reverted to their worst habits, we'd be reading a lot about "skirmishes," transition basketball and how the Heat rediscovered its lethal fast break in Game 2.

Although a good number of the Heat's points in transition were generated from careless Dallas turnovers, a few opportunities were ignited by Miami's long defenders pinning the likes of Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson in corners then forcing desperate passes.

All told, the Heat scored 18 points in transition on a night in which they couldn't create many good looks at the rim in the half-court offense, nor could they find their way to the line on a consistent basis. When the Heat started to pull away in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter before the epic collapse, they did so on the break. In fact, the Heat scored just as many points in transition during the fourth quarter as they did in the half court.

The Heat don't have to turn Game 3 into a track meet, but they do need to supplement their struggling half-court game with some easy buckets. Over the last 10 games, the Heat have matched their season average in points per possession only once -- Game 3 of the Chicago series. Through two games, Dallas has proven that its defense, with its varied looks in the half court, is no pushover.

Forcing turnovers with selective gambles, traps and pressure on the passing lanes could provide the margin the Heat need.

Can the Heat outshoot the Mavericks again?
Among the many unexpected happenings in Game 1, perhaps chief among them was that the Heat hit more 3s than the Mavericks -- and at a better rate. For long stretches in Tuesday’s game, the Mavericks put four shooters on the floor in hopes to stretch the Heat's defense thin and open up the floor. The Mavericks shot well from downtown (41 percent), but they squandered many open looks. The Heat, however, had their best shooting display all postseason.

The Mavericks entered Tuesday’s game shooting a blistering 39 percent from beyond the arc in the playoffs, using the downtown daggers to pierce the hearts of the Thunder, Lakers and Blazers along the way. But on Tuesday, it was Dallas’ 3-point defense that decided its fate.

Next to a dunk, the corner 3 is perhaps the most coveted shot in the game. It’s the closest shot worth three points, standing 22 feet away from the iron, and teams such as the Spurs have won titles by frequenting that sliver of real estate. The Heat managed to take 10 corner 3s in Game 1, which outnumbered the team’s entire total from the Chicago series (six). Mario Chalmers hit three of them, and Mike Miller and James each nailed one of their own.

The corner 3 isn’t necessarily a pocket behind the Mavericks’ 2-3 zone, but Dallas was clearly more concerned with packing the paint and daring the Heat to shoot from beyond the arc. The Mavs will probably pay more attention to the Heat’s arc game in Game 2, especially in the corners, and don’t expect Peja Stojakovic to come up empty again. Rest assured, Dallas will come out firing.

Will the Heat continue to contain Dirk Nowitzki?
The Mavericks torched their Western Conference foes on the pick-and-roll this spring, but the Heat were up to the task in Game 1.

Miami defended Dallas' half-court attack beautifully, one reason that Nowitzki was "held" to 27 points on 24 true shots (shot attempts, including those that resulted in a trip to the foul line), a stat line the Heat can happily live with from the postseason's most unconscious scorer.

Pick-and-roll defense isn't the stuff of highlight reels, but it's been the foundation of the Heat's success for a while. Tuesday night was no different.

The Heat opted to put a ton of pressure on the Mavs' ball handlers and the passing lanes with both defenders on the pick-and-roll. Although that defensive tandem was pushing Jason Kidd, J.J. Barea or Jason Terry uphill, the Heat's other big man swiftly rotated onto Dirk.

Nowitzki got his share of isolation opportunities but could never find enough room to breathe. Heat defenders crowded Nowitzki and forced him to put the ball on the floor and score off the bounce. Dirk didn't score a field goal in isolation all night and found himself passing out of one-on-one matchups.

Opportunities came quite easily to Dirk during the first three rounds of the playoffs, but the Heat issued a strong statement to Dallas: If Nowitzki wants the kind of space he was able to find against the Lakers and Thunder, the Mavs will have to be more creative setting him up. That means more baseline pindown courtesy of Tyson Chandler and more stuff that generates mismatches. Nowitzki's teammates also could loosen things up for their leader by hitting a few outside shots.

The lingering question, of course, is the finger. Will it be a problem, or, as James suggested on Tuesday night, is a "guide hand" merely an accessory for a shooter like Dirk?

Did the Heat solve their rebounding issues for good?
Weeks had passed since we'd seen the Heat attack the boards as they did in Game 1. All in all, Miami recovered 35.8 percent of its missed shots, its highest percentage since Game 3 against Philadelphia back in April. By grabbing 10 more offensive rebounds than the Mavericks, the Heat earned valuable extra possessions in a game when every bucket seemed like a struggle.

When we see an offensive rebounding surge with a heavy zone defense by opponent, we’re quick to assume that the Mavericks’ defensive strategy was the culprit. In fact, only a few of the Heat’s 16 offensive rebounds came when the Mavericks were in a zone defense. The reality is that the Heat simply outworked the Mavericks underneath the rim.

Sure, there were instances when a Heat big man sneaked his hands in on many live balls that should have landed in the laps of the Dallas big men. But the Mavericks also missed their assignments. Chris Bosh was left unattended several times underneath, while Nowitzki failed to box out anyone on several occasions. That forced Dirk to rely on his two-inch vertical for boards -- that didn’t work.

Much of the rebounding game depends on luck, but after watching the tape, the Mavericks deserved the rebounding deficit. If they want to bounce back in the series, the rebounding effort is a good place to start.

How can the Heat get better looks against the Dallas zone?
The Heat relied on their dependable formula of grinding the opponent into submission late, but make no mistake: The Heat didn't exactly shine offensively on Tuesday night. Take away a few of those improbable, contested 3-pointers that fell through and some of those 50-50 balls, and the Heat's half-court offense looked labored.

The Heat's offense came up empty on the majority of possessions during which they encountered the Mavericks' zone. It wasn't as if they didn't apply tried-and-true zone-busting principles. They reversed the ball side-to-side, flashed big men to the foul line area and ran speedsters along the baseline behind the zone. Yet more often than not, the Heat settled for long-range jumpers.

What can the Heat can do to find better shots against Dallas' zone? First, they desperately need to get into their sets more quickly. The zone excels when defenders stake out their territory and force the offense to react. But striking -- particularly after Dallas misses -- before the Mavericks can settle in will produce results. The Heat are simply too fast and nimble not to exploit their speed against a scheme that prospers on stagnation.

Second, the Heat should use Wade -- as they did a couple of times -- to run off the ball behind the Dallas zone. Not only is that an opportunity to get Wade going early, but when he's darting along the baseline and diving to the basket, he's a menace.

Who will step up for the Heat in Game 2?
James, Wade and Bosh have demonstrated that they don't require a lot of help for the Heat to win, but they need something.

In Game 1, the Heat beat the Mavs despite having two starters -- Mike Bibby and Joel Anthony -- fail to record a single point in 32 combined minutes. Anthony's doughnut isn't so much of a concern because his value is defensive, but the APB for Bibby's outside shot continues to go unanswered.

Fortunately for Miami, Chalmers knocked down shots from the corner against the Dallas zone, while Udonis Haslem and Miller helped provide the Heat with an edge on the glass.

Game 2 will present some additional challenges for Miami. Miller reaggravated his shoulder injury and could be rendered ineffective. Figuring out where the defense broke down on those Chalmers' corner 3s is certain to be a priority of Dallas' capable coaching staff and veteran defenders. Meanwhile, Haslem is still just getting his legs under him, especially that midrange jumper that allows the Heat to stretch the floor.

Dallas' trio of scoring guards won't shoot 27 percent again, and those wide-open looks for Chalmers likely will disappear. So unless the Heat want to rely on the long-range exploits of James and Wade, they'll continue to need some help from roster spots 4 through 8.

Will the Dallas Mavericks have an answer for the Heat’s “Big Five”?
The training wheels are off. It’s time for Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to ride his best lineup, the one featuring Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller alongside the Big Three.

Due to serious injuries to Haslem and Miller this season, we’ve seen less than two quarters worth of ball with that lineup on the court thus far, but the early results have been staggering: Heat 51, Opponents 32.

Spoelstra has exhibited patience with this lineup, saving it for the final stretches of Games 4 and 5 against Chicago. But it’s safe to say the Heat have looked their best recently with Haslem and Miller on the court, which may cause Spoelstra to bust it out earlier in the game.

Why is this lineup so effective?

In Miller and Haslem, the Heat have two floor-stretchers who don’t compromise their defense. Despite Miller’s 3-point struggles from downtown in the playoffs, the veteran still poses as a threat beyond the arc, which effectively pins his defender to the perimeter. Haslem, too, will make the defense pay if they leave him open in the midrange.

But defense was where this five-man unit shined in the Chicago series. It suffocated the Bulls with quickness and lateral length as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade locked down Derrick Rose, forcing other Bulls to pick up the slack. But the Mavericks don’t go all-in with their point guard like Chicago did, which means that James and Wade’s defensive effect won’t be so profound on the ball.

The five-man unit posed the perfect antidote to Chicago’s imbalanced attack, but Dallas has enough weapons to counter. But will the Mavs be able to consistently?

Can anyone in a Heat uniform stop Dirk Nowitzki?
Before they started to verse their big men in the scouting report on Nowitzki, the Heat coaching staff emphasized one thing above all else:

Dirk is going to hit his fair share of jumpers -- some of them unconscionable.

"You just have to make [Nowitzki] work for everything," Haslem said. "You have to play the percentages. Every shot has to be a tough shot."

In other words, don't get frustrated by the results so long as the process of defending Nowitzki is executed with precision. What's the process like? The Heat have a list of objectives to defend Nowitzki, and a list of candidates for the job that includes Chris Bosh, Haslem, Joel Anthony and James.

First, Dirk wants to release over his right shoulder with a series of shot fakes. Heat defenders will try to push Dirk to his right hand and stay down on those fakes.

Second, the Heat will redefine what it means to front Dirk in "the post," which will extend all the way to the 3-point line! By playing on top of Nowitzki, the Heat hope to force him to the rim. Why? Because so much of the Heat's defensive success lies in the quickness and instincts of their weakside help defenders -- guys like Wade, James and Anthony who, in a split second, can converge in the paint. As a result, watch for the Heat big men to show hard and force Dirk downhill.

Above all, the Heat will apply their physicality in combating Dirk -- one reason they might very well call on James to guard Dirk for the game's final dozen or so possessions.

As strong and intuitive as LeBron is, it might not even matter -- but it won't be for a lack of effort.

Does Dallas have the wing defenders to slow James and Wade?
There was a point in Shawn Marion's career when he was arguably the best 1-through-4 defender in basketball. In case we'd all forgotten, Marion effectively unleashed his unusual combination of length, deceptiveness, physicality and quick feet against Kevin Durant in the Western Conference finals.

Now Marion will be asked to contend with James, who is a far more aggressive offensive player than Durant. Marion has been a tough nut for LeBron to crack. Over the past two seasons, James is shooting just 5-for-20 against The Matrix, with three turnovers.

Wade, meanwhile, presents a more interesting series of choices for Dallas. DeShawn Stevenson is the Mavericks' designated defender on the wing and he'll open each game on Wade. The NBA's Stats Cube tells us that Wade scored only a single field goal during the 30 minutes he shared the floor with Stevenson this season. When Stevenson took a seat, Wade exploded for 42 points in 50 minutes.

But the Mavericks' most potent lineups feature Jason Terry alongside Jason Kidd, which means Dallas has some difficult choices to make with regard to Wade. The Mavs will often cross-match Kidd on an opponent's shooting guard, but what happens when the Heat insert Mike Miller in lieu of a point guard?

Truth be told, the key to Dallas' man-to-man perimeter defense isn't Terry, Kidd, J.J. Barea or even Stevenson -- it's Tyson Chandler. Mop in hand, Chandler will be called upon to clean up any defensive mess left in the wake of a drive by James or Wade. For this, the Mavericks are quite grateful.

Do the Heat have an answer for Dallas' zone?
The NBA Zone Defense: Not just for feeble-minded, quiche-eating, lackadaisical defensive units anymore!

You can thank Rick Carlisle, Dwane Casey and the rest of the Mavericks coaching staff for that. They have implemented a smooth zone that operates with such a mechanical efficiency that the Mavs show zone even after their opponent misses a shot, which is almost unheard of in the NBA.

In their two losses against Dallas this season, the Heat encountered the Mavericks' zone on 56 plays and scored only 40 points. Overall, the Heat shot 13-for-45 against the zone. More than 40 percent of those attempts were 3-pointers and many more were long 2s, as an impatient Heat offense settled for jump shots rather than perform the off-ball movement necessary to upset the zone.

That isn't an easy task against the Mavericks. Their zone is a well-oiled machine, but interestingly, each defender is given a great deal of latitude. Against pick-and-rolls, the Mavs will switch freely, creating mismatches that, in theory, should favor the offense, yet often result in awkward possessions (see James posting up Terry in the Nov. 20 game).

Resourceful offenses will often try to find that soft spot in the middle, only to find that Brendan Haywood (or occasionally Chandler) regards the foul line as an extension of his designated space. Try to go under the zone along the baseline, and Dallas has a contingency plan for that, as well.

To further confound its opponents, Dallas will frequently flow in and out of the zone without obvious warning. All of this is intended to get the offense out of its rhythm and induce jump shots. The early-season Heat obliged the Mavericks to this effect. The Finals model can't afford to.

Is Tyson Chandler finally the center the Heat can’t overcome?
Sure, Dirk Nowitzki ranks as the best player the Heat have faced in the playoffs, but there’s another Dallas player that warrants his own superlative. Chandler is the best center the Heat have tangled with in the postseason.

En route to the Finals, the Heat have quietly tiptoed around the top centers in the East, Dwight Howard and Al Horford. The Heat have managed to neutralize Joakim Noah, Jermaine O’Neal and Spencer Hawes, but Chandler stands a cut above, as a force on both ends of the floor.

In the first meeting between these two teams, Chandler was largely responsible for sending the Heat home with a loss. He tallied 14 points and 17 rebounds, but what stood out the most was his ability to disrupt James and Wade. He contested every one of their drives and forced them to think twice about entering the paint.

If there ever was a stopper for Wade and James’ paint attack, Chandler’s the guy to do it. All in all, James and Wade scored 34.3 points per 36 minutes with Chandler on the floor this season, but 67.0 points per 36 minutes with Chandler on the bench.

Offensively, the Heat must treat him like a more powerful Noah, whom the Heat struggled to ground on the boards in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Putbacks are always a concern with Chandler, and Joel Anthony will need all the help he can get to box Chandler out -- and keep him boxed out. Noah shot just 9-for-28 at the rim in the last series, but the Heat won’t be so lucky with Chandler, who shot a scorching 65.4 percent from the floor this season.

• On ESPN Radio, Scottie Pippen says Michael Jordan was the greatest scorer ever, but LeBron James could be the greatest NBA player ever.
• Matt McHale of By the Horns reminds us that the shot attempts James and Dwyane Wade took down the stretch were precisely what the Bulls wanted: "Remember: The Bulls wanted to force James and Wade to shoot jump shots. That was the plan. Neither man has ever been a high percentage three-point shooter. Neither one of them is or ever has been a lights out shooter from long range. And yet, there they were, gunning the Bulls down with cold-blooded jumpers."
• Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don't Lie: "[James] made his star turn in my eyes because he was aggressive when it counted the most, and because he mixed it up. Because it wasn't all 3-pointers (though that was the case down the stretch in Game 5, as James nailed two of three in the final two minutes) and dunks. It was the smart play, every time. It wasn't all talent and ridiculous athleticism. It was smarts and touch and all the right plays. He also shut down the league's MVP for the second straight fourth quarter, in games that could have gone either way."
• Statistically, the Heat had about a one percent chance of winning the game at the 3:14 mark.
• LeBron James called his shot before the game to employees at the United Center.
• Joakim Noah on the Heat: "Hollywood as Hell, but they’re still very good."
• Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports on the 2006 Finals: " Cuban was an ungracious loser five years ago, and should’ve watched the way Nowitzki handled the meltdown to Miami. Dirk’s regret was over his own performance, never the officiating. And in that way, Cuban never gave the Heat the proper respect they deserved for winning the title. He blamed it on the officials, declaring that a 2-0 series lead had been blown on the disparity of whistles, on Wade’s parade to the free-throw line. For the rest of the NBA, for those who want to see the Heat fail, the Mavericks represent the last line of defense."
• At Basketball Reference, Neil Paine posts his NBA Power Rankings, which combine the regular season and playoffs. Ranked No. 1 in overall differential? The Miami Heat. Ranked No. 1 if you limit to "post-trade deadline"? The Dallas Mavericks.
• Will DeShawn Stevenson get the call to defend Dwyane Wade? From the Twitter feed of NBA.com's John Schuhmann: "Interesting: Wade had 3 FGA in 30 min. w/ Stevenson on floor, & 30 FGA in 50 min. w/ DS on bench."
• Advanced statistician Wayne Winston thinks the Mavs should be favored: "The key thing to note is Heat played at almost exactly the same level during each series and the Mavs worst effort was better than the Heat’s best."
• Stephon Marbury, tweeting in a very loud voice: "THIS IS THE YEAR THE NBA WILL CROWN THE KING. PASS THEM RINGS DAVID!!! (LBj6 VOICE)"
• No doubt Luol Deng would like to be making arrangements for the NBA Finals this morning, but his consolation prize from Thursday night will endure in YouTube libraries everywhere.

In a span of 65 seconds, the Heat drilled a trio of 3-pointers -- two by LeBron James and one by Dwyane Wade -- that brought Miami back from a 10-point deficit. When James and Wade are hitting shots unconsciously, it doesn't matter who's on the floor with them, right?

Actually it does.

Those 3-pointers will rightfully take their place in the NBA's Hall of Daggers, but the Heat mounted their comeback not just with individual shot-making, but also with a series of more nuanced plays -- smaller things that are never quantified and rarely even noticed. And how can you while Wade is notching four-point plays and James is draining 118 feet worth of jumpers in a short burst of possessions?

While all the theatrics from James and Wade were playing out, Udonis Haslem and Chris Bosh were staying busy as stage managers. On virtually every Miami defensive stop, you'll find one or both of the Heat's big men plugging holes and buying time for their teammates to recover. Offensively, they set screens and, in Bosh's case, sank two huge free throws.

A few of the little things that helped fuel the Heat's rally:

• With about 2:45 to play, the Bulls have the ball up 10. Chicago is working in the half court with Derrick Rose off the ball. Ronnie Brewer holds the ball up top as Rose cuts from the right sideline to the foul line. When James gets caught on the high side of Rose, Brewer delivers the ball to Rose, who wisely bursts left toward the hoop. But before Rose can touch paint, there's Haslem blocking his path, in perfect defensive position. Rose tries to hit Haslem's man, Taj Gibson, along the baseline with a wraparound pass, but Wade gets his hands on it. The ball lands, appropriately enough, in Haslem's hands. The Heat go the other way, where Wade finishes a layup on the break that cuts the Bulls' lead to eight points.
• There's a din of anxiety inside United Center as the Bulls bring the ball up with 1:25 to go and their lead down to three points. With Bosh and Haslem holding down the frontcourt, the Heat have a nimble and intuitive defensive tandem -- one that helped get another crucial stop to bolster the Heat's comeback. Rose and Brewer run an angle pick-and-roll on the left side, but that's merely a precursor to the featured action on the possession. Luol Deng sprints clockwise from the left corner around a stack on the right block to catch a pass from Rose at the top of the key. Wade is trailing Deng all the way, but Bosh anticipates the pass and steps out on Deng -- and almost gets his fingertips on the pass. Deng has nowhere to go, so he returns the ball to Rose. With :09 on the shot clock, Chicago has one last option -- a high pick for Rose courtesy of Kurt Thomas (Bosh's man). James and Bosh cover this screen beautifully. Rose flirts with going right but Bosh has positioned himself perfectly, so Rose heads left, where there's more daylight. That's when Haslem steps up from the baseline. Rose leans into the veteran and flings up an awkward right-handed bank shot.
• After Rose's miss, James collects the rebound and rumbles up the left sideline with Haslem in stride. Just as James reaches the 3-point arc, Haslem pastes Deng to buy LeBron space to his left to stop, square and elevate uncontested for a 3-pointer that makes it 79-79. James will forever be remembered in Miami for this shot, one taken in rhythm because Haslem provided the beat.
• With the game tied and 1:01 remaining in regulation, the Bulls still have an advantage -- possession of the ball. After the inbounds pass, the ball finds its way into Rose's hands just outside the arc on the right side. Thomas sets an angle screen for Rose, who dribbles left. It's a strong pick from Thomas, enough to obstruct LeBron for a second or two. Fortunately for the Heat, Bosh corrals Rose the entire way, with James in pursuit after he fights through Thomas. Rose can't turn the corner on Bosh and, as the point guard elevates to pass back to Thomas, LeBron deflects the ball and then picks it up. It's a huge defensive play by LeBron, but credit Bosh for doing what few big men have been able to do consistently against the MVP -- contain him more than 20 feet from the basket. It's possible Bosh might never get more than token praise for his defense, but any close examination of what the Heat have accomplished defensively this postseason will identify Bosh as the lynchpin of the Heat's system.
• When Rose misses a free throw and a chance to tie the game with 25 seconds remaining, the Bulls are forced to foul Bosh. The power forward calmly walks to the line and drains a pair. Though these are only points three and four for Bosh in the quarter, the free throws extend the Heat's lead to three with 16.8 seconds left. Bosh finishes the night with 20 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. Once again, his pick-and-roll coverage -- as described above -- was nearly flawless and he battled the Bulls inside all night.
• When Rose gets the ball back from Kyle Korver with about five seconds remaining in the game's final possession, he dribbles left with LeBron smothering him. That's when Gibson lays out along the left side of the perimeter and stops LeBron in his tracks. With the clock ticking toward zero, Rose now has some air space moving to his left, but it quickly evaporates. Here's Haslem, toes on the arc, heels dug in and arms extended upward. Rose has no place to elevate and practically falls backward as he flings the Bulls' last hope to tie the game toward the hoop. LeBron, who has fought through Gibson, swats the ball away as time expires.

In today's "Five things to watch," we focus on the Heat's five principal free agent signings from last summer: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem. The Heat envisioned this combination of players carrying the team down the stretch in big games. In Game 2, this unit finally took the floor together. With the exception of a single defensive possession, these five played the final 10 minutes of Game 4, when the Heat outscored the Bulls 28-18 -- their best collective showing to date.

What's the best way to utilize LeBron James?
The Heat had far and away their most efficient offensive outing of the series in Game 3, when James emerged not as a scorer, but the Heat's primary facilitator.

This role for James was the perfect antidote against Tom Thibodeau's strong-side pressure defense. Time and again, the Bulls would load up against James and he'd make them pay with a kickout, a pass to a cutter or a bullet-pass to an open man behind the Bulls' zone. James racked up 10 assists (a few more phantom assists on plays that resulted in free throws) and didn't turn the ball over.

When the offense began to grind in Game 4, the Heat went away from this strategy and James instead became an isolation and pick-and-roll player -- to mixed results. Defensively, he made a series of miscues by gambling or overhelping but redeemed himself late by seizing responsibility for guarding Derrick Rose once Erik Spoelstra inserted the Fab Five unit. Rose didn't record a field goal when James was in front of him (0 for 4 late; 0 for 5 on the night).

James said Wednesday he would derive little satisfaction with an Eastern Conference crown because the Heat's goal is to win a championship. If the Heat win Game 5, James might not scamper from the on-court celebration the way Dirk Nowitzki after Dallas wrapped up the West on Wednesday night, but if we take him at his word, his attention will immediately turn to the Mavericks.

Is everything OK with Dwyane Wade?
How marginal did Wade appear through most of Tuesday's night Game 4? So much so that there was rampant speculation among fans and the media about his health.

Wade looked exhausted and there were a number of possessions when he simply didn't apply any vision in the half court and made head-scratching decisions. On a couple of occasions, Wade rejected screens so he could drive immediately into the teeth of the Bulls’ defense, where there were two additional bodies waiting. If you're going to make that choice, D-Wade, then pursue contact instead of launching a contested fadeway!

By the fourth quarter, offensive sets that are normally designed to free up Wade were instead run for Mike Miller. Fortunately for the Heat, Wade's teammates were excelling in their respective roles as Wade stood idly by on the weakside.

About halfway through overtime, Wade woke from his slumber with an off-balanced midrange jumper to put the Heat up three. But his signature on the win was his block of Rose's attempted layup with 23 seconds remaining to seal the game.

Despite those late exploits, there's still concern about Wade's physical well-being -- worries he can put to rest only with the kind of energetic performance he delivered in Game 2.

Can Chris Bosh continue mixing it up?
Bosh just keeps delivering solid performances in the Eastern Conference finals.

Bosh regularly called for the ball after posting up on Joakim Noah, and he rarely shied away from attacking him off the dribble. He provided huge buckets down the stretch -- the up-fake-then-jumper from the left baseline to give Miami the lead with a minute left and the silky jumper off the baseline out-of-bounds play to put the Heat up four in overtime.

After upending Kevin Garnett in the semifinals, Bosh continues to demonstrate he isn’t afraid of the moment. With each clutch shot, his lack of experience proves to be a false narrative in the playoffs.

What’s most impressive is that he’s doing it against Noah, not the defensively-challenged Carlos Boozer. The Bulls are hiding Boozer and putting him on Joel Anthony in the early going and Haslem down the stretch.

Call Bosh soft all you want, but what matters most is that he is effective. The Bulls' defenders continue to bite on Bosh’s up-fake because that midrange jumper is as automatic as anyone’s not named Nowitzki.

The key for Bosh will be to maintain that healthy balance between perimeter shots and attacks at the rim. The Heat need his floor-spacing on offense, but they also can’t let him become too complacent at 20 feet. He has found the happy medium thus far, but Noah won’t let him get away with anything less.

Which Mike Miller will we see?
Not a bad time for Miller to have his best game of the season.

Sure, he scored 32 points against Toronto in January, but a banana plant could drop 20 on that defense. Miller posted a mind-boggling plus-36 in Game 4, scored 12 points and pulled down nine rebounds. No, he wasn’t solely responsible for that gaudy plus-minus, but he plays the kind of gritty game that doesn’t get rewarded in the box score.

But let’s put away the numbers for a moment. The biggest takeaway from Game 4 was that Miller was assertive and fluid, a combination that we rarely saw from him this season. That step-back, dribble-behind-the-back, knockdown jumper from the right corner? That was a thing of beauty, but more than anything it showed his renewed confidence and improved health.

Miller no longer exhibited hesitation on the perimeter. He was curling off pindowns and firing off 3-pointers like he was Ray Allen. Some of his 3s didn’t go down, but his rhythmic release was a refreshing sight for Heat fans.

The Miller we saw Tuesday was the Miller the Heat envisioned this summer. But will it be the Miller we see going forward? The Heat will be thrilled to get 40 percent shooting from downtown, the playmaking and all the floorburns that come with his hustle plays. If that becomes the norm, that highly-anticipated Big Five lineup that closed out Game 4 could become the norm as well.

How big is it to have Udonis Haslem back in action?
If you could design a glue guy of the big-man variety in a laboratory, what would his attributes look like?

You'd want him to be a multitasker with razor sharp instincts. He would be nimble defensively, a guy who can jump out on a pick-and-roll, rotate promptly and defend the post.

He'd be a beast on the boards, always ready to block out after a rotation and leap for tip-backs. He'd also be someone who loves nothing more than to get his uniform dirty scrapping for those 50-50 balls that can swing playoff games.

Offensively, he would always know where he's most useful on the floor at a given moment. As the supporting player on the court with four creators, he must be able to hit a 16-foot jumper as the release valve when the defense commits to his teammates. Though he might not be the most skiller on the floor, his instincts allow him to make the occasional play and he knows the playbook backwards and forwards.

Finally, he'd be the emotional barometer of the squad, a player whose body language and hustle inspire his teammates and boost the collective confidence of the unit.

In short, you'd design Haslem in that lab and throw him out there on the floor when it matters most.

Will Chris Bosh continue to flourish?
Who expected Chris Bosh to lead the Heat in scoring in this series? It’s safe to say Carlos Boozer, who previously went on the record to say the Heat had only two great players, didn’t see it coming.

Bosh thrived in the midrange Sunday, nailing six of his 10 shots outside 10 feet. As impressive as that is, you can’t expect him to convert 60 percent of his jump shots going forward. It’s unsustainable. The Bulls actually did a good job of contesting his midrange jumpers, but Bosh simply knocked them down.

The successful and sustainable Bosh is the one we saw early in the second quarter after Taj Gibson was jawing at him in a one-on-one situation. Bosh faced up, ignored Gibson’s barking, dribbled to his left, spun to his right and blew right by the savvy defender en route to the rim. As he does so well, Bosh drew contact and worked two free throws. When he attacks off the dribble, few bigs can keep up without making illegal contact.

But defensively, Bosh is making an impact as well. He has been vital to the Heat’s smothering pick-and-roll coverage on Derrick Rose. When he isn’t showing hard at the point of attack, Bosh is multitasking; he anchors the paint, guards multiple big men, and impedes Roses’ penetration. Without Bosh’s presence, Rose can take a direct route to the rim.

With regard to Bosh, the Bulls have to pick their poison: Do they suffer offensively by calling on Gibson full-time, or do they continue with the rotating part-time assignments like they have? We’ll learn in Game 4.

Should the Bulls prefer LeBron the facilitator?
Too often our eyes are drawn to the wrong column in the stat line to evaluate a player's performance on a given night.

Take a glimpse at James' Game 3 numbers and you'd rightly conclude it was a nice, but unexceptional performance (by LeBron standards) -- 22 points on 13 field goal attempts, 9-for-9 from the line, six rebounds, a couple of blocks and 10 assists without a turnover.

Those last two numbers might be the most telling. When you rewatch Game 3 and look for the really big buckets for Miami, there's a good chance you'll see a pass from James to a Heat scorer.

That 3-pointer from Mike Bibby midway through the third quarter that gave the Heat a lead they wouldn't surrender? Kickout from Mr. James.

That consecutive pair of Udonis Haslem jumpers from the left side toward the end of the period to extend the lead? Those were gifts from point guard LeBron, leveraging the defense.

Four of Bosh's 13 field goals (and two of his five trips to the line)? Deliveries from James.

The bedrock principle of the Bulls' top-ranked defense is a fierce commitment to pressure the area around the ball. But what happens when the opposing player can manipulate that investment and find open teammates across the floor? Do you pull back, even if it means compromising that bedrock principle?

If LeBron continues to distribute and facilitate as brilliantly in Game 4 as he did in Game 3, this will be single most difficult question Tom Thibodeau will have to answer Tuesday night.

Is the productivity from the Heat’s point guards a mirage?
We’ve detailed Bibby’s historically unproductive postseason before, but he’s actually done a knock-up job thus far in this series.

He’s staying in front of Rose to the extent that any point guard can, and he’s successfully burrowed himself beneath the skin of the Bulls’ big men. And perhaps most important? He’s finally spacing the floor with 3-pointers.

Bibby is the starting pitcher who needs to throw six solid innings and then let his bullpen close out the game. If he can keep Rose from lighting it up from the opening tip and sprinkle some 3s in as well, he’s done his job.

If Bibby isn’t up to the task, then the Heat will likely call on Mario Chalmers, who redeemed himself in Game 3 after face-planting on the big stage in Game 2. Chalmers is a zero-sum player in the sense that he always seems to negate any recent progress, so it’s hard to imagine he continues his positive momentum. We’ve been burned before thinking that Chalmers has turned the corner, but the Heat will need his activity in Game 4.

It went under the radar, but the Heat employed a traditional point guard for all 48 minutes in Game 3 and it was certainly warranted. Can they continue to contain Rose and hit big shots?

Can the Heat win Game 4 from the stripe?
The Heat ranked second in the NBA during the regular season in free-throw rate (ratio of free throw attempts to field goal attempts). On several occasions during the dark days of winter, when the offense would grind to a halt, the Heat would eke out a win by bullying their way to the line.

That trend has continued in the postseason and the numbers are startling. In 11 of their 13 postseason games, the Heat have exceeded their opponent's free-throw rate -- usually by a substantial margin.

Against the Bulls, there will always be bodies around the ball in the half court. Clean shots are difficult to find -- but contact isn't.

Bosh was particularly crafty in Game 3, drawing fouls when pinned against the baseline by simply putting the ball on the floor.

Wade has been one of the league's premier crash test dummies of recent memory. He settled for a few too many midrange jumpers in the last meeting, but if the Heat can get him working off those curls again, he's destined to find his way to the line.

James needs no introduction to the charity stripe, where he's attempted 112 free throws since the opening tip of the first round. He's best right now serving as the Heat's de facto point guard, but that doesn't mean he can't find seams through which to burst to the hole and -- potentially -- the line.

Winning a series against a defensive outfit like Chicago was never going to be pretty. If the Heat can harness that ugliness to the tune of 25 or 30 free throws, they should be able to erase their inevitable deficit on the offensive glass -- because foul shots are potential second-chance points in their own right.

Will the Heat continue to cause Bulls misfires from point-blank range?
For the Bulls, the shot chart in Game 3 has to be a mixed blessing.

On one hand, they're unlikely to go 17-for-46 again from inside of 10 feet on Tuesday night. That number is every bit as improbable as some of the unconscious shooting displays we've seen across the league this postseason. Still, the Bulls have failed to connect at close range in two consecutive games against a Miami defense without a lot of conventional size.

The Heat hope to make the unsustainable sustainable for the third consecutive game as they tighten the vise against Derrick Rose and anyone else in a Bulls' uniform who dares to penetrate the lane. Miami doesn't devote the same amount of attention or defensive resources to the strong side of the floor, but their rotations to the point of attack have been brilliant.

Watch for the Bulls to adjust off the ball. Derrick Rose has a expansive offensive game and can potentially hurt the Heat off the ball by spotting up. Luol Deng and Ronnie Brewer both excel as cutters who can sneak behind a defense. And where's that high-low game we saw Boozer and Noah initiate in Game 1, which now seems like eons ago?

Rose off the bounce will still be the Bulls' preferred mode of attack inside, but they'll have to diversify the offense to loosen up the middle, because Chicago's perimeter game won't save the day.

Can the energy guys energize the Heat?
Something remarkable happened at the 0:26.7 mark of the third quarter on Wednesday night when Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade checked back into Game 2. Bosh, Wade, LeBron James, Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem shared the floor as teammates for the very first time.

While all the debates raged in recent months about who should play the majority of the minutes at center, or whether the Heat should go without a point guard down the stretch, it was easy to get that this five-man unit was the presumed crunch time lineup for the Heat.

Although they finished a minus-4 in approximately six minutes of floor time in Game 2, their presence underscored an important truth as the series moves to Miami on Sunday:

The Heat have options.

It's not a perfect menu, but with Haslem available and Miller serviceable, the versatility Erik Spoelstra envisioned having at his disposal at the outset of the season now exists.

Haslem and Miller combined for 41 crucial minutes, 15 points (13 of them Haslem's) and 12 rebounds. More than that, the Heat looked like the aggressors in the series for the first time when Haslem entered the game in the first quarter. He might not yet be 100 percent, but Haslem brought some fight to the court. Meanwhile, Miller still leads the league in floor-burn per minute.

Haslem and Miller won't win this series, but against a team that's pummeled the Heat on the boards and generally outworked them all season, these two guys have the will, skills and savvy to allow the Heat's reserve units to hang with the Bulls' bench. So long as they're healthy ...

Is Derrick Rose primed for a breakout?
It seems a bit silly to say that a guy averaging 24.5 points and seven assists per game in a series is still waiting to bust out, but that speaks to the outrageous talent of Rose. While he’s gotten his points, he hasn’t been able to do it efficiently, shooting 37.8 percent from the floor against the Heat defense.

Is his inaccuracy a product of the Heat’s swarming defense, or a 22-year-old just missing shots he normally makes? The Heat’s defense deserves some credit, even if Spoelstra didn’t want to count his blessings at Saturday’s practice. Walling off the paint area isn’t easy against a force like Rose, but they’ve managed to do that in the first two games. He has made just five buckets inside 10 feet in the two games (he normally hits five per game).

When Rose does muster a shot, the Heat have sent multiple bodies to contest his attempts. Mike Bibby has actually looked like a decent defender out there, routinely disrupting Rose’s shot release. The result is that Rose has shot just 31 percent on attempts within 10 feet in this series, which is down significantly from his regular-season rate of 55 percent.

Rose isn’t normally this off on his finishes and Bibby isn’t normally this adept as a defender. Sounds like a recipe for a breakout performance.

The Heat are cured from their rebounding issues, right?
Wrong. Sure, the Heat outrebounded the Bulls 45-41 in Game 2, but the Bulls still pulled down 17 offensive rebounds -- 32.7 percent of their misses. That’s a higher rate than the Bulls collect normally (29.4 percent), so the Heat are not out of the woods quite yet.

The Heat certainly improved in Game 2 on the boards, but it’s also worth pointing out that Joakim Noah sat on the bench for the majority of the second half. His absence -- in addition to Haslem’s presence -- eased the rebounding burden. When the Bulls center is on the floor this series, the Bulls have recovered 40 percent of their misses, compared to just 26 percent when the Florida product rides the pine.

The Heat still haven’t solved Noah, but Haslem may be the key. Following the Heat’s practice Saturday, Spoelstra said he feels much more confident about deactivating Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Erick Dampier now that he has Haslem to crash the boards. What most people may not know is that Haslem was the Heat’s best rebounder this season, even though he gives up several inches to his opponent. If Haslem is even 80 percent healthy, he renders Ilgauskas and Dampier obsolete on this squad.

Even after winning the rebounding edge in Game 2, the Heat have only a 44.9 rebound rate against the Bulls this season, which is still their worst rate against any team. The truth is that they need another 25-plus-rebound performance from James, Wade and Miller.

Will this be the game the Heat finally get out and run?
When the series started, Spoelstra was banking on the fact that the Heat's smaller, quicker lineup would create some transition opportunities. Makes sense, since no team in the NBA scored more points per possession on the break than the Heat.

So how's that plan working out against the Bulls?

Not so good. The Heat have managed only 16 possessions in transition over the first two games of the series (six fewer than Chicago, ironically), and have largely been confined to half-court basketball.

How can this be?

Virtually every fast break begins with either a rebound or a steal, and the Heat were atrocious on Chicago's glass in Game 1 and merely passable in Game 2. They also have yet to force the kinds of turnovers that ignite their patented "skirmishes," when James and Wade get out in the open floor and make magic.

With Haslem's return, the Heat have a player who can rebound and outlet with the best of them. Wade and James renewed their commitment on the glass and are well aware that those open-court opportunities are most lethal when they gobble up missed shots and bolt down the floor.

Has LeBron James entered "The Zone" (and is he staying awhile)?
It wasn't long ago when Heat fans would look up at the scoreboard, see a narrow margin, then worry. Critics reveled in the Heat's failures late in games and took particular pleasure in James' struggles.

There was nothing earth-shattering about LeBron's pair of stat lines in Chicago: 15-6-6 in Game 1 and 29-10-5 in Game 2. But the final minutes of the Heat's win on Wednesday night followed a familiar pattern: James has been a beast when it's mattered most in the postseason.

In the Heat's last three wins, James has seized control of the game in the final minutes of regulation, draining contested jump shots and bullying his way inside. When he threw up a rare miss on Wednesday night inside of two minutes, he simply followed his shot for the putback.

James' crunch-time player efficiency rating (PER) now stands at a gaudy 40.8 and he's effectively running the point for the Heat when the game is tight.

As a result, it seems like ages since we've heard about late-game execution.