Past very present in battle for title
LeBron-Heat history adds to intriguing matchup
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — LeBron James wants to beat the Heat. The Heat want to beat LeBron James.
These shouldn’t be surprising notions to anyone, not with a title at stake.
Those looking for more acrimony than that, well, they may be disappointed.
The NBA Finals start Wednesday night and the James vs. Heat storyline is shaping up as little more than a meeting of the mutual admiration society, albeit with a championship at stake. James is looking to bring the Lakers back to basketball’s mountaintop for the first time since 2010, and the Heat are looking to cap a surprising season with their fourth crown.
“I’m here for one reason and one reason only, and that’s to compete for a championship,” James said on the eve of Game 1 of his 10th finals, where he’ll be seeking ring No. 4.
James was asked any number of different ways Tuesday about his time with the Heat, his thoughts on coach Erik Spoelstra, his opinion team president Pat Riley. He never took the bait, speaking only with fondness for the four years he spent with the Heat and the two titles the franchise won during that stay.
“Being a part of that culture allowed me to grow, allowed me to see what it takes to not only compete for a championship but also to win a championship,” James said. “So, it definitely put me in a position where I knew what it took. I saw what it took. But also, I fit that culture as well because of how hard I worked. It was a perfect match for those four years.”
James left the Heat and the finals have been an almost-annual stop since; this is his fifth appearance in the title round in the six seasons that followed his Heat tenure. It’s the first time the Heat have been back since he left. During that time, the Heat did some rebuilding a couple of times and used 60 different players in those six seasons. The Heat also endured the departure, return and then retirement of Dwyane Wade and the premature end of Chris Bosh’s career for health reasons.
Spoelstra is designing a game plan with hopes of keeping James in some sort of check, of course.
That doesn’t mean he didn’t speak with reverence when asked about the Lakers’ best player.
“I just think it is a true testament to his greatness to be able to sustain this type of success year in, year out,” Spoelstra said. “Different uniforms, new players and new teams going after him. It’s a real testament to that commitment. He’s seen everything. At this point in his career, it’s just about winning. And his ability to do what he does at his age is incredibly uncommon. But there’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to be able to maintain that.”
The feeling is mutual.
James, on Spoelstra: “I’m not going to ... act like I don’t know what Spo is all about, because he’s damned good, if not great.”
James, on Riley: “This league is not the same without Riles. He’s a great guy, great motivator, someone that just knows what it takes to win.”
Get past the James vs. Heat notions, and the series has plenty more to offer.
Add it all up, and Heat captain Udonis Haslem said “it’s going to be a hell of a matchup.”