Heat ready for difficult trip

MIAMI —The last time Miami Heat forward James Johnson can remember playing a similar schedule dated to his high school days.

After their 8 p.m., game against the Toronto Raptors Saturday, the Heat travel to face the Indiana Pacers today at 6 p.m. With daylight savings, they lose an hour and will play two games in the span of 21 hours.

It is the least time the Heat have had between 15 back-to-backs this season. Johnson compared it to playing AAU ball as a teenager.

“I don’t think none of that is going to come into effect,” Johnson said. “If it does, you won’t hear any of that from our guys.”

The Heat refuse to complain about the grueling schedule despite it occurring during the middle of the playoff run. They have taken a no excuses approach.

“You can’t make no excuses, though,” guard Dion Waiters said. “It is what it is. The NBA is a grinder. That’s what it is. This last month is about just grinding, just getting it done by any means. We can’t make excuses.”

Coach Erik Spoelstra said the Heat will handle the difficult schedule because they are used to it. Back-to-backs are part of the NBA life.

“It’s tough,” guard Goran Dragic said. “Those back-to-backs, they’re not easy but we never shy away from our responsibilities. We’re just going to come there, do our routine and try to prepare ourselves the most we can.”

Johnson said he doesn’t expect it to affect the mood of the team.

“You got to dig deeper within yourself and pull out that savage that everyone of us has in this locker room,” Johnson said. before losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the finals. They are viewing Ibaka as potentially the missing piece.

“It looks like a great fit because of his ability to play both positions,” Spoelstra said. “He can stretch the floor, particularly when he’s at the five. It changes their spacing and the lineups quite a bit. … You have to be ready for a different type of look around [DeMar]

. … We think it’s a really good addition.”