Miami Heat: 5 Lessons from Heat's "Night and Day" Performance Against the Spurs

I would have loved to have been in the locker room at halftime of the Heat's matchup with the Spurs, when they were down 63-49, which made the game look a lot closer than it actually was in the first half.

Somebody, and I'm hoping LeBron, had to say something pretty awesome to get the team fired up enough to lead a massive Heat comeback, including a 27-point third-quarter swing.  

The Heat looked like an apathetic, lazy and careless team in the first half against the Spurs, giving up an incredible 63 points, while shooting around 39.5 percent from the field.

Luckily for the Heat, LeBron channeled his "Inner Cleveland," leading the Heat on a massive comeback that ultimately helped the Heat snap their three-game losing streak.

Ahead are five lessons to take away from the Heat's "Jekyll and Hyde" performance against the Spurs Tuesday night.   

LeBron's Still Got Some "Cleveland" Left in Him

Remember that guy named LeBron James, who used to take over games every night in Cleveland? There was a sighting of him in South Beach Tuesday night, when the Heat took on the Spurs, and it was quite impressive. LeBron has had some solid games this year, but none of his performances to date have been quite as impressive as what he did in the third quarter Tuesday night.

Say what you will about LeBron's ability to show up in the clutch, but there's no doubting that he showed up when his team desperately needed him against the San Antonio Spurs. With the Heat down 14 at half to the surging Spurs, LeBron took the game over in the third quarter, scoring 17 points and hitting a three-pointer to give the Heat their first lead since the first quarter, 69-68.

What is most impressive about LeBron's performance is that even though he took over offensively and scored seemly at will, he still was able to keep his teammates in the game, getting Chris Bosh and Mike Miller the ball at opportunistic moments in the game.

LeBron James looked like he did during his best days in Cleveland, truly being the best player on the court, while Bosh sure gave him a run for his money. For the Heat to continue to win without Wade, LeBron has to keep channeling his inner "Cleveland," which means more scoring while still managing to facilitate the game to the players around him.

The LeBron we saw in the third quarter is the LeBron that the Miami Heat desperately need, even with Dwyane Wade in the lineup. For the first time in a long time we saw LeBron James lead a team, returning to his MVP form of 2009 and 2010, and that is something that the Heat need him to be on a consistent basis.  

The Heat Need to Abandon the "Isolation" Offense

There's absolutely way too much standing and watching going on as of late in the Heat's offensive set. The Miami Heat try to get out and run when they grab rebounds or catch their opponents sleeping, but when that fails, it's like the Heat don't have a secondary offense to run.

There was more movement in the stands with fans grabbing refreshments or going to the bathroom than there was on the court for the Miami Heat against the Spurs Tuesday night.

The lack of any resemblance of an offensive set is troubling for the Miami Heat because it shows the lack of intelligence that exists within the Heat's coaching staff, and it shows the lack of creativity that exists within the players on the Heat's roster. At some point, no matter what Spolestra tells the players to do, guys like LeBron and Bosh need to become the floor leaders that they are payed to be, and specifically LeBron has dropped the ball regarding that.

The isolation offense that the Heat ran against the Spurs last night, only slowed down their offense, ultimately resulting in LeBron playing hesitantly throughout the majority of the night, until he caught fire in the third quarter, looking like the James of old as he erupted for 17 points in the third quarter.

The isolation offense can be a fall back for the Heat late in the shot clock or if Wade, LeBron or Bosh get hot, but it absolutely can't be their primary offensive set because it lacks any serious rhythm or flow. LeBron and Bosh can carry the team without Wade for the time being, but they can't continue to do it by simply relying on an elementary isolation offensive set.       

Miami Still Lacks Defensive Discipline for 4 Complete Quarters

Sixty-three points in the first half, at home? Yep, that's pretty abysmal. I know the Spurs are one of the highest scoring teams in the NBA, averaging 100.8 ppg which ranks third overall in the NBA, but the Heat didn't even try to stop them. The Heat sure turned up their defense in the third quarter, holding the Spurs to only 12 total points on just 4-of-19 shooing (21.1 percent), which was the big difference maker in the game.  

It seemed like every time the Miami Heat were on defense, their defensive set ended up with the Spurs getting an open three-point shot or an easy back-door layup, mainly because the Heat severely lack discipline on the defensive side of the ball.

Whether it's defenders bringing help-side defense at inopportune times, or guards doubling down on post players leaving their players wide open, the Heat need to find their defensive identity if they are going to be a legitimate contender in the East.

The Heat's defense reacts to what their opponent shows them, instead of being proactive in bringing the defensive pressure to their opponents. With the Heat's athleticism, there is no way that they should be giving up an average of 99.3 ppg, which ranks 26 out of 30 in the NBA.

The Heat absolutely must turn up the defensive pressure and establish some sort of defensive identity if they want to start winning games, because they are proving more and more that they can't win games that turn into offensive shootouts. If the Heat don't start playing lockdown and physical defense for all four quarters, they're going to have a tough time against the NBA's elite.  

Mike Miller Couldn't Have Come Back at a Better Time

Mike Miller didn't really ever become the spark of the bench that the Heat thought he would become last year, averaging only 5.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in the 2010-11 season in which he only saw minutes in 41 games due to an injury at the beginning of the season. During the 2010-11 season, Miller only managed to score 18-plus points one time, going off for 32 points against the Raptors in mid-January.

In his first game of the 2011-12 season, Miller's already managed to equal the total of 18-plus point games form last year, scoring 18 points in just 15 minutes, shooting 100 percent from beyond the arc (6-6).

There was no better time for Miller to make his annual return to the hardwood than tonight against the San Antonio Spurs. With the Heat struggling to get production off of the bench against the Spurs, Miller entered the game and absolutely went off.

While there's a high likelihood that Miller won't be able to sustain his 100 percent field goal percentage or his 18 points per game average throughout the entire 2011-12 regular season, he will undoubtedly bring added depth to the Heat's bench and energy to the Heat's eight- or nine-man rotation.

I'll be honest, I didn't see this coming from Miller, who didn't necessarily light the world on fire last year shooting 36.4 percent from beyond the arc during the regular season and a weaker 29.7 percent from beyond the arc during the post season. Here's hoping Miller shoots closer to 100 percent this year, the Heat could sure use it.  

LeBron James Is Still the Most Complete Player in the NBA

LeBron James didn't even raise an eyebrow to the fact that the Heat were down 63-49 at halftime. He simply came out in the third quarter and did what he knew he could do, be the most complete player on the court. LeBron helped the Miami Heat end their three-game losing streak with 33 points, 10 assists and five rebounds. In addition to that production, LeBron hit more three-pointers against the Spurs (4) than he had hit in all previous 12 games (3).

Sure, players like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant can score just as good, if not better than LeBron, but there is no debating the fact that they aren't as complete players as LeBron is. On his way to leading a furious Heat comeback, with 17 points in the third quarter, LeBron still managed to control the pace of the game and include his teammates when the Spurs defense locked his offensive attack down.

Just take a minute and look at LeBron's season averages and their overall ranking in the NBA. LeBron averages 29.8 ppg (second in NBA), 7.9 rpg (26th in NBA) 7.6 apg (ninth in NBA), and 57.8 percent fgp (fourth in NBA).

LeBron's points per game average and his shooting percentage is impressive enough, but the fact that he manages to produce at that level and still manages to rack up assists and rebounds at the same time takes his game to the next level.

If there's one thing to take away from the Heat's confusing, "night and day" performance against the Spurs, it's the fact that LeBron James can be whatever the Heat need him to be. Whether it's scoring 30 points, grabbing double-digit rebounds or facilitating the game to other guys on the court, LeBron has the ability to do it, which can't be said about too many other players in the NBA.

Look for more of the same out of LeBron in the Heat's next two games, against the Lakers (Jan. 19) and the 76ers (Jan. 21), except look for LeBron to amp up his game a little earlier than the third quarter in those games.