Wade, however, downplayed the potential for “bad blood” as the Miami Heat get ready to open the conference finals at home on Monday night.

“We’ll see what develops throughout these playoffs,” Wade said, “but right now they’re in our way and we’re in their way. That’s the bad blood right now.”

That said, even though the Heat dismissed the Celtics in five games last year in the playoffs, everyone involved with the Heat said Sunday the series was far more competitive that it appeared.

“Last year it was a nine-game series, it felt like, when we got out of that series,” Wade said.

It hasn't been smooth sailing for Heath Bell in Miami

The Marlins held on for the 7-6 win Friday night, so Ozzie Guillen made the right move in the short term by lifting Heath Bell with one out in the ninth inning and the tying run on second base for the Giants.

The long term? That’s an open question as the Marlins manager and his new $27 million closer continue to grow accustomed to each other and how they prefer to do business.

Take the 2-1 breaking ball Bell threw to journeyman Joaquin Arias leading off the ninth.

Up 7-4, Guillen made it clear to the media he would have preferred to see Bell go right after a career backup player hitting in the No. 7 spot.

“I’m not going to second-guess him, so I don’t think he should second-guess me,” Bell said. “I threw a breaking ball, and it just happened to miss, a little bit inside. If I would have got the job done, he would have maybe called me a genius. …

“You know, the thing is, I’ve always thrown 2-1 [breaking balls]. I’ve always thrown complete opposite.  I’ve always been a pitcher, never a thrower. If he doesn’t believe in my pitching style and the way I pitch, I have to go out there and show him I can get the job done doing that. Apparently I haven’t shown that yet.”

Bell spoke last month, after blowing three of his first six save chances, of having to grow more familiar with pitching coach Randy St. Claire and vice versa. It seems the same process is playing out between the Marlins’ closer and his manager.

“I feel like I’m going out there pitching,” Bell said. “I’m trying to make my pitches. I have no fear of throwing any pitch at any given time in any count. I’m just not a meathead that rears back and throws the ball. I’m actually trying to pitch. I wasn’t blessed throwing hard when I was younger.”

Friday, Bell hit 94 mph several times on the radar gun. He said he was keeping his pitches down in the strike zone better than earlier this year.

He had Gregor Blanco down 0-2 but gave up an opposite-field double after Blanco spoiled three two-strike pitches.

That’s when Bell looked up and saw Guillen walking toward the mound. At that point, Bell was expecting to have a conversation about how to proceed with Brandon Crawford coming up and first base open.

“Pretty much, that’s what I thought,” Bell said.

And when Guillen spread his arms and reached for the ball?

“I wasn’t too happy,” Bell said. “I felt like I was there. I fell behind a little bit but I felt like I could totally get out of that situation.”

Friday marked Bell’s 52nd career outing against the Giants, his most against any big-league team. He suggested that familiarity helped the Giants, even some of the younger hitters, prolong the inning.

“The older guys tell the young guys, because [Aubrey] Huff’s been there awhile and [Pablo] Sandoval,” Bell said. “[Bruce] Bochy and his coaching staff have seen me, so who knows?”

What is known is that Bell heard some boos after giving up an RBI single to Brandon Belt, then heard them even louder upon being yanked from the game in favor of young sidewinder Steve Cishek.

 ”Walking off the field, you definitely hear the boos,” Bell said. “The thing is, they’re passionate about the Marlins. I think they’re just fine. They want me to go out and do well every single time. I kind of let the fans down. … If they’re not booing, that means they’re not in the game and they’re not passionate about their team. I want them to be passionate about the Marlins.” 

And just as much, he wants to earn his new manager’s faith.

“Bell is my closer,” Guillen insisted. “He gets paid to close games, I get paid to win games or to give the players the best opportunity to win games. He’ll be my closer tomorrow, but today he was a little bit off.”

All is right again in Dwyane's world

Three Things to consider on this sports Friday:

Thing 1: Not sure what Indiana University coach Tom Crean told Dwyane Wade during their reunion meeting on the day off after Game 3, but what he said obviously worked.

Since that pep talk from Wade’s former Marquette coach, the Miami Heat’s “Robin” has been on fire.

Thursday’ s 41-point outburst to close out the pesky Pacers was merely the latest development in a much-needed revival act.

Since that 5-point disaster in Game 3, Wade is averaging 33 points on .615 shooting (40 of 65), along with 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists. He has committed three turnovers a game in this three-game stretch and he’s missed 11 of 27 free throws, but otherwise this has been quite a statement from the erstwhile Flash.  

Remember, in Games 2 and 3, Wade averaged just 14.5 points on combined .286 shooting (10 of 35) and the Heat lost both times.

Crean may have blown his free pass at future Pacers games, but I know this much: Wade should keep his old coach on speed dial for the rest of these playoffs.  

Thing 2: Just heard ESPN’s Jalen Rose on the “Mike and Mike” radio show suggest the Heat veterans aren’t exactly upset with Dexter Pittman for leveling Lance “Choke Sign” Stephenson at the end of Game 5.

In fact, Rose — who ostensibly stays in touch with old Fab Five mate Juwan Howard — said he wouldn’t be surprised if a vet calls Pittman over at some point in these playoffs and hands him a “paper bag” filled with a little extra cash.

Even if that happens, Rose said he wouldn’t be shocked if the Heat voted Pittman an extra playoff share.

If it happens after the fact, does that make it a bounty?

Thing 3: Here’s an excellent breakdown by Atlanta columnist Mark Bradley on why the Atlantic Coast Conference isn’t necessarily on life support, as some would have you believe.

Makes a lot of sense.

And that $15 million exit fee the ACC has imposed should not be dismissed lightly. Not in these cash-strapped times for higher education.

Danny Granger figures to be hobbled (at best) for Game 6

Three Things to consider on this sports Thursday:

Thing 1: Pacers forward Danny Granger says he has a “history of recovering fast,” but I still wouldn’t expect to see him able to guard LeBron James very effectively in tonight’s Game 6.

When I asked Granger for an example of a quick return from an injury he may have suffered similar in severity to this left ankle sprain, he shrugged and admitted he had none. At least not in a matter of less than 48 hours.

The Heat may be the ones serving suspensions — Udonis Haslem, Dexter Pittman — but it’s the Pacers who are in deep trouble.  

Thing 2: Once Granger sprained his ankle near the end of the second quarter in Game 5, a three-point deficit eventually ballooned into a 32-point loss.

In the immediate aftermath of Granger’s two departures on Tuesday — the other one coming early in the second half — the Heat went on quick runs of 8-2 and 9-2.

Does Granger mean that much to the Pacers?

“Danny’s been our leader. He’s been our scorer,” Pacers guard Paul George said. “When he went down, it was  a missing link. We weren’t really ready for that. It wasn’t like we were prepared coming in if Danny was going to be out. It was kind of on the fly.”

Even Tyler Hansbrough, whose playing time would figure to increase if Granger can’t handle his usual minutes, admitted Granger was a vital part of the Indiana operation.

“Danny’s pretty much one of our key players,” Hanbrough said. “He’s a big part of our team. It’s going to hurt us. We can’t replace him.” 

Thing 3: Made the prediction on my Twitter account (@MikeBerardino) early in Monday’s win over the Rockies that the Marlins would take over first place in the National League East by the end of this 10-game homestand, “maybe for good.”

With the Nationals coming in next week and the Phillies still phloundering in last place, I’m standing by that prediction.

Even with Carlos Zambrano taking a small step back in Wednesday’s loss to the Rockies.  

But first the Marlins must get past Giants co-aces Tim Lincecum (Friday) and Matt Cain (Sunday).

But Pacers forward Danny Granger left little doubt what he thought should happen in the wake of Udonis Haslem’s flagrant foul on Tyler Hansbrough in the first half of Tuesday’s 115-83 Heat blowout win.

“Obviously it was retaliation for Tyler’s foul on [Dwyane] Wade,” Granger said of the play a few trips earlier at the other end of the court. “I mean, I saw it was bad in the game. Then I came back here and I saw the replay. It looked about three times worse. That was all-out. I expect to see Flagrant 2. I’d be shocked if they don’t upgrade it after looking at that play. …

“Seeing it in slow motion, it was obvious what [Haslem's] intent was. I think it was just as dangerous as what Metta World Peace did to James Harden. I know he was trying to protect his teammate, but it was a hard foul.”

Granger’s own status is uncertain for Game 6 on Thursday, but that’s due to the serious sprain he suffered to his left ankle late in the first half. A three-point Heat lead quickly moved to nine by halftime, and by game’s end the Pacers had been outscored by 29 points after Granger landed awkwardly on LeBron James’ foot.

In terms of discipline, the timing of the Haslem foul was suspicious and could prompt action from the league office.

Granger admitted the Hansbrough foul on Wade “should have been a Flagrant 1. He went to block the shot and there was head contact.”

However, Granger also was upset by the garbage-time foul on Pacers backup Lance Stephenson by Heat center Dexter Pittman.

“Lance is getting X-rayed right now; he might have broken his collarbone,” Granger said. “I’d be surprised if that one’s not a Flagrant 2 as well. Like I said, it was like the Wild, Wild West.”

Remember, it was Stephenson who gave LeBron the choke sign from the bench at the end of Game 2. Before the next game at Indiana, Heat veteran Juwan Howard confronted Stephenson during warmups, and Pittman took things a step further.

“I don’t know if that was in retaliation for what Lance had done … when LeBron was shooting free throws,” Granger said. “I watched it on the replay. He looked over and saw him coming. He’s a big guy and he laid him out, so I’m sure the NBA will assess that and do what they have to do.”

What is your level of concern that Haslem and/or Pittman was be put on ice for Thursday’s game?

How about Hansbrough? Should he get the same treatment if either or both of the Heat big men get punished?

Jamie Moyer failed to secure career victory No. 270 on his first visit to Marlins Park, but the oldest man to win a game in major league history did pad another of his records.

This was the 50th different big-league park in which he’s worked. That’s three more than ex-Marlins reliever Rudy Seanez.

Impressions?

“It’s a nice ballpark,” Moyer, 49, said after blowing a 4-0 lead in a 7-4 Rockies loss. “I mean, I like the mound. I have to look at the places where I work. I like the mound, I like the bullpen. I wasn’t really out there long enough to enjoy the whole night. I get two nights to take the rest of it in.”

Moyer, who is now 13-7 against the Marlins for his career, left little doubt that he won’t miss Sun Life Stadium.

“Put it this way,” he said. “When you compare apples to oranges, it’s eons better than where they used to play. Where they used to play was a multipurpose facility. It’s had it’s time. You look at our game today, nearly every organization has a new ballpark except for places like Boston and Chicago and Oakland. And I actually like the [Oakland] Coliseum.”

No baseball player liked Sun Life, not even those who helped the Marlins win their two World Series titles.

Moyer, who pitched for the Phillies from 2006-2010, was treated to a postseason-style roar from the crowd of 25,155 following Mike Stanton’s go-ahead grand slam in the fourth. That came one pitch after a Moyer offering that looked like strike three, only home-plate umpire Ted Barrett didn’t see it that way.

Is a momentary letdown natural in that situation?

“For me? No,” Moyer said. “Got to go out and you’ve got to compete. Sometimes you get calls. Sometimes you don’t get calls. I get the ball back and it is what it is. I’m not going to gripe about it, I’m not going to complain about it. That’s this game.

“It’s all a judgment game. Whether it’s coming from the umpire’s standpoint, a pitcher’s standpoint, a catcher’s standpoint, a hitter’s standpoint. It’s all about judgment, and we all react to what we see, what we feel and when it doesn’t necessarily go your way, you’ve got to regroup and make a good pitch.”

Moyer agreed with my point that the Marlins might be able to ride that new workplace energy through the long baseball summer.

“They’ve got pretty nice digs here,” Moyer said. “Obviously this is our first day here, but yeah, there’s a big difference between here and the other ballpark. Obviously they’ve added some experience to this ball club, with some of the youth that they have raised in this organization. It looks like they’re going in a positive direction.”

It was a big Sunday across the board for Magic Johnson

Three Things to consider on this sports Monday:

Thing 1: Count Magic Johnson among those who appreciated what LeBron James and Dwyane Wade did Sunday at Indianapolis.

“Batman & Robin aka @KingJames & @DwyaneWade were quite the duo today leading (the) Heat to victory,” the Magic Man tweeted on his @MagicJohnson account.

It was a busy Sunday for Magic, whose first-place Dodgers staged a late rally to beat the Cardinals and whose pal Arsenio Hall – thought we were done with him — got the nod from Donald Trump on “Celebrity Apprentice” to win the big check for the Magic Johnson Foundation.

 ”I got to say though” Magic added later on, “that it’s the Spurs that are playing the best team basketball in the NBA right now.”

Know what? He’s probably right about that, too.

 Thing 2: The Miami Marlins return home tonight to begin a 10-game homestand, and they will face 49-year-old Rockies starter Jamie Moyer.

The oldest man to win a game in the major leagues last week became the oldest to drive in a run. Ever.

And he did it with an infield single.

If that doesn’t get 40-somethings like me into the gym, nothing will.

Thing 3: Welcome back, Udonis Haslem.

Lexi Thompson picked her Wounded Warrior prom date entirely on her own

Today’s Sun Sentinel sports section includes my story on pro golfer Lexi Thompson and her trip to the Coral Glades High School prom tonight.

Lance Corporal Mark Scott, a Marine active reservist from Naperville, Ill., is her lucky date after winning a nationwide online contest meant to honor Wounded Warriors.

It takes a pretty special 17-year-old to conceive of an idea this inspirational, and even more so to pull it off.

“At first I was thinking of going with a professional athlete or an actor,” Thompson, a Coral Springs resident, told me. “I just decided to make it special and have it with somebody that’s close to  my heart, somebody who has done something really special with their life.”

While Thompson has plenty of people guiding her career, including a supportive family that includes two older brothers who are also big-time golfers, she selected Scott on her own from a pool of 102 finalists.

“It was me the whole way,” Thompson said. “I read every story, probably about 10 times or more, just reassuring everything and getting to know everybody for sure. It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make for sure.”

There was a little trepidation, even after viewing Scott’s online application and researching his background as a Purple Heart recipient.

“Honestly, you don’t know,” Thompson said. “I was guessing every person that signed up for it is an amazing person. What they’ve done with their life, it shows how great they are.”

She and Scott had several phone conversations over the past week or so, and that convinced her they would have a great time Friday night.

Thompson will be out on tour June 3, so she’ll miss Coral Glades’ graduation ceremony. She knows she hasn’t had the typical teenager’s experience, but the youngest-ever winner on the LPGA Tour isn’t regretting that at all.  

“Without going through high school, I still went to homecoming and now I’m going to prom,” Thompson said. “So I got to go to two great memorable things. I definitely wouldn’t change it. Traveling the world playing golf has been my dream since I was little.”

And now she gets to share this latest great memory with a Wounded Warrior.

Pacers swingman Paul George believes fatigue will be a factor for LeBron James

LeBron James played 43 minutes in Tuesday’s night’s Game 2 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

He played the same amount — actually 26 seconds more — in the Miami Heat’s Game 1 win.

This is the Heat’s new reality as they wait for Chris Bosh to recover from that abdominal injury. 

Rather than fear the indestructibility of the three-time league MVP, the Pacers seem to be gaining strength from the fact LeBron may now wear down at the end of games.

When I asked Pacers swingman Paul George late Tuesday night how much his team could use those increased minutes for LeBron to its advantage, he nodded in agreement.

“Oh, a lot,” George said as a trainer wrapped his banged-up shooting elbow. “It’s going to wear him out. Especially with Bosh not being in there, he’s really going to have to work. He’s got all the tools to do so, but if we continue to put the pressure on him, it will take a toll eventually.”

LeBron did miss those two free throws in the final minute of Game 2. He did go scoreless in the final 4:30, did go without a field goal in the final 6:44, but neither he nor Heat coach Erik Spoelstra would pin the blame for that on fatigue.

Pretty amazing that LeBron got that five-minute, 11-second rest at the start of the second period, then didn’t come out the rest of the game.

Was that a topic in the Pacers huddle as they built an 11-point lead late in the third quarter? George said it wasn’t.

“I really didn’t notice that [LeBron] was on the court that whole time,” George said. 

Still, the potential impact is the same, at least from the Pacers’ viewpoint.

“It’s going to take a toll on him,” George said again.

In these Bosh-less days, that is the Heat’s new reality.

Larry Bird wouldn't have minded playing with LeBron James either

When Larry Bird speaks, it’s still a big deal.

When Bird chooses Kobe Bryant over LeBron James as the modern-day player he would like to have had as a teammate — as the Indiana Pacers team president did on ESPN.com in March — the choice resonates.

“Well, probably Kobe,” Bird told Bill Simmons at the time. “Because of the fact that … well, of course he wouldn’t have been shooting as much as he does now … but his desire to win, his dedication to always get better, and he’s just, he’s just tough. He’s just a tough cat.”

Bird added that “if you want to have fun, like I did with Bill Walton, [you] play with LeBron. It would have probably been more fun to play with LeBron, but if you want to win and win and win, it’s Kobe. Not that LeBron’s not a winner, just that [Kobe's] mindset is to go into every practice, every game, to get better.”

In light of all the shots and slights LeBron has absorbed since relocating to Miami two summers ago, I asked Bird about those comments on Monday.

“I’ve been a Kobe fan since he was a little kid,” Bird told me.  ”I coached against Kobe [in the 2000 NBA Finals]. They made a lot out of that. I said if you want to have fun, you play with Bill Walton. Me and Bill Walton won the most games we ever played. We had a blast doing it. We knew we were going to win a championship. That’s just the way it is.

“But Kobe has always been my favorite, ever since he was a little kid coming into this league. I played against his dad. But LeBron is just spectacular.”

And how would things have gone if Bird and LeBron had matched up against each other in some Tupac Hologram Time Traveler’s Association?  

“I would have loved to have played against all these guys,” Bird said with a wry smile. “That’s what competitors do. They like to play against the best. I played with some great ones and obviously LeBron is great. I had an opportunity to play against great players. I enjoyed it.”

The NBA lockout kept Pacers President Larry Bird from sharing advice with LeBron James last offseason

LeBron James reached out to five Hall of Famers for advice last offseason, meeting with three of them: Magic Johnson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Isiah Thomas.

Those discussions with Michael Jordan and Larry Bird never came off, in part because both men are now on the management side in the NBA.

When LeBron texted Bird about a possible meeting shortly after the NBA Finals, Bird didn’t text back.

“I called Pat Riley,” Bird, the Indiana Pacers team president, said Monday at AmericanAirlines Arena. “I didn’t want to get back to him without going through Pat. I had to go through him to get permission because it’s tampering.”

Bird was amenable to a meeting, but the timing didn’t work.

“At that time, three, four, five days later we went into the lockout,” Bird said. “I hear he got in touch with a couple guys. I really don’t know how many.  The other guys are out of the league, I think.”

Bird was highly complimentary of LeBron in the column I wrote for Tuesday’s Sun Sentinel. When some of those comments were relayed to LeBron, he smiled.

“It means a lot,” James said. “Like I’ve said, guys like Larry and Michael and Magic and Jerry West and Oscar Robertson, all those guys, they paved the way for me to be in this position. I grew up reading about them, watching them on [ESPN] Classic and seeing some of the things they were able to do as individual players and to help their team win. It means a lot. Very humbling, obviously.”

Even though it didn’t come off this summer, LeBron is still hopeful he and Bird will get to sit and chat someday.

“I haven’t had an opportunity to have a conversation with him or anything like that,” LeBron said. “He’s a busy man. I’m a busy man. It would be great at some point … if I’m still playing or after I’m done playing.”

As for this playoff matchup against Riley, the latest in a long line of showdowns between Bird and the former Lakers coach, Bird deadpanned, “I’m getting tired of it, too.”

David Stern is no fan of the flop

Three Things to consider on this sports Monday:

Thing 1: NBA Commissioner David Stern was at Sunday’s game to honor LeBron James with his third career MVP trophy, but did the Commish also inadvertently zing the Miami Heat star during an in-game interview?

On the issue of “flopping,” Stern said “it’s not a legitimate play” and suggested he’s long wanted stiffer penalties for the soccer-style tactic.

“Some of this is acting,” Stern told ABC. “We should give out Oscars rather than MVP trophies.”

Hmmm.

I don’t think Stern was targeting LeBron with that punchline, but still … Hmmmm.

Thing 2: If Chris Bosh’s lower abdominal strain keeps him out for the remainder of this second-round series against Indiana, as many fear it will, Joel Anthony is going to get even more minutes to show what he did Sunday was no fluke.

And if the Heat survives another round or two under those circumstances, it will also spur more talk about breaking up the Superfriends, win or lose the ultimate prize.

 Thing 3: Is it just me, or does Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel seem a little “off” to you as well?

Mark Buehrle doesn't mess around on the mound

Wrote today’s column in the Sun Sentinel on Miami Marlins lefty Mark Buehrle and his well-earned reputation for working fast.

One aspect I wasn’t able to get into was the approach some hitters take to combat Buehrle’s “Get it and go” mindset, which will be on display again tonight at Marlins Park against Johan Santana and the Mets.

Rather than stepping out of the box just before he’s about to deliver the pitch, some have figured out that Buehrle doesn’t like it when they just stand in there and get ready before he does.

“It’s just funny,” Buehrle says of these mind games. “You hear guys — a guy that comes over to the team or guys you face a lot — they’ll say that’s their game plan, I guess, going in: ‘Hey, make this guy take his time. Step out.’ It’s funny because it doesn’t bother me.

“The only time it bothers me is when a hitter stands in the box and he takes a pitch and it’s like he’s almost ready before me. That p—-s me off more than the guys who keep saying, ‘Time out, time out.’ It doesn’t bother me. I know I work quick and those guys are going to do that. It’s the guys that just take a pitch and stand there and it’s like they’re trying to beat me at it. That’s about the only time I work faster.”

He won’t name names, but he knows who they are.

“I’m like, ‘Hurry up and get the ball. You’re going to try to beat me? I’m going to try to rush and beat you,’ “  Buehrle says. “Some guys just may say, ‘The first pitch on this guy I’m taking this pitch.’ Instead of stepping out and doing everything,  they just stand there and they’re ready. I’m like, ‘Oh, you son of a b—h, now it’s time to make sure I’m a little bit faster, try to beat you.’ ”

 The complete list of baseball’s active pitchers with the 15 shortest average game times (minimum 75 starts) looks this way:

 (Excludes extra-inning games and games ending early)

Houston radio reporter Paul Gallant angered Ozzie Guillen this week

By now you’ve probably heard the audio clip — or at least a summation — of the exchange the Miami Marlins manager had on Monday afternoon with a Houston radio reporter.

The young reporter, Paul Gallant of Sports Radio 610, asked Guillen about the “backlash” from his April comments about Fidel Castro and whether that had ”died down” back in Miami.

Guillen acted confused and made him elaborate on the question, and merely saying the name “Castro” in his presence sent the Marlins manager into a brief-but-profane tirade.

The whole exchange lasted just 14 seconds. Gallant immortalized it by uploading it on YouTube, a link to which is shared here. (Warning: Extreme profanity.)

Not sure where this goes from here, but the fact it took Guillen less than three weeks to step in it again — to whatever extent — is troubling and disappointing.

Why go through that hour-long mea culpa news conference on April 10 and then say you’ve put yourself “on probation” upon returning from a five-game suspension if you’re going to be so easily riled?

If Ozzie can let a weekend radio fill-in host in Houston get under his skin, what’s going to happen the next time the Marlins go to Philadelphia (June 1-3) or Boston (June 19-21) or Chicago (July 17-19)?

True, Guillen said three weeks ago he wouldn’t be addressing the “I love Castro” flap anymore this season, but there has to be a better way to brush aside those questions when they inevitably arise.

How about, “Sorry, bro, but I’m not talking about that anymore. Let’s stick to baseball”?

And you can’t blame the losing for Ozzie’s short fuse. He was about to manage the surging Marlins in their seventh straight win.  

Seems to me it may be time to assign a higher-ranking team official to play traffic cop whenever Ozzie goes before the media, especially away from home. In Houston this week, it was assistant PR man Marty Sewell monitoring the proceedings when the exchange with the radio reporter happened at the end of a pre-game media session.

“Ozzie’s a big boy,” a high-ranking Marlins official told me back on April 17 when I raised this very topic. “He can handle himself.”

Flare-ups like the one in Houston indicate a different reality.

Tom Izzo likes the way the Miami Heat play defense for Erik Spoelstra

It’s never easy being the “chalk” team.

When everybody expects you to win, there are really only two potential outcomes: Championship or bust.

Tom Izzo experienced that with top-seeded Michigan State’s loss to Louisville in the Sweet 16 in this year’s NCAA Tournament, which only gives him more respect for the job Erik Spoelstra has done on the Miami Heat sideline.  

“It’s hard,” Izzo told me Monday at the 18th Annual Sports Legends Golf Classic in Delray Beach (www.bonemarrow.org). “It’s hard when you’re the favorite to maintain that night in, night out. I used to talk with Magic [Johnson] about that, even when he was with the Lakers, back in the day, when I first became a [graduate assistant]. You’ve really got to be driven to accomplish things and not get fat and sassy.”

Izzo, honored at a banquet Sunday night at the event run by legendary CBS sports director Bob Fishman, marveled at the effort and efficiency Spoelstra has been able to coax from the Superfriends.

“I think he’s done an incredible job,” Izzo said. “He’s had to balance egos and mesh the superstars together. One thing when you watch that team — and maybe a little bit of an issue early in the year — but for the most part when you watch that team, they pretty much play together, they pretty much stay together, they’re very good defensively. He’s gotten those guys to play good defense, which thank God both LeBron [James] and [Dwyane] Wade are really good at that. [Chris] Bosh seems like a great guy. So he’s been fortunate but he’s also done a hell of a  job.”

Izzo also had this to say about the difficulty of handling end-game situations when you have two closers like LeBron and D-Wade.

“First of all, if you look at this year compared to last year,” Izzo said, “in the fourth quarter I think LeBron’s already proven himself. He’s had some big fourth quarters. Number 2, when you’ve got him and Wade, you know they’re not selfish with each other, and that’s the key. But one advantage of both of them is they both can pass the ball. I think if [Wade] doesn’t lose the ball he makes a play [at the end of Game 4]. Just kind of lost it.”

As for LeBron being sent to the corner on the game’s final possession, Izzo downplayed that as a troublesome sign.  

“I don’t look at that as they looked at it when he was at Cleveland or even last year,” Izzo said of the soon-to-be three-time league MVP. “I think he’s a different guy right now in a different place. He’ll be fine.”

Tom Izzo and his wife Lupe enjoy the beach

Just want to make one thing clear about today’s column in the Sun Sentinel.

I was neither advocating nor predicting a coaching change for the Miami Heat anytime soon.

Rather, I was merely pointing out that should the Superfriends fall short of a championship for the second straight year, there would be plenty of speculation regarding Erik Spoelstra’s future. And, IF that speculation really got going, Tom Izzo would make a lot of sense as his potential replacement.

That’s all.

Stan Heath, who spent five years assisting Izzo at Michigan State and more recently has brought the University of South Florida program back to prominence, told me he really thought his mentor would take the Cleveland Cavaliers job two years ago when Dan Gilbert offered Izzo $30 million over five years.

“I did. Absolutely,” Heath said at the 18th Annual Sports Legends Golf  Classic to benefit the Bone Marrow Foundation (www.bonemarrow.org). ”I thought he had come close. I’m sure he wrestled with it hard. Same thing when I was on his staff and Atlanta came after him.”

How would the potential pairing of Izzo and LeBron James have gone if LeBron had stayed in Cleveland?

“I think it would have  been great,” said Heath, the reigning Big East Coach of the Year. “Tom’s a great coach. LeBron would have enjoyed playing for him. I think they would have had tremendous success.”

College coaches typically struggle when making the switch to the pros, in part because they suddenly aren’t the most powerful person in the locker room, but Heath believes Izzo would be one of the rare exceptions.

“One thing I’ve noticed about Tom is he has a great relationship with his players,” Heath said. “He’s demanding but they respect that and they also know that he cares. That’s why I think one of the key ingredients of his success is how well he gets along with his players. He would have done fine [in the NBA]. I think some of the more successful coaches in the NBA — [Gregg] Popovich, for example – are very similar to how Tom is. I think he would have done great. I think college basketball is fortunate that he’s stayed with us.”

That doesn’t mean Izzo won’t be tempted by some other NBA suitor in the coming years. With Michigan on the way back and Ohio State at a Final Four level again, the path to another Big Ten title gets more difficult all the time.

After taking the Spartans to one national title (2000) and six Final Fours, Izzo may eventually decide he’s ready for a new challenge after nearly three decades in East Lansing.

“I think we’re all inherently competitors and we want to compete at the very highest level,” Heath said, speaking in general terms. “And when we see a challenge, it’s something that stirs us up.”

LeBron James was serenaded with a word that rhymes with "glass bowl" on Thursday in New York City

LeBron James heard the catcalls again Thursday night.

It didn’t matter that this was his first career playoff game at Madison Square Garden. If anything, that only made the jeers louder.

No, they weren’t chanting “M-V-P” at LeBron on Thursday the way they did in New Jersey last month. They were chanting a word that rhymes with “glass bowl,” right up until the part where he dropped 17 fourth-quarter points and helped stake the Heat to a 3-0 lead in this first-round series against the Knicks.

Good thing LeBron doesn’t see himself as the villain anymore because the rest of the country still apparently sees him that way.

Tony Fiorentino wishes it didn’t have to be that way.

“Let me tell you something about LeBron that people don’t know,” the Heat TV analyst and former NBA assistant told me this week. “We had Dexter Pittman in our [youth basketball] camp last June before the lockout. A kid in the camp asked Dexter what’s it like being a teammate of LeBron’s.

“He said, ‘I tell you what, when I got sent to the D-League in Sioux Falls, LeBron contacted me every day to make sure I was doing OK. In fact I worked out this morning in the weight room and LeBron texted me to find out how my workout went.’ ”

Fiorentino gave a weary smile.

“That’s a great teammate,” he said. “To me that’s a guy who’s humble and a guy who thinks about his teammates. That’s important stuff. He endears himself to his teammates by doing stuff like that, and I don’t know why he doesn’t endear himself to any basketball fan by going to people who are Hall of Famers and getting advice from them. Why and how would you criticize that? That’s befuddling to me.”

Reggie Miller, who ripped LeBron at the start of this week for visiting Hakeem Olajuwon, Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas during the lockout, sang a different tune during TNT’s telecast of Game 3.

This time, Miller said, LeBron (32 points, eight rebounds, five assists Thursday night) is headed to the Hall of Fame “even if he never plays another minute of basketball.”

True statement.

If only fans in enemy buildings could appreciate the show.

Miami Heat sharpshooter James Jones still believes in Jonathan Vilma

James Jones and Jonathan Vilma are contemporaries.

They passed through the University of Miami as stars in their respective sports at the start of the last decade, were drafted into the pros a year apart — Jones by the Pacers in 2003, Vilma by the Jets in 2004 — and they have gone on to do plenty of good things at the professional level.

Now Vilma has been convicted (at least by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell) of doing some very bad things in Bountygate, and the one-year suspension that was handed down Wednesday resonated with Jones as well.

“It’s unfortunate,” the Miami Heat swingman told me before leaving for New York on Wednesday. “No one wants to see anything like this happen. No one wants the whole situation to be what it is. But that’s the decision. You move forward and you live with it and you just try to make sure that you don’t put yourself in those positions anymore.”

Jones and Vilma are longtime friends — they would have known of each other during high school in the ’90s, when Jones played at Hialeah American and Vilma at Coral Gables — and Jones knows enough about the Saints linebacker and how he typically goes about his business to feel the sting of this suspension as well.

“Jon’s a great guy, man,” Jones said. “He’s the ultimate competitor. Everyone can attest to his character and his hard work and his effort. It’s just an unfortunate spot for him and the entire organization.”

Among Saints players, only Vilma was given a one-year ban.

One year … pretty serious stuff.

“You can’t fathom that,” Jones said. “This is your livelihood. You love this game more than anything on earth. I’m pretty sure it’s difficult but that’s the way the ball bounces and that’s what’s before him. Hopefully he’ll get through this thing and everything will be for the better.”

As of Wednesday, Jones hadn’t communicated with Vilma since the discipline was handed down. But some sort of exchange will happen between the two old pros and ex-Canes contemporaries.

“Eventually we’ll cross paths,” Jones said. “There’s enough going on in my world and his world at this time.”

But what about alternate captain Stephen Weiss?

He has one year left on his deal at $3.1 million and did nothing to hurt his status as the face of the franchise this season.

“We haven’t gotten there,” Tallon said when I asked about a possible extension for Weiss. “I’m so proud of him. The first phone call I made the day I got the  job was to him. I asked him what his thoughts were and he wanted to be involved and I think for him to get to the playoffs and have a bright future here in this organization, I’m really happy for Stephen.

“He showed a lot of character and class all year. Since I’ve been with him for two years, I can’t say enough about how he’s handled things. He’s been a world-class kid.”

And one who’s contract situation will become an issue this time next year if something isn’t done sooner.

How dare LeBron James reach out to Hall of Famers for advice, Reggie Miller says

Five quarters.

That’s all it took in these NBA playoffs for a national TV analyst to take the first potshot at LeBron James.

Tuesday night it was TNT’s Reggie Miller who delivered a perplexing diatribe against the Miami Heat star — and soon-to-be three-time league MVP.

LeBron’s sin this time? Reaching out during the lockout to Hakeem Olajuwon, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. The meetings with Bird and Jordan never came off because they work on the management side now, but the others did happen.

“The average fan that’s at home watching is saying, ‘Are you kidding me?’ ” Miller said on air during the Heat’s Game 2 win over the Knicks. “This is the most physically gifted guy in our game. For whatever reason you left Cleveland, and you had every right to do that, to join arguably one of the top five players, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, a top 10 or 15 player, and now you’re reaching out to Hall of Famers to see what it takes?

“Enough is enough. Go out and actually do it on your own. What do you need more help for? That’s my only question about that.”

Play-by-play partner Kevin Harlan actually took up for LeBron, pointing out he was merely “doing his due diligence” and wanted to “tap into some of the guys that won before.”

“He wants to win a championship,” Harlan said. “I don’t know that I can fault him.”

Miller, a wonderful shooter who retired with the same number of NBA titles as LeBron currently has in Year 9 of his career, wasn’t swayed.

“I’m not faulting him,” Miller said. “What I’m saying is you’re getting ready to be a three-time MVP, because he’s going to win it this year. Guys should be calling you. I don’t remember Michael Jordan, when he was getting his head beat in by the Bad Boys, calling someone and saying, ‘How do I get by Detroit?’ I didn’t see Isiah calling anyone when he couldn’t get by the Boston Celtics. You figure it out and you go out and actually do it.”

Apparently Reggie has been watching too many of those old Nike ads, the ones that never starred him.

He also has no idea if Jordan ever, say, compared notes with fellow Tar Heel James Worthy during their summers back in Chapel Hill. Or if Isiah talked to his old friend Magic Johnson about trumping the Celtics.

What a bunch of hogwash.  

“I love LeBron James,” Miller concluded, not quite backpedaling the way he used to after a made 3-pointer. “He is the best and most physically gifted player in our game. He doesn’t need help. Guys should be calling him instead of him going out and researching them.”

Incredible, huh?

A player of LeBron’s stature responds to his second Finals loss and withering national criticism by seeking the counsel of some of the game’s great all-time winners, and for this he gets blasted after staging one of the greatest regular seasons in NBA history?

We truly have passed through the looking glass.

And just think, if the Heat reaches the Finals, we only have another 6-7 weeks of LeBron’s every little facial tic being subject to national debate and criticism by the likes of Reggie Miller.

Not likely, based on what Jeremy Lin and Knicks coach Mike Woodson said after Sunday’s practice at American Airlines Arena.

Lin said he felt “soreness” in his surgically repaired knee Sunday after pushing it with a series of workouts leading up to the series opener.

Lin characterized it as a “step back,” and Woodson ruled him out for Game 2 on Monday night.

But after that? With the Knicks’ season on the line?

Anything is possible.