MIAMI — Shortly after another rousing performance helped his Heat finish off the Indiana Pacers, LeBron James said something in passing that could have great bearing on his and his team's destiny.
"I don't care who we play," he said after being asked about a possible first-round playoff matchup against the Pacers. "We're up for any challenge. It doesn't matter whatever seed it may be."
This is all boilerplate. What followed might sound like more of it, but coming from LeBron, who has tended to be less than concerned about the team's outlook, it's worth noting.
"We'll be ready when playoffs come," he said. "We're trying to get better every day. We're taking every practice and every regular season game like it is the playoffs, because we can't afford to lose an opportunity to get better."
Moments later, Dwyane Wade made a sort-of joke about LeBron getting comfortable in Miami. Real comfortable.
"And he's getting on his teammates more," Wade said, looking askew at James. "He got on me a couple of times today. So, he's getting real comfortable."
At the crux of these quotes are the seeds of a Miami Heat Finals run — or failure.
That's because the Heat have pulled within half a game of the Boston Celtics for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. They're 3-1/2 games ahead of the Chicago Bulls for the No. 2 spot.
So they'd better take every practice and every game seriously. And LeBron needs to be able to get on Wade. Just as Wade, if and when LeBron's petulant me-first behavior of November returns, needs to get on LeBron.
Because trying to do like the Lakers or previous Boston teams and shake off the rust come April won't work. This Heat team, which still is learning to be a unit, which still is coming together, needs every last advantage it can get.
First among them: home-court advantage in the playoffs.
At 18-9, the Heat have the best road record in the East, but it's their adversaries' road records that tell the tale of things to come.
Boston is Miami's highest hurdle on the way to a championship. Boston's record at home is 23-4. That falls to 15-9 on the road, and the discrepancy between the two might be the Heat's best shot at beating the Celtics in a seven-game series.
But to beat Boston, Miami has to get past other teams first. And that means the Chicago Bulls.
If the season ended today, Miami and Chicago would find themselves in a No. 2. vs. No. 3 showdown.
When Joakim Noah returns, the Bulls will be a resolutely difficult matchup for the Heat. I'd go so far as to say Chicago is very likely to beat them. Derrick Rose's emerging greatness at point guard, the Bulls' frontcourt and Miami's trouble with both pose big problems.
Miami's best hope here lies in Chicago's road record. The Bulls are 23-4 at home, tied with the Celtics for best in the conference. But they're a pedestrian 11-12 on the road. Chicago is a young team with young leaders who have not been there before, unlike Wade or LeBron, and that weakness has played out when Chicago has left the comforts of the United Center.
If the Bulls have the advantage, their home-court play, dazzling point guard and ambition to win might spark some of that November panic in the Heat. If Miami's at home, it might be the Bulls who feel the strains of the moment.
Do not overlook Chicago. Do not overlook the Heat's need for home-court advantage, against Chicago or Boston.
LeBron's right. The Heat need to see real urgency in every practice and every game. It's a time of lulls, of NBA doldrums, of starting to look toward the All-Star break and past the moment.
The Heat can't allow that to happen. Not for one game. Because, come April, the difference between going home and grabbing glory might be these February games against teams like Detroit, Indiana, Toronto and, of course, Boston.
For the Heat, the playoffs are now.
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