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LeBron James and the Miami Heat took over the league with their Big Three during the early 2010s. James' four-year stint with the Heat resulted in him winning back-to-back championships. While many fans have credited the All-Star forward for his talents on the court, he showed appreciation for what coach Erik Spoelstra did to make them win.
Over the years, Spoelstra has gained recognition around the league that he's one of the smartest coaches. Aside from coaching the Heat to two titles with the Heatles, he's also led the franchise to appearances in four other finals appearances. What's impressive is that those recent teams that reached the NBA Finals were lower-seeded teams.
In a new episode of "Mind the Game," James talked to JJ Redick about what adjustments Spoelstra did to help them win after their 2011 finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The four-time Finals MVP mentioned three adjustments the coach made that helped them redeem themselves.
"Spo is the reason why we were a better team. ... He went to Oregon and hung out with Chip Kelly and learned the spread offense," James said.
"Chris Bosh had to go to the five. He had to start working on his corner 3(-pointer), faithfully. ... We had this thing called the Mack Truck Lane. The bigs were not allowed in between the Mack Truck Lane. From the first day of training camp all the way to Game 1."
According to James, the spacing that Spo implemented in James' second year with the Heat gave them the advantage to control the defense. With Bosh waiting for the ball from the 3-point line, he and Dwyane Wade could easily thrive from slashing to the basket.
This strategy helped them win the championship against the OKC Thunder in 2012 and the San Antonio Spurs in 2013.
LeBron James on Chris Bosh's evolution with the Heat
During the Heat's title runs with LeBron James, one player who had to sacrifice a lot was Bosh. While he was with the Toronto Raptors, he was the main guy and had plenty of touches on offense as a power forward. But with Miami, he was moved to the center spot and sacrificed a ton on the offensive end.
Most people have overlooked what Bosh has done, but James isn't one of them.
"CB could pass, rebound and push," James said. "There wasn't many five that was rebounding and pushing the break. ... He was smart."
Looking at Bosh's numbers from when he played in Toronto compared to when he joined Miami, they had a significant drop-off. But it all worked well as he was surrounded by stars and key role players who helped him etch his name in the history books.
Guess the Lakers players!
