MIAMI — They are South Beach glitz and glamour, possessing that flashy hi-tech offense, forged around LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
But peel away the pizzazz and flash from the Heat and at the core you’ll find a lunch pail and a hardhat, universal symbols of the hard-working man. And nobody discovered that harder than the Knicks, who hope to bounce back from an unsightly defensive beat-down and stop an 11-year skid of 11 straight playoff defeats in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference first round series tonight.
“If you’re in the league, you realize the hallmark a Pat Riley-led organization is defense,” said Shane Battier, the veteran forward who was brought in for his defense and the guy who helped snuff Carmelo Anthony Saturday. “They’ve always had very stout defensive numbers. … That’s probably the reason why I’m here, because of the value they place on defense.”
Oh, they value it. And they live it. Miami was fourth in scoring defense (92.5) and fifth in field goal defense (.434) in the regular season. Much of it stems from Riley. For all the Pat the Rat barbs hurled at him over the years, New York fans deep down know it was Riley who turned the Knicks into defensive grunts in the glory years of the 90’s with Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason and John Starks. Miami has followed the blueprint.
“This is a lunch pail and a hardhat team and I think the perception of us is lost in translation,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “To have a defense like that you have to do the dirty things, the little things and a lot of the tough things which this team will do.
“Part of our identity is to put our body in harm’s way, sometimes to take away baskets. Be aggressive and limit their opportunities at the rim,” Spoelstra added. “We want to be an aggressive, physical team.”
Like by taking charges. The Heat drew seven offensive fouls on the Knicks in Game 1. And when the carnage was over, the Knicks tied their lowest playoff point total ever, shot a sickening .357, yielded 38 points on 27 turnovers.
“We know it starts with defense here. We want to play it at a high level, it gives us the best chance to win. When we defend and rebound, we’re a really good team,” James said.
And the Knicks can expect more of the same tonight.
“We know what we’re capable of when we play together,” Chris Bosh said. “We just have to make sure that we’re on edge all the time and we’re anticipating their next move. When we do that, we’re a great defensive team.”
Riley would have it no other way.
“He’s really put a stamp on this team,” said Wade, who said he revels in Riley’s tales of the old days, especially of the Magic Johnson-led Lakers. “I can tell you he wants to win. It don’t matter who we’re playing. He wants to win. But I just like his stories. He tells amazing stories. … Yeah, [Knicks-Heat] is a rivalry and it is going to be a tough series no matter what the score of the first game was.
“And defense is going to win this series.”