The Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman sits down with CineSport’s Brian Clark to preview the Heat-Pacers Eastern Conference finals matchup and what’s changed since last year’s playoff series.

MIAMI—

  The rivalry has simmered for a year.

  Now the stakes are even higher.

  After defeating the Indiana Pacers in a bitterly contested six-game series in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals, the Miami Heat now will face the Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals, a series that opens Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. at AmericanAirlines Arena, for the right to advance to the NBA Finals.

  A year ago, Heat-Pacers in May translated into everything from a throat-slashing gesture by Indiana guard Lance Stephenson to violent flagrant fouls from Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough and Heat forward Udonis Haslem to suspensions for the Heat’s Haslem and Dexter Pittman. And all of that came after Pacers coach Frank Vogel went into that best-of-seven series accusing the Heat of flopping.

  Now, not only are the stakes higher, but the level of competition, as well.

  Not only have Indiana’s Paul George and Stephenson made major strides this season, but since last season’s playoff meeting the Heat have added the shooting of Ray Allen and the inside presence of Chris Andersen. Beyond that, Heat center Chris Bosh was forced out for the balance of the Pacers series in Game 1 last season with an abdominal strain.

   The Pacers advanced with a 106-99 victory Saturday over the New York Knicks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, eliminating the Knicks 4-2, taking one game longer in the Eastern Conference semifinals to finish off New York than the Heat required to finish off the Bulls with Wednesday’s closeout 94-91 victory.

   “Indiana, they’re going to do what they’re going to do,” Bosh said. “They’re more of a bigger team, classic style basketball.

   “I think Chicago prepared us better for anybody.”

  The Pacers appreciate the challenge ahead.

   “It’s gonna take this effort times two,” George said of facing the Heat after finishing off the Knicks. “We’re going to have to come out and give it our best shot. We know how tough they are and how tough they play at their house, their building. We’ve got to stick to our principles, defense first.”

   For his part, Vogel is downplaying the challenge.

   “They’re just the next team that’s in our way,” he said of the Heat.

   Even with victories in 45 of their last 48 games and an 8-1 record this postseason, with seven of those victories by double figures, the Heat believe there still is another level that can be reached, that may have to be reached against the Pacers.

   “I don’t think we’ve had a consistent showing just yet,” Bosh said, “and that’s the most difficult part to really dissect about it, because we’re trying to find it and you’re brain wants to say, ‘Hey, this is going pretty good.’ But you have to get better.”

   It was one thing to sweep the 38-44 Milwaukee Bucks in the opening round and then take down the injury-ravaged Chicago Bulls in five games in the second round. But the Eastern Conference finals figure to require greater quarter-to-quarter, minute-to-minute consistency than the Heat have displayed in all but their 115-78 Game 2 rout of the Bulls.

   “If we want to get out of this next series, we’re definitely going to have to burn more energy, do a better job of playing consistently throughout the whole game,” Bosh said. “I think the only game we’ve had so far was Game 2 of this last series where we were just on all cylinders for the whole game. So, we’re continuing to search and I’m sure we’ll continue to search until the season’s over.”

   The Heat paused the search Saturday, with coach Erik Spoelstra giving his team the day off amid their six-day layoff.

    But with Sunday’s return to the practice court will come the search for a higher level of consistency, especially now that their next opponent has come into focus.

   “Game 1 and Game 3 of the Chicago series we did not play to our capabilities,” Spoelstra said of a 93-86 loss and a 104-94 victory. “Guys owned that and they understood that and we have to be better. Even after the win in Game 3, all of us did not feel great about the win because we didn’t play well.”

MIAMI —

It is a subject Erik Spoelstra would rather avoid.

Ever since he was put in this situation, he’s run from the topic of his abilities as a coach. The everlasting smile disappears the moment Spoelstra, now in his fifth season with the Miami Heat, is asked about it.

He says what others think is their opinion. He says he has no concern about those who think his success is a product of coaching an abundance of talent.

“I just want to coach this team,” Spoelstra said. “I don’t take it for granted. This is a dream opportunity. I want to make the most of it. I’m grateful for [team owner] Micky (Arison) giving me this opportunity. I couldn’t care less what people say about it. I wouldn’t rather be coaching any other team. I don’t care what other people say. I’m not coaching to try to get credit. I want to be a part of something special, whatever my role is.”

Add Spoelstra to list of coaches who fail to get credit because they are surrounded with great players. He is in the same category as Phil Jackson, who won six titles while coaching Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Both have dealt with the pleasure and burden of being paired with superstars the bulk of their careers.

“It’s just tough coaching in this league,” Spoelstra said. “It just is. People think this is easy. It’s never easy as a coach regardless of who you’re coaching. The expectations never change.”

Added former Milwaukee Bucks coach Jim Boylan, “When you have great players, you’re supposed to win. When you don’t have great players, you’re supposed to win. Coaching is not an easy profession.”

Spoelstra learned this the moment he reached the NBA forefront when he was placed in charge of the league’s most scrutinized team three years ago. He became a target the moment LeBron James and Chris Bosh decided to play alongside Dwyane Wade in Miami so they could pursue multiple championships.

“I’m not presumptuous or naïve about it,” Spoelstra said. “There are a lot of coaches who could coach this team. There are probably some that could mess it up. I just don’t want to be one of those people that screw it up. But I don’t think I’m the only person that could coach this team.”

Receiving credit has avoided Spoelstra throughout the ride. He did not receive a single vote for coach of the year last season despite leading the Heat to the league’s third-best record and making a second straight appearance in the NBA Finals. This year, he finished second after the Heat won a league-best 66 games, including a 27-game winning streak.

Before the award was announced, Heat team president Pat Riley made his pitch for Spoelstra. Riley, who also coached Hall of Famers most of his career, had to win four championships before claiming the honor.

“That man who is blessed with a lot is overlooked,” Riley said recently. “It’s really one of the hardest jobs to do, is to have to win. Erik has to win and has to perform. His team has to perform. How this team has grown over the last three years, I think this has been his finest year as a coach…. Don’t penalize him because he’s got a great team.”

No one knows Spoelstra’s plight more than friend John Calipari, who deals with the same issue as the University of Kentucky coach. Like Spoelstra, he often fails to receive recognition because he annually coaches the nation’s best players.

“It’s easy to say a guy with less talent whose team is playing well is a better coach,” Calipari said. “Yeah, go try to do what Erik is doing and then come talk to me. From experience, I live it where I am.”

It was one of the topics of discussion when Spoelstra flew to Lexington, Kentucky last year during the NBA lockout to swap coaching methods with Calipari. The trip was part of Spoelstra’s tour of grabbing advice from coaches throughout the country that included chats with Urban Meyer, Chip Kelly, Billy Donovan and Tony Dungy.

“I loved where his mind was, what he was thinking,” Calipari said. “He was thinking what he had to do. How would he get these guys to play? How he could get more (ball) movement. He wanted to put them in the position to do what they need to do and that’s what he’s doing.”

Spoelstra now stands four wins from advancing to the NBA Finals for a third straight year. Still, he’s yet to earn the acclaim. Some say it likely won’t come until his career is over.

“Ten or 15 years from now, they’re going to be like `Can you imagine `Spo with LeBron, D-Wade and Chris Bosh,’” Bosh said. “You’re always better after you get done.”

The current struggle has been mostly uphill. When the Heat fell in Game 1 of the conference semifinals, there were whispers of if Spoelstra could outwit Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.

Little tribute was directed toward the Heat bench after they won four straight to win the series.

“He’s done a remarkable job,” Thibodeau said. “I don’t know of anyone who’s had to deal with the type of pressure that he has. When you evaluate coaching, what you have to ask is, is he getting the most out of his team? Without question, he is … Erik is one of the elite coaches in this league. It’s not easy to manage a team like that where the expectations are so high each and every day.”

Added Heat forward Udonis Haslem, “You have to make it come together. And that’s where the coaching comes in. You can have a bunch of great players on the team. Sometimes, coaching isn’t always Xs and Os. Sometimes coaching is managing egos and getting guys to buy into the system and getting guys to coexist.”

Spoelstra is fine with the situation. No matter how times he’s asked, the answers remain the same. He talks of being comfortable in the passenger seat while the players are awarded most of the praise.

“He has to coach with the ego that if we win, the players get the glory,” Calipari said. “If we lose, then it’s on me. That’s the whole thing that he’s been able to do.”

srichardson@tribune.com

    As Derrick Rose continually dominated the Miami Heat’s ball boys during pregame warmups at AmericanAirlines Arena, it became increasingly clear that the Chicago Bulls were largely playing for the future these past two weeks.

    Without Rose, as well as without Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich, it became apparent early on that while it would be a physical fight between the Heat and Bulls, it never would be a fair fight.

    The question now is whether with playoff victories over Chicago in two of the past three seasons, the Heat have broken the Bulls’ spirits to the same degree that they did with the Boston Celtics, when consecutive playoff losses to the Heat led to the free-agency loss of Ray Allen and a willingness by Danny Ainge to shop any and every leftover piece.

    For the Celtics, the remake figures to continue this summer, possibly with a $ 4 million payoff to Paul Pierce by the team’s June 30 buyout deadline, potentially with the retirement of Kevin Garnett. About the only given is Ainge confirming this past week that Doc Rivers would be back as coach.

   But it’s the Bulls who figure to retain the Heat’s attention going forward.

   While LeBron James certainly had his lockdown moments against Rose in the 2011 Eastern Conference finals, what the 2013 East semis showed is that the Bulls at least have someone willing to take on the challenge of LeBron-stopper, in Jimmy Butler.

  Then there is the Joakim Noah factor, with the Chicago center never quite right against the Heat due to a foot issue that the Bulls now say could require an offseason surgical option.

   The one thing we know about Tom Thibodeau is that he knows only one way, and that’s to push his team every moment the clock is ticking. That could have the Bulls pushing the Heat for homecourt advantage for their next postseason meeting.

    As much as anything, the Bulls left AmericanAirlines Arena on Wednesday night believing they were capable of more. Noah said it. Carlos Boozer said. With Hinrich or Deng there would have been another defensive deterrent in place, affording Noah the opportunity to pay more attention to Chris Bosh on the perimeter. With Rose, Deng and Hinrich, the Bulls’ reserves who masqueraded as starters would have been better positioned to match the Heat’s bench.

   Just as the Heat have done in recent years in finding quality, low-cost bench pieces, so, too, has the Bulls’ front office proven capable in that regard, after many questioned their 2012 offseason bench losses of Omer Asik, C.J. Watson, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer and John Lucas III.

   With the Knicks’ window closing due to age and Amare Stoudemire’s knees, with the Brooklyn Nets so utterly mismatched, with the Atlanta Hawks poised for life without Josh Smith, with the Indiana Pacers’ ability to look both awesome and awful in the same week, with the anticipated implosion of the Celtics, the Heat’s primary East focus moving forward figures to be the Bulls.

   The complete Bulls. Not what was on display in the East semifinals.

   “The thing about our team,” Boozer said in his parting comments at AmericanAirlines Arena, “for the three years we have been together, we have not been healthy in a playoff run yet. If we are next year, it will be scary.”

   No matter how free agency plays out around the rest of the league, there is no one available who stands to make as significant an impact as the return of Rose, to a degree already making the Bulls the NBA’s 2013 offseason winner.

    “We are,” Noah said, “a young team that has experienced a lot at a young age. We are going to come back healthy and be able to compete with these guys for a long time.”

    Whether the Bulls can get over their Heat hump is another story. But a Rose-Butler backcourt certainly is an intriguing place to start.

IN THE LANE

    LOTTERY VIEW: Comfortably removed from the NBA Draft lottery since the lamentable result of Michael Beasley with the No. 2 pick in 2008, the Heat nonetheless figure to be somewhat interested bystanders at Tuesday’s drawing. Should the Cleveland Cavaliers, the No. 3 lottery seed, land the top pick, it would give them another chip to use in an expected bid to entice LeBron James back home in 2014. A jump by the Washington Wizards from their No. 8 seed would further upgrade the youthful core of John Wall and Bradley Beal, allowing them to possibly challenge the Atlanta Hawks for second-best to the Heat in the Southeast Division. Otherwise, the lottery largely stands as a bunch of bad teams who will need more than lottery luck in advance of what widely is accepted as one of the weakest drafts in years. (The Heat do not have a pick in either round.)

   COMBINE CALLS: As much about weights and measurements as actual skill testing, the NBA Draft combine at least offered a lengthy list of all-important lengths. For University of Miami guard Shane Larkin the numbers came in at 5 feet 10 1/4 without shoes and 5-11 1/2 with shoes, weighing in at 170.8 pounds. The numbers for Hurricanes forward Kenny Kadji were 6-8 3/4 without shoes and 6-10 with shoes (at 241.6 pounds). University of Florida forward Erik Murphy came in at 6-8 3/4 without shoes and 6-9 1/2 with shoes (239.8 pounds). Also of local note were Tim Hardaway Jr. at 6-4 1/2, 6-6 1/4 (199.4) and Glen Rice Jr. at 6-4 1/2, 6-5 3/4 (210.8).

    LARKIN’S VIEW: For his part, Larkin said at the combine that size is just a number. “Everybody says my height is going to hurt me in the NBA,” he told reporters. “If you look at Chris Paul, Ty Lawson, J.J. Barea, Jameer Nelson, Tony Parker, Steve Nash, they’re all smaller guys that made a career in basketball and made millions of dollars playing basketball. They make up for it with their IQ and with their aggressiveness and their toughness.”

    THAT TIME: Yes, it’s about to start again, the talk of the Heat pursuing Greg Oden on the free-agent market. The buzz gained steam this past week when Ohio State draft prospect Deshaun Thomas told the News Herald of his workouts with the injury-riddled former Portland Trail Blazers center. “Man, he looks unbelievable,” Thomas said at the Chicago pre-draft combine. “He’s running. He’s lifting weights. You might be seeing a comeback. He looks like he’s ready to go. He’s running, getting in shape. I’ll tell you one thing, for a big 7-footer, that’s all he does, running and getting in shape. He’s looking right.” OK, here we go again.

    RISKY BUSINESS: To some, the decision by Marquette guard Vander Blue to leave school early was a bit of a surprise, considering it is possible he will wind up with no better than a middling second-round fate. But no one doubts the credentials of one of his advisers in the process. “Dwyane Wade helped me,” he told the Journal Sentinel of his Marquette backcourt predecessor. “He pretty much told me to go with my heart. He can tell I’m more than ready to play at that level. It’s just about doing it; I’ve got to be both feet in and just go as hard as I can. It was a big factor. D-Wade is like a big brother for me. He’s always there for me.”

   KNIGHT SHIFT: Brandon Knight’s future, at least as an NBA point guard, appears to be in the balance with the lottery and the Detroit Pistons’ approach with their pre-draft interviews. In the wake of Knight, the Pine Crest product, being pushed away from the point by last season’s acquisition of impending free agent Jose Calderon, Detroit spent the combine interviewing point guards Michael Carter-Williams and C.J. McCollum, with interest in face time with Michigan’s Trey Burke, as well.

NUMBER

   221. Minutes played by Bulls forward Jimmy Butler in the second round against the Heat, most in a five-game playoff series by a Heat opponent. The previous record was 220 by Penny Hardaway for the Orlando Magic in the 1997 opening round.

    iwinderman@tribune.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat.

MIAMI—

   Perhaps it’s because the bar has been set so high. Winning 45 of their last 48 games can do that.

  But even with an 8-1 postseason record, with seven of the victories by double figures, the Miami Heat believe there still is another level that can be reached as they await Wednesday’s start of the Eastern Conference finals at AmericanAirlines Arena.

   “I don’t think we’ve had a consistent showing just yet,” center Chris Bosh said, “and that’s the most difficult part to really dissect about it, because we’re trying to find it and you’re brain wants to say, ‘Hey, this is going pretty good.’ But you have to get better.”

   It was one thing to sweep the 38-44 Milwaukee Bucks in the opening round and then take down the injury-ravaged Chicago Bulls in five games in the second round. But the Eastern Conference finals figure to require greater quarter-to-quarter, minute-to-minute consistency than the Heat have displayed in all but their 115-78 Game 2 rout of the Bulls.

   “If we want to get out of this next series, we’re definitely going to have to burn more energy, do a better job of playing consistently throughout the whole game,” Bosh said. “I think the only game we’ve had so far was Game 2 of this last series where we were just on all cylinders for the whole game. So, we’re continuing to search and I’m sure we’ll continue to search until the season’s over.”

   The Heat paused the search Saturday, with coach Erik Spoelstra giving his team the day off amid their six-day layoff.

    But with Sunday’s return to the practice court will come the search for a higher level of consistency.

   “Game 1 and Game 3 of the Chicago series we did not play to our capabilities,” Spoelstra said of a 93-86 loss and a 104-94 victory. “Guys owned that and they understood that and we have to be better. Even after the win in Game 3, all of us did not feel great about the win because we didn’t play well.”

   Bosh said when the Heat were winning 27 in a row at midseason, there was one constant.

   “When we bring the necessary energy we’re supposed to bring,” he said, “everything falls into place. Even when we do make mistakes, we can erase them by giving more effort, talking on defense more, having more awareness, and really getting at it in the open court. And that kind of really just translates to everything for us.”

  Guard Dwyane Wade said the extended layoff provides ample time to study playoff shortcomings to this stage.

  “There’s been moments where we obviously haven’t played as well throughout the game or throughout a stretch,” he said. “But we’ve figured it out, and that’s what this whole season has been about — no matter what, let’s figure it out and let’s win at the end of the day.

   “We’ve been able to do that the majority of the season and why stop now? Let’s continue to figure it out. There’s going to be some tough moments coming up in the Eastern Conference finals, but we have to figure out a way to win four games.”

   Considering the Heat have lost only only playoff series, the 2011 NBA Finals, since Bosh, Wade and LeBron James came together in the 2010 offseason, James is confident another level can be reached this postseason.

   “We’ll continue to rise to the occasion,” James said. “No matter who we’re playing, the stakes are higher now, being in the Eastern Conference finals. So we will continue to rise to the occasion. Our game will continue to rise.”

Birdman, Birdman

  James chuckled about the Birdman phenomenon, with many attempting to emulate (or have their kids emulate) Chris Andersen’s unique tattooed, Mohawk-ed appearance.

   “He’s a character of his own,” James said. “Anytime you can have people off the floor want to look like you, want to dress like you, or different things, or get their hair cut like you, that means you have a great personality and you have your own swag about you. So I think it’s pretty cool.”

   Said Wade of Andersen, “Bird is different. He’s different. He’s a good different. On this team we enjoy him. I think the fans enjoy him, even though he doesn’t smile at none of ‘em. I don’t understand it. But he’s just a guy who comes in, he’s been all business.”

iwinderman@tribune.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat

MIAMI —

The Miami Heat could have to wait until Monday before learning their opponent in the Eastern Conference finals.

That doesn’t mean they are unable to begin the preparation.

While they await the Indiana Pacers or New York Knicks, the focus Friday was making sure they avoid a repeat of what happened the last time they endured an extend break between series. The Heat had nearly a week off after the first round before losing the first game against the Chicago Bulls.

Coach Erik Spoelstra said the job of the staff is to prevent a second occurrence. The first step is evaluating practices during the last layoff.

“There is an objective lens,” Spoelstra said. “We just need to make the most educated decisions on what’s real and what wasn’t real. Part of it just might have been Chicago and what they brought to the game.”

The Heat won’t play again until Wednesday’s Game 1 of the conference finals at AmericanAirlines Arena. They would have preferred to have a shorter intermission. Now, they will have a full week between games.

It’s why Spoelstra put the team though a conditioning-oriented practice on the first day back in the gym since defeating the Bulls. After a day off Saturday, expect more of the same if the opponent is still unknown on Sunday. The Knicks can force a Game 7 if they defeat the Pacers Saturday in Indiana.

“There are no shortcuts to it,” Spoelstra said. “You can’t cheat the game. So you have to work at it. We had a day like [Friday] where you’re almost a week out from competing and you’re coming off a very intense series. Your natural reaction is not to want to come in here and really get after it and sweat and condition.”

The Heat are unsure what went wrong during the preparation before the first game in the Bulls series. It was just fifth loss at home this season. Chicago was playing without starters Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich.

“You just feel a little off,” center Chris Bosh said. “I wouldn’t say rusty. You’re rusty when you’re coming back from the offseason. It’s a mental aspect you just have to deal with. Some shots weren’t falling that usually go in. We were a step slow on defense. Our awareness just wasn’t up where it was supposed to be. We could have done a lot better.”

Added guard Dwyane Wade: “I think physically we did everything we could last time. We practiced hard, we prepared. It’s nothing you can do to prepare for game action. We hope to come out with a different approach.”

Still, the Heat won’t hit full prepping mode until their opponent is determined. Once that happens, then forward LeBron James can start the process.

“I’m not where I need to be as far as getting ready because I don’t know who we play,” James said. “As far as physically, I can play a game tonight if we have one. Mentally, I’m not there yet because I can’t hone in on who we’re playing just yet.”

The Heat are hoping to continue reaching a different level as they go deeper in the postseason. It’s happened in every series the past three years except for their loss to the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 NBA Finals.

Although they have just lost once during this year’s playoffs, they still feel there is plenty room for improvement.

“We feel we can play better,” Wade said. “I think last year we proved that we played our best game in the last game of the season [against Oklahoma City]. We’re always going to have that mind set that we can play better. I think we’ve done our job to this point. … We always want to play better. Coach is looking for the perfect game. We’re going to continue to strive to get that until the end of the season.”

Srichardson@tribune.com

MIAMI — —

One might assume that Heat guard Dwyane Wade was happy to see the Knicks push the Pacers to a sixth game in their series, because it guaranteed an extra two days of rest for Wade before the start of the Eastern Conference finals, now set for Wednesday.

But Wade said after Friday’s practice at AmericanAirlines Arena that there’s no added benefit for the bone bruise in his right knee.

“It is what it is. I had 10 days off last time,” Wade said. “It really doesn’t matter.”

Wade sat out Game 4 of the Heat’s opening-round series against the Bucks, but continued to deal with discomfort throughout the conference semifinals against the Bulls. Between now and Wednesday, “I’m just going to do what I can,” he said. “I’ve got to practice with it and play with it so I can know how I feel.”

Wade played 37 minutes in Game 5 against the Bulls — the most he has in a game this postseason — and posted 18 points (7-of-13), six assists and five rebounds, making several key plays after heading to the locker room after the third quarter to retape his right knee.

“In the fourth quarter, he had his hand in virtually every big play that decided that game. … He’ll find a way to help you win, one way or the other,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

“I deal with stuff, and I’m mentally strong enough to be able to come out of it and still be effective and still do what I need to do with it,” Wade said. “I’m not as fortunate as other guys, where I don’t have to be asked these questions about getting injured. But I’m going to continue to play until my body says, ‘All right. You’ve got to go.’ “

Forward Chris Bosh said those who doubt Wade continue to push Wade.

“And when he’s going to play the best basketball they’ve ever seen him play, we’re not going to be surprised. He’s not going to be surprised. It’s not going to be a big deal,” Bosh said.

Dwelling on negatives

Although the Heat have won eight of their nine playoff games, there’s still “a lot of room” for improvement, LeBron James said.

“We had a lot of mental breakdowns in our last round, we had some breakdowns in the first round that we can improve on,” he said. “That’s the best thing about our team. We don’t really dwell on the things we did well. We hate the things we did bad.”

‘Somebody’s about to come foul me’

What goes through James’ mind when he gets the ball in transition?

“Somebody’s about to come foul me,” he said. Then, in a thinly veiled reference to Nate Robinson’s foul on him in Game 5 against the Bulls, he added, “They don’t let me even get past half-court these days. They just come and punch me in the face, and it’s a common foul.”

Perfect prep for conference finals

Bosh said Chicago was “the best team for us to play” last round, because the Bulls “prepared us better for anybody” the Heat will play next.

Of the Pacers and Knicks, Bosh said, “New York is a team that can give you a bunch of different looks. Indiana is going to do what they do – they’re more of a bigger team, classic-style basketball. New York, they can switch it up, put ‘Melo at [power forward] and spread the court. Indiana, they’re gonna want to just throw it up off the backboard and go get it. They’re two different styles, but one thing is for certain: they’re both very good teams, both very physical, and they’ll be difficult games to get through.”

No. 5 for No. 6

James is about to play in the Eastern Conference finals for the fifth time in his career — all against different opponents. Reflecting Friday on his previous conference finals, James said his best was probably beating Detroit in six games with Cleveland in 2007, which sent him to the NBA Finals for the first time.

“We were a young team, I was very young, and going against a team like that who had kind of dominated us a couple of years before, to be able to come through in that series for my teammates meant a lot,” James said.

James is 3-1 in conference finals, losing to Orlando in six games in 2009. James averaged 38.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 8.0 assists in that series — statistics he recited accurately from memory Friday —but he said there are no positive memories because he lost.

“I still didn’t do enough, according to the critics,” he said. “But it’s OK. I should have averaged 40, 10 and 10, and we would have won.”

sgorten@tribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @sgorten