By Ethan J. Skolnick

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

MINNEAPOLIS — The Heat better be awake Friday night.

For a change, the Minnesota Timberwolves feature some talent, including a lighter but no less relentless Kevin Love and two prized rookies, forward Derrick Williams (the No. 2 overall pick) and Spanish sensation Ricky Rubio, who already has shown court vision few in the NBA can match.

They have a proven offensive scheme, one being implemented by former Rockets, Blazers and Warriors head coach Rick Adelman. Oh, and they have old friend – and now close-cropped – Michael Beasley, who has struggled from the perimeter thus far.

Here’s what to zero in on Friday night while watching Miami (3-0) play the Wolves (0-2) at the Target Center:

• What does a day of rest do for the Heat?

Miami looked weary Wednesday night in Charlotte while playing its third game in four days. That manifested itself mostly on the boards, where the Heat got beaten down. It was the first time in franchise history that Miami won with at least a 20-rebound deficit.

The Heat got into Minneapolis early Thursday morning but had a full day to recover, with Erik Spoelstra making practice optional. Most players participated, although Dwyane Wade (sore foot) skipped it. No worries. He’ll go tonight.

• Can Udonis Haslem find his range?

The Heat forward has been active thus far, and appears fully healed from last season’s foot surgery. But his shooting stroke has been off the past two games. Haslem missed three of his four jumpers Wednesday, all from 15 to 20 feet. He now is 2-for-13 overall the past two games. He’ll play heavy minutes again Friday night, with Minnesota often using a small but agile front line. His primary job: Block out Love, who led the league in rebounding last season with 15.2 a game, including 4.5 on the offensive boards.

• Will Wade or LeBron James finally hoist a three?

Understand, this is not to suggest that either should. Still, it’s been remarkable that both players have resisted the temptation to unleash a single shot from beyond the arc.

James’ offensive efficiency through three games has been staggering – he is shooting 59 percent from the field. And even though Wade struggled against Charlotte, shooting 5-for-13 from the field, 10 of those shots came from inside the paint.

• How does Spoelstra manage the perimeter rotation?

If not for Wade’s minor foot injury, James Jones might not have played a minute Wednesday, and that’s after sinking six three-pointers in the first two contests. Instead, Spoelstra has been expanding Shane Battier’s workload.

In 20 minutes against the Bobcats, Battier didn’t score, but he blocked three shots and played a role in slowing the rotund but skilled Boris Diaw.

One of Battier’s contributions was even more subtle: He was camped out in the corner on Wade’s winning drive, and defenders were no more likely to leave him than if Jones had been in that spot.

The air of invincibility that had permeated the Miami Heat’s first two games was absent at the start. In its place was a quick 11-0 deficit.

Dwyane Wade then was absent at the start of the second half with a foot injury.

Gone, but not forgotten.

Regaining his legs, or at least enough of them, Wade banked in a short shot with 2.9 seconds to play to close out the scoring in a 96-95 victory on Wednesday night over the Bobcats at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina.

It was a somewhat surprising finish, one achieved after a Gerald Henderson three-pointer with 12.2 seconds to play had put the Bobcats up by one, because it was Wade who was designated as the go-to guy on a night LeBron James led the Heat with 35 points.

Wade, who had bruised his left foot and missed the first 10 minutes of the third period, was four of 12 from the field before his game-winner.

“When he called it,” Wade said of coach Erik Spoelstra’s instructions, “I was surprised, because LeBron had it going.”

Wade, in fact, was about to tell Spoelstra that it should be James’ play, then decided he was up to the moment.

Barely, with his left foot throbbing.

“I had no lift,” the veteran guard said, “that’s why I shot-putted it.”

For most of the night, it appeared the Heat had no lift, falling behind by 16 in the first half, then losing Wade at the start of the third quarter.

But there was enough in support to push the record to 3-0, from James, who also had seven assists and six rebounds, to 25 points on eight-of-13 shooting from forward Chris Bosh, to a needed 15-point outing from point guard Mario Chalmers and lockdown defense from Shane Battier in his longest outing of the season.

“You’ve got to win some of these games ugly,” Spoelstra said. “We settled down.”

The Heat held the Bobcats to 10 third-quarter points to get back into it and then rode the aggression of Bosh and James in the fourth until Wade had his moment.

Wade’s moment came after both he and James botched dunks, although James’s attempt should have counted since it bounced off Gerald Henderson’s head and back out after clearing the rim. James joked he would appeal to the league for his lost points.

But with the game on the line, it was Wade’s to win or lose.

Spoelstra said it was not because of Wade’s clutch reputation or James’s fourth-quarter struggles that had carried over to this season, but rather because he saw an opening on the same set that seconds earlier had resulted in a Wade turnover.

“We saw him able to put the ball on the floor,” Spoelstra said. “He had a rough night at times, but he saw a gap he could get into.”

The game ended with a missed three-point attempt by Bobcats guard D.J. Augustin.

“It’s good to see us show some resolve, some toughness,” Spoelstra said.

That resolve and toughness arrived when needed most.

“The first half,” James said, “wasn’t Miami Heat basketball.”

The Heat entered having trailed just 14 seconds this season. That figure grew exponentially, with Charlotte bolting to that 11-0 lead, moving ahead 32-20 after the first quarter and 60-45 at halftime.

Playing on the second night of their first back-to-back set of the season, the Heat hardly had the legs that powered a dazzling transition attack in the season-opening victories over the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics.

With Wade out at the start of the third quarter, James decided it had to be his style of basketball, consistently attacking the rim.

“I decided to add a little bit more,” he said, continuing his torrid scoring start to the season.

In the end, though, he stood aside, waiting and watching Wade win it.

“I guess,” James said with a grin, “that’s why they pay him the big bucks.”

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In Photo: Dwyane Wade elevates for a clear shot against Charlottes’ Bismack Biyombo, while the Heat’s Udonis Haslem and the Bobcats’ Byron Mullens look on. (AP)

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DALLAS —
It didn’t take long for Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to develop an early theme to this season.

In fact, it was a simple pregame act that set a symbolic tone, rather than the clever phrase or repurposed military reference that tended to inspire last season’s rallying cries.

Before the Mavericks had their brief, faintly emotional and surprisingly traditional banner-raising ceremony, the Heat quietly stepped away, heading to the hallways of the American Airlines Center rather than watch highlights of memorable Mavericks moments produced on Miami’s home floor.

It wasn’t a dismissive act. It wasn’t a defiant act. It wasn’t even an uncommon act.

It was simply an expression of what the Heat is at the moment: a team playing in the present and looking toward the future.

Reliving the past isn’t what this team wants to do, regardless if every outsider believes last season’s failure is what should motivate this group every moment of every game.

“It’s not about last season’s storylines,” Spoelstra said. “We already left last year behind.”

It’s not only an intelligent way to approach this second season of Mega-Heat, but it’s also largely true that this season should feel like a different experience for the Heat.

DIFFERENT FEEL

Last season was about learning each other and learning on the fly. It was about living up to mostly self-created expectations. It was about fighting off critics and adjusting to elevated scrutiny. It was as much about nonbasketball storylines as it was actual basketball.

This season has a different feel.

It’s about adjustments to last year, yes. But it’s not about redemption or attempting to right a wrong.

This is about growth and reaching a potential the team saw only flashes of last season.

And in this delayed opening game of the season, the one that didn’t start with a group of Heat players strolling down bitter-memory lane, the Heat displayed just how different this team can be.

“We played exactly how we wanted to play,” Chris Bosh said.

It’s a frightening thought that this team can say, with such short preparation time, that it played a game exactly as planned.

But you could see it from the start, with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade continuing the approach established during the preseason. A game dominated by a quick pace, aggressive attacks, ball movement and, of course, both LeBron and Wade spending extra time in the low-post rather than navigating through multiple defenders before even reaching the paint.

This was a team that clearly wasn’t concerned about external chatter, which affected last year’s Heat. This was just a team determined to perfect its style of play, and a few individuals determined to display shiny new elements of their game.

When you have those thoughts running through your head, it’s easy to shake off the past and concentrate on the right now.

“This was about us,” Spoelstra said. “About our journey.”

WHAT’S AHEAD

If this is the version of the Heat we’re going to see all season — and it’s impossible to determine considering how ragged the re-tooled Mavericks looked on a day that was as much about celebration for them as it was competition — then the rest of the NBA should’ve spent at least one brief moment shuddering on Christmas Day in anticipation of what’s to come.

Hold up together during the lockout, Heat president Pat Riley, CEO Nick Arison and coach Erik Spoelstra had plenty of time to tinker.

They looked at their team from every angle.

They weighed the positives.

They talked about new offensive philosophies.

They formulated a plan.

They decided on a new vision.

That new vision — Spoelstra’s vision — will be unveiled on Christmas Day against the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks.

In his preseason news conference, Riley called Spoelstra “innovative” and “not afraid to take chances.” Make no mistake, Spoelstra is taking a chance with the Heat’s roster this season.

Faster team

Gone are the aging centers: Erick Dampier, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Jamaal Magloire.

In its place remains a faster, younger but smaller rotation.

If the Heat’s first two preseason games were any indication — and, with no time to waste, they were — Year Two of the Big 3 will be the season the Heat tries to run every other team off the court.

“We are all committed to that as a franchise,” Spoelstra said. “In our talks as a staff, we really wanted to emphasize our strengths, which are our speed and our athleticism, and it’s something that our entire organization is on the same page about.”

Conformity and the offensive sets of the past have been replaced by a looser interpretation of the game.

As Chris Bosh put it, the Heat’s offense will be “free-flowing.”

“We’re just going to get out there and flow into it; we’re not going to make any calls,” Bosh said. “I think last year we were too bent on making calls, trying to run a specific play every time, when the set can really just be free-flowing.”

A fun game

The offense still will have rules and guidelines, Spoelstra cautioned, but set plays that can be scouted, charted and defended in a conventional sense have given way to basic principles: spacing in the open court, cuts to the basket, relying on the experience of familiarity to dictate the pace of the game.

In other words, it’s going to be fun to watch.

“Let’s just play basketball; let’s use our talents,” LeBron James said. “Let’s use our IQs of the game just to play.

“So I think [Spoelstra] has done an unbelievable job so far, in this training camp, of getting guys ready, but making them comfortable, as well.”

Last season, Spoelstra attempted to remove the governor and let the fuel of athleticism run freely.

The team wasn’t quite ready.

The familiarity wasn’t completely there.

“As a player, you say, ‘Yeah, we could have done it.’ No, we really couldn’t,” Wade said. “We kind of had to get structured a little.

“It would have been too much one-on-one because that’s what we’ve done a lot in our careers, all of us.

“So, it would have been a little too much. It wouldn’t have good continuity for the team. It would have been a lot of bad shots.”

From a practical standpoint, the shortened training camp could be an advantage for the Heat and its new offensive tendencies.

Complete team

“Tweaks,” as Spoelstra calls them. Unlike last season [and unlike many of the contenders around the league], the Heat returns mostly intact.

It’s a safe bet this team will not begin the season 9-8, which is where it found itself last season after visiting Dallas. The Heat now can build upon its experience.

“I think it’s comforting, knowing that we have a short period of time to try to get in shape, try to get the new guys involved, trying to do all these things, but not having to worry about that as much,” Wade said.

By Ethan J. Skolnick

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 11:02 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011

Posted: 10:42 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011

MIAMI — Erik Spoelstra opened the open scrimmage with a wide smile, and a hearty welcome back to the season-ticket holders who filled much of the lower bowl.

“It’s been too long,” Spoelstra said Thursday. “Feels great.”

Then, for the next two hours, Heat fans cheered some old friends.

And a new spark.

Yes, LeBron James unveiled his improved post game, diving down to the block on the second possession, before uncoiling into a turnaround jumper. Yes, Dwyane Wade showed he still has spring in his legs, taking a James pass, switching hands and slamming over Dexter Pittman. Yes, Chris Bosh showed off his three-point stroke as a trailer on the break, something Spoelstra asked him to emphasize in the off-season.

But, no, this night didn’t belong to any of them.

It belonged to the kid who calls himself “No No.”

That is rookie Norris Cole.

That, my friends, is a point guard.

“You can’t teach what he has,” Wade said. “He’s very aggressive. He’s smart, he picks up things very easy. He’s going to be great coming off the bench behind Rio (Mario Chalmers).”

For now, anyway.

Spoelstra stood by Chalmers as a starter after Cole’s public Heat debut, one in which the Cleveland State graduate scored 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting, while Chalmers scored nine points on 2-of-8 inaccuracy. Anything else would be a gross overreaction.

Still, to steal and reapply Spoelstra’s phrase, “it’s been too long” since the Heat had someone who looked like a spark plug, floor-leader point guard.

Someone who did the things that Cole did Thursday night, in his first game on the AmericanAirlines Arena court since the 2009 NCAA regionals, when his Cleveland State Vikings beat Wake Forest before falling to Arizona.

Someone so fast. Someone who steps assertively into a pull-up jumper. Someone who attacks the rim with his head raised and with both hands. Someone who can throw sublime bounce passes into the tightest spaces, as shown on successive possessions, one in transition for a layup by rookie Terrel Harris, the other in halfcourt, on a wraparound to Bosh to set up a foul.

Someone who scored from inside (layups) and out (a couple of threes).

“Coach just wanted me to go out and play and not think too much,” Cole said. “I’m pretty comfortable right now. I haven’t been overwhelmed so far.”

Again, it’s unwise to get overwhelmed by a scrimmage, one in which the teams changed after every quarter, one that Shane Battier (quad), Eddy Curry (hip), Mike Miller (hernia) and Eddie House (knee) all missed, and one that had a running clock in the fourth quarter simply to avoid injury.

Still, the Heat’s point guard drought has been long enough that it’s tempting to savor something like Cole’s 12-foot running teardrop.

Tim Hardaway arrived in 1996, a bit gimpy but still game, and gave the Heat five good seasons. Since his 2001 exit, the Heat hasn’t had a prototype quarterback. The limited Travis Best. The troubled Smush Parker. A past-prime Gary Payton. A fossilized Mike Bibby.

Pat Riley got a healthy, solid, restrained season out of Jason Williams, got one good stint (out of two) from Rafer Alston, and got some community buzz with Carlos Arroyo.

Riley also got some mileage out of two conversions, in which he moved collegiate complementary guards to the point.

The first was Wade, in 2003.

“To me, it was tougher, because I had never played the position before,” Wade said. “You can tell with Norris, he’s played point guard all his life. He gets the ball, he’s looking down the court.”

Chalmers had a challenging transition, too. He often played off the ball at Kansas, but the Heat had no choice but to start him at point guard as a 2008 rookie. He has not progressed in a straight line since, partly because the spot isn’t natural. His most memorable offensive contributions have come as a spot-up shooter, after a more dynamic teammate (such as Wade) draws the defense.

Chalmers remains the guy for now, as Spoelstra tempers expectations for the rookie.

“A lot of things are coming at him right now,” Spoelstra said.

But Cole is coming, too. Fast.