You can't out-Hibbert Hibbert," Spoelstra told his staff, past midnight in their upstairs lair at AmericanAirlines Arena. The Eastern Conference finals was tied 1-1, but the Indiana Pacers' imposing front line of
David West and 7-foot-2
Roy Hibbert was crushing the Heat, who had lost Bosh to an abdominal strain.
"We couldn't score," Spoelstra says. "We weren't going to win that series without thinking outside the box."
Inspired by Chip Kelly, who emphasized speed over size as the football coach of the Oregon Ducks, Spoelstra had spent the entire season talking about "position-less" basketball. But he didn't turn his words into reality until that night in May.
"Shane Battier was my Shawn Marion," Spoelstra says. "He unlocked everything."
Spoelstra decided that night he would start Battier in Game 3 and use his 3-point attack to open up the paint against the colossal Pacers frontcourt. Battier would have to play as a big man for the first time in his career.
The Heat brass, including Riley, wasn't exactly sold.
"They all told me to sleep on it," Spoelstra says with a laugh. "They thought I was nuts."
In Game 3, the Heat were blown out 94-75. Dexter Pittman, who started at center, was ejected in the first quarter. But Pittman was the decoy. Battier was the key.
"I walked through the tunnel that night after Game 3 knowing that was how we were going to play, regardless of the score," Spoelstra says. "I shut out all the noise. Everyone thought we couldn't win that way, certainly not a title. I didn't care."
Spoelstra didn't budge. With Battier stretching the floor for James and Wade, the Heat blitzed the Pacers in Game 4. And Game 5. And Game 6.
A month later, with Battier and Bosh each slinging 3s in the Finals against the Thunder, the Heat won the championship, their first of two in the Big Three era.
That night, D'Antoni received a text message from Spoelstra.
"This one's for you," it read. "We climbed the mountaintop."
this was the series when bosh was hurt no one was over 6'8 on the heat
