LeBron James, Miami Heat find no position like no positions

• Heat's Big 3 of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh formed without clear identity
• Coach Erik Spoelstra figured out how to use the talent last season en route to NBA title
• Key player is James, who runs the show and exemplifies Heat's positional dexterity

MIAMI — Through struggle and disappointment, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra discovered a conventional offense with conventional labels didn't work for LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the rest of his team's contributors.

With so many versatile players, Spoelstra realized he needed them on the court regardless of position. He calls it position-less basketball; no player is a defined point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward or center.

You began to hear about Spoelstra's position-less philosophy last season. You heard about it during the Olympics when the USA often played without a true center. You will hear about it often this season as Miami expands the concept.

"Not only was it something we felt that we had the ability to do," Spoelstra said of putting five on the floor without regard to positions, "but we eventually found out that this team requires that we play that way. It's not just simply an option.

"For us to fully unlock the strength and versatility of this team, I learned the painful way we're required to play this way. We have to play that way for us to fully reach our potential. That took some time and forced all of us to get out of our comfort level."

What exactly is position-less basketball? In simplest terms, it's having players who can play multiple positions on the court at the same time.

"I've found, through pain of the (losing) 2011 Finals, I needed to look at this team in a different lens," Spoelstra said. "And that was key for us to play more position-less, to put our best players out there and to create a system where guys could fully utilize their versatility of playing multiple positions."

It works for the Heat for two reasons. First, they have the players to execute it. Second, they don't have a true center.

Spoelstra says if Miami had a dominant low-post big man (think Dwight Howard or Andrew Bynum or former Heat big men Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O'Neal), the Heat could and would play a more conventional style. That's not the Heat's personnel.

James is one of the most versatile players offensively and defensively. On offense, he can play point guard (one), small forward (three), power forward (four), center (five) and even shooting guard (two).

Wade can play one, two and three. Bosh can play four and five. And, as he showed with three three-pointers in Game 7 against the Boston Celtics in the playoffs, Bosh can step out and play small forward for limited minutes.

Shane Battier can play two, three and four. Mike Miller can play two and three. Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole are good at one and two, Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony at four and five. Newcomers Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis are similarly versatile, Allen at one, two and three; Lewis at three and four.

"I'm not thinking of restricting guys and putting them in specific positions or boxes," Spoelstra said. "We found out our first year that really restricts us."To get them on the court at the same time, they have to play multiple positions, and it allows the Heat to use several different lineups. Spoelstra is not afraid to experiment with it.

Tough offense to defense

So many interchangeable, talented pieces make it difficult for opponents to defend. It's not a style many teams can use, and it requires players with high IQs to attack it.

"With all the lineups we had last year, who knows what is going on (this season)," Battier said. "The flexibility of our lineups is an amazing strength that very few teams can match. That's the fun part. You're probably going to see some funky lineups. You'll be thinking, 'What the heck is Spo doing?' But it's all part of the process."

It also requires the right offensive system, and Spoelstra has found it.

Don't confuse it with small-ball, or Nellie-ball, the style popularized by Hall of Fame coach Don Nelson, who tried to exploit individual matchups on a regular basis. One player might have the advantage in one game, another player might have the advantage in the next — and those where the players Nelson wanted to ride. He had no problem doing it with a smaller lineup.

Just because the Heat play position-less, it doesn't mean they play small — especially with some combination of James, Bosh, Haslem and Anthony. Spoelstra downplays that Miami is a pick-and-roll, three-point shooting team. There is an inside presence, just not the traditional one. Miami wants to go inside to James, Bosh and even Wade in post-up situations.

"We still try to control tempo from the inside-out, but we learned we had to do it in an inverted style," Spoelstra said.

Mystery where shots taken

Heat President Pat Riley is an obvious influence on Spoelstra, but so is Minnesota Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman, who coached the Portland Trail Blazers in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Spoelstra was a young adult. Spoelstra has known Adelman since Spoelstra was in high school and Spoelstra's dad, Jon, worked for the Blazers.

Spoelstra, who played college basketball at Portland, had a firsthand look at Adelman's corner offense. Similar to Phil Jackson's triangle offense, the corner offense is based on a read-and-react philosophy using skilled players who can handle the ball anywhere on the court and make the right reads and decisions.

This has multiple advantages, namely that the other team does not know precisely where the play is headed. For example, when Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle calls "Three up, three down," opponents know, through scouting, the play is for forward Dirk Nowitzki.

Obviously, James, Wade and Bosh will take a majority of the shots, but opponents don't know where those shots will be taken. That's huge in the playoffs, when scouting reports and knowledge of plays can give a defense an advantage.

Bosh plays a pivotal role, too, with his ability to play on the perimeter and make the right read: pass, shoot or drive. Often, the Heat run the offense through Bosh early in the game because he sees where advantages can be exploited and has the skill set to make it happen.

James makes position-less go

Spoelstra credits Battier with helping the Heat maximize the team's versatility. In his first season with Miami in 2011-12, Battier not only provided offensive versatility, he also provided defensive versatility, which is just as important but not as noticeable.

Battier is not a gifted offensive player, but he does enough from a variety of spots on the floor, especially at the three-point line, to give James, Wade and Bosh options.

But if you ask Battier what makes it work, there's no hesitation. He doesn't think it is him.

"The one guy who makes it all happen is LeBron," Battier said. "Talk about a skeleton key. If there ever was one, it's LeBron. You can throw any lineup out there with him, and it'll work. ... LeBron is the linchpin to open up so many lineup combinations."

Few, if any, players in NBA history have had the combination of size, strength and grace James has. In the most impressive postseason performance of his career, the New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder were unable to stop him. He averaged 30.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists, including 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists against the Thunder in the Finals.

James has always been willing to improve, whether it's shooting jumpers, passing or rebounding. Persuading him to play power forward was not easy.

In his heart, James is a small forward. But in his mind, he knows playing power forward makes the Heat a better team because it allows more talented players on the floor at the same time.

Asked if playing more at power forward was something he accepted, James chuckled and said, "I mean, I guess. Spo has so many different lineup changes and so many mind-sets of how our team should be and why we'll be successful. If it's for the good of our team, I didn't have a problem with that.

"It's a matchup problem for a lot of teams with me at the four. We'll see. I'm comfortable at my natural position at the three. I'm able to adjust to the four. I'm able to adjust to the one and do whatever it takes to help this team win."

James as point-forward

With the addition of Allen and Lewis, players who thrive on the perimeter, James is sure to see more time at power forward.

Playing point-forward — a forward capable of running the point — is not unheard of in the NBA. Rick Barry, Paul Pressey, Marques Johnson, Scottie Pippen, Lamar Odom and Grant Hill have played similar roles. None was a power forward.

Magic Johnson might be the closest comparison, and that's not surprising, as James has had a gift for passing since he emerged as a teen phenom in Akron, Ohio.

There is a part of James that relishes being one of the rare power forwards to also play point guard.

"It's pretty cool. I'm not going to sit here and lie to you guys," James said. "Hopefully, if this is something new, hopefully guys who come after me can look at it and help it grow and not settle for a position someone gives them. Go outside the box and see if you can do it."

The style worked for the Heat, but Spoelstra and Battier said it was too early to determine if other teams would try it. Will position-less basketball become a trend?

"I don't know if we're creating a trend," Spoelstra said. "People ask all the time, 'Is this a trend? Are more teams going to start doing it?' It depends on who you have."

When you have LeBron James, many things are possible.