PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- Defence is the primary focus of everything the Miami Heat does, and its been that way since Pat Riley arrived. It might be more than a mantra this year. Miami started the season playing defence at a level that made no one in the organization happy last season, allowing 100.6 points per game, ranking only 23rd-best league-wide after 17 games. In the 65 games that followed, they gave up just 93.6 points per game, the fourth-best rate in the NBA over that span. Playing defence better from the start of the season has emerged as a top priority for the Heat, who left the Bahamas on Friday after wrapping up six practices of training camp that were devoted almost entirely to that end of the floor. "We knew we didnt start off the season like we wanted to defensively," said Heat forward LeBron James, the leagues two-time reigning MVP and a four-time winner of the award overall. "But we knew. I think when you have a problem and you face it, its very correctable, and we knew that. So one thing we talked about was defending and finishing." Training camp officially ended just before 1 p.m. Friday, though the way James sees it, camp actually lasts until Oct. 28, the day before Miami hoists its second straight championship banner and opens a new season against the Chicago Bulls. Theres a ton of things for the team to do in the next 3 1/2 weeks, including play eight preseason games, but continuing to hone that defence-first approach will remain paramount. They remember how frustrating it was to have an almost porous-looking defence for the first few weeks of last season, a year where the Heat wound up winning 66 regular-season games, 27 straight in one stretch. "Sharpen. Sharpen the sword," Heat forward Shane Battier said. "We won games early last year and didnt look good. We dropped a few that, looking back at it, we should have won. We know the Eastern Conference is highly competitive. Not that we cant afford to get off to a slow start ... but we cant afford to get off to a slow start." Chicago will be better, with Derrick Rose healthy again. Indiana figures to be better. Brooklyn has eyes on a title. Its clear that Miami will not have an easy time in the East, and the Heat remember how vital getting that No. 1 seed was a year ago. It gave them the right to play Game 7 in the conference finals against Indiana at home, along with Game 7 of the NBA Finals against San Antonio. "We know the competition got better," Battier said. "We scraped by to get out of the Eastern Conference last year. Obviously, we want to play our best basketball at the end. That doesnt mean we cant start at a higher level and build toward that." Even though the background was paradise -- sun, sand, tropical music and water slides -- the ballroom where the Heat did the bulk of their work on this trip was hardly a vacation destination. James posted a photo of himself, grimacing in a chest-deep ice bath, to his social media accounts. Ray Allen said he dealt with some mild foot soreness while waking up muscles that had not been used since last June. Michael Beasley described camp as exhausting. Udonis Haslem said he was originally excited to spend some free time in the casino, then quickly realized that he would better serve himself by getting off his feet. Point guard Mario Chalmers said this was a camp unlike any of his first five with the Heat, mainly because he didnt recall a camp where everyone arrived in such good shape. "Last year I think we had a little hangover coming off that first championship," Chalmers said. "Maybe we celebrated a little bit too much. We didnt come into camp as focused and ready as we did last year. You can tell right now, everybodys hungry for that threepeat." Which, the Heat know, will start at the defensive end. "I would probably say 70 per cent of our camp was defence, other than player development," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "That makes me a little bit uneasy. While we have corporate knowledge of our offence, we will need to spend a lot more time on it next week. And we will. Well address that." Mike Matheny Cardinals Jersey . And Richard Bachman, their rookie goalie, is facing a penalty shot a few seconds after the opening face-off. No pressure, right? Bachman stood his ground against Zack Kassian and saw the puck dribble off the Canuck rookies stick, then settled in and backstopped the Stars to a 5-2 win over Vancouver Tuesday that put Dallas in first place in the Pacific Division. Genesis Cabrera Jersey . Griffin scored 13 of his 31 points in the final 7:05 and Dudley got 11 of his 20 points in the third quarter, leading the defending Pacific Division champions to a 112-85 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night. "Dud is a shooter. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/114t-ted-simmons-jersey-cardinals.html .Y. - The NFL has fined Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch $20,000 for making an obscene gesture during last Sundays NFC championship game, a person with knowledge of the fine told The Associated Press on Thursday. Bobby Tolan Jersey . With the final four being arguably the four best – and most complete – teams from the regular season, picking a winner is not as easy as it sounds. Austin Gomber Jersey . I kept my eyes focused up on the camera during each approach. I just tried to stay focused on my form, as I didnt know what the ball reaction was. I was quite emotional at the end. I did not actually see any of the shots in the game until I got home and watched the video.MALMO, Sweden -- Defenceman Matt Dumba missed Fridays practice with an illness but is expected to be able to play in Canadas next game at the world junior hockey championship. Coach Brent Sutter said Dumba is already feeling better and should play Saturday when Canada (1-0) faces the Czech Republic (0-1). "Hes just got a little bit of a virus so were keeping him off the ice," said Sutter. "Its something that started (Thursday) night and he was a little better this morning, so hell be fine. He was up all night." Dumba, loaned to the team by the Minnesota Wild, skated the puck into the attacking zone to set up Canadas first goal in a tournament-opening 7-2 win over Germany. Sutter also said that Jake Paterson will start again in goal. The Saginaw Spirit goalie won the job with twwo strong starts in pre-tournament exhibition games, relegating Zach Fucale of the Halifax Mooseheads to a backup role.dddddddddddd However, Sutter said Fucale should see some action before the tournament ends. As for Paterson, he said: "He didnt have a lot of work (against Germany), but outside of that first goal, he made some key saves for us. He was there when he needed to be, so hell get another shot. "He has to continue to take the ball and run with it. Im not a believer in rotating goalies in this tournament. You want to go with someone whos riding the hot hand. We went with the 19-year-old to start the tournament, but you still have to assume that at some point, Fucales going to get that opportunity because we play a lot of games here in a short period of time." ' ' '