Brian Windhorst / Special to the Plain Dealer

MIAMI — Just more than a month into his first season as a Heat player, LeBron James is still trying to come to grips with his new "normal."

Earlier this week, an Internet report said James was one of the Heat players who had grown frustrated with coach Erik Spoelstra in the wake of the much-hyped team's recent struggles.

If it was December 2009 and not 2010, there likely would have been instant pressure on then Cavs coach Mike Brown and calls for the team to consider changes.

But this time, within minutes James was being chastised on talk shows and by national columnists who assumed James' camp leaked the story. Replays of James bumping Spoelstra on his way to the bench in Dallas last Saturday were on highlight loops.

On Monday afternoon, James had to explain the bump and deny he or an associate had leaked the story. In other words, unheard of demands just 12 months ago.

A little less than two weeks ago, during another disappointing road loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, James faced another new reality. After being booed heavily there as he had been in places such as New Orleans and Atlanta -- cities that weren't even in the running for James' services last summer -- James admitted he's surprised he had made such an impression on what he thought were third-party fans.

"It is funny that Memphis fans and fans in the league -- some of the fans that had nothing to do with what I did -- still boo like I was sitting in their room saying I was [not] coming to Memphis," James said.

"It doesn't matter to me [if fans get over it]. As an opposing player, you're going to have those boos."

So here comes the biggest shakeup to his system, though this one won't surprise him. When the NBA schedule was unveiled last August, most Cavaliers fans looked for the first Heat visit to The Q and began to make plans.

But it was one of the first games James looked for, too. It has been something he has been preparing for as well.

"How could you not [think about it]?" James said. "I think it is going to be tough."

This is what it is going to be like for James for the near future and not just in Cleveland. He and his team have gone from being an attraction across the country because of popularity to being a massive draw in large part because of negativity.

In addition to adjusting to playing with star teammates -- a transition that hasn't been easy, as the Heat's marginal record and his reduced statistics suggest -- getting used to being hated is an unwritten part of the contract he signed with Miami.

It is a stress that James mostly is bearing alone. Teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, perhaps other than in Toronto, do not get such a reaction. But the overflow is affecting them to a degree as well.

Especially, it seems, as they all prepare for what they will face tonight.

"I don't think we know what to expect," Bosh said. "But I'm sure it's going to be something like we've never seen before."

James has said he does not fear for his personal safety at The Q and that the Cavs and the league will have all the needed security measures in place.

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But the Heat has decided not to announce its travel plans to traveling media members covering the team. It has led to a belief the team will not stay in a Cleveland hotel. The team has also beefed up its own security team.

It is simply not the type of tension James or anyone else is used to dealing with. But that is just part of this new world he and his teammates must handle.

"I know he's going to enjoy it more when it's over," Wade said. "Our focus cannot be on safety and security. We understand that the NBA wants nothing but safety for us -- the Miami organization as well. They pay us a lot of money. They don't want anything to happen to us. I'm sure we'll be just fine."