MIAMI -- LeBron James has an odd relationship with the label "point guard." In short, he wants no part of it.

Compare him to Magic Johnson -- just don't call him Magic Johnson. Watch him bring the ball up and get his team into the offense for at least half the game's possessions, just list him at forward on the All-Star ballot.

The Miami Heat public relations staff is fully on board. Tuesday night they announced James' 12 assists in the team's latest blowout victory (129-97 over the Minnesota Timberwolves) was the highest in franchise history by a forward.

Lamar Odom, who had the mark dating to 2004 with 11, might consider filing a protest.

James is playing point guard for the Heat and a lot of it. He is playing the Magic role that team president Pat Riley sold to him during free agency. The offense is running though him and he's taking turns feeding Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and even James Jones, who had 17 points.

Not that James is willing to call himself a point guard.

"I know I'm going to do a lot of ball handling for this team," said James, who was bothered by a sore leg and had 20 points but no rebounds. "Do I want to be called a point guard? I don't know."

Actually he does know. This from a minute later in the conversation: "I don't want to be called a point guard, but I can't stop it."

Whatever helps James sleep at night.

In his 33 minutes against the Wolves, James was the primary ball handler for nearly the entire time. Carlos Arroyo started at "point guard," and he and Wade handled some of the duties. But basically James has become the Heat's de facto lead guard when he's in the game. When the Heat are in transition off a turnover or running upcourt after a defensive rebound, James' handling rate creeps toward 100 percent as he actively looks to receive the ball.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra doesn't have another "point guard" in his rotation besides Arroyo, though even that may be some window dressing. His plan going into the season was to have James play the point as much as possible. Right now Spoelstra is getting away with calling James a "backup" point guard.

Many of Spoelstra's half-court sets are designed to start with the ball going to Bosh in the post. With Wade as one of the most dynamic wing players in the game, placing James at the point makes a lot of sense strategically. His presence at the top of the floor offers balance and draws the defense.

Arroyo does bring the ball up the court after some made baskets and out-of-bounds plays ... when James doesn't meet him at half court to take it from him.

Arroyo's central job is to defend the opposing point guard and he's quite clear about it.

"[James] is a point-forward-shooting-everything," Arroyo said. "He understands the game, and that's why we put him in situations so he can make plays for us."

Spoelstra had a two-page list of rules and guidelines coming into training camp to determine how minutes would be distributed between James, Wade and whoever the nominal point guard was.

"When I got out to the first practice I scrapped it all; it was ridiculous," Spoelstra said. "I want it to be a flow and that would be the opposite of that. I want to take advantage of their ability. I don't want handcuffs on them. I don't want these guys playing like robots. Their greatness is their ability to make plays on instincts."

Thus far, James is averaging 7.2 assists in just 34 minutes per game, many of them as the team's dominant ball handler. One of the reasons James is averaging five turnovers a game is because he's handling the ball so much.

James has always been a high assist player -- he averaged a career-best 8.6 with the Cavs last season -- but hasn't always enjoyed initiating the offense. For his entire career he's run with the ball after getting defensive rebounds. But in half-court sets, James has generally preferred waiting for the ball to be delivered to him on the wing.

Last season when the Cavs lost point guards Mo Williams and Delonte West to injury in February, James was forced into service. The Cavs subsequently went on a 10-game winning streak and James averaged nearly 11 assists as the sub.

While enjoying the victories, he lamented his new duties, counting down the days until he could give up the role. At the time, James said he was glad he didn't do it full time.

"I like to get out and get up the court, using my speed and aggressiveness toward the hoop," James said. "When I'm the point guard I have to run with the ball."

Again, this doesn't seem all that logical from a player who is also one of the fastest in the league with the ball in his hands. But James seems pretty determined to avoid the title, which is probably fine with his teammates.

"I think because of my size and the ability to pass the ball -- Magic was unbelievable, his passing game was unbelievable and he was a 6-9 point guard -- we get compared that way," James said. "To get compared to Magic is humbling. But I'm not really a point guard."

Brian Windhorst covers the Miami Heat for ESPN.com.

Dimes past: October 27 | 28 | 29 | November 1 | 2

Elias Sports Bureau

The Milwaukee Bucks jumped to a 14-2 lead, but the Trail Blazers went ahead to stay in the closing minutes of the first half and came away earning a 90-76 decision. With the loss, the Bucks matched the number of home losses they had all of last season after holding a lead of at least 12 points; last Nov. 28, Orlando overcame a 17-point deficit to win at Milwaukee 100-98.

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