I attended the Miami Heat vs. Orlando Magic game last night, and, although it started a blowout, I'm glad it turned into an exciting game. While watching, however, I noticed a few things about the Heat and Magic that seemed relevant enough to rant about. Game after game, half after half, and possession after possession the Heat are being out coached.
There are 2 things that have become trends for the Heat: 1) they struggle against good teams, and 2) they can't close out games when they have a big lead. The more I think about it, the more I think it comes down to coaching. They Heat were out coached by the Knicks and then again by the Magic. The Knicks are coached by Mike D'antoni. D'antoni likes to run a fast paced offense. However, he knew that the Heat in the open court are more dangerous than the Knicks, and the Heat in the half-court are one of the worst teams in the league. D'antoni slowed down the game, played half-court with Billups, Melo, and Amare, and this worked out well. Also, D'antoni realized that if you want to beat the Heat, you aren't going to beat them at SF, PF, or SG, so either beat their center or PG. They don't have a strong center, but Billups is an experienced PG who is one of the best in the league. The Knicks exploiting this match-up, attacked Chalmers, and this strategy worked as well. Adding Bibby may help in this area, and that's why it was such a big pick up if Bibby can return to Sacramento form.
Next, the Magic did the same thing as the Heat. In the second half, the Magic had at least two people back on defense before they even shot the ball in order to prevent fast breaks. The Heat couldn't run and were forced into half-court offense. This is the problem with the Heat. They have Wade, LeBron, and Bosh who are all perimeter players. LeBron was posting up a bit, but this isn't where he is the strongest. Their half-court offense isn't fluid. The ball doesn't move. There are too many players with sticky hands who like to slow down the passing and dominate the ball.
Another problem with these 3 is that none of them are shooters. They are all scorers, but not pure shooters. At the end of the game, the Heat were down by 3 with 10 seconds left. They needed to make a 3 pointer. Bosh and LeBron both had open looks, but neither made the shot. My question for Spolestra is not the design of the play, because it had 3 options and 2 open looks. But why Bosh and LeBron? Why not House, Miller, or Jones? Get shooters on the perimeter, and if they must be in the game, put Bosh and LeBron down low to tap out a rebound.
Bosh went 1-18 against the Bulls and the Magic shot the lights out, so it's not time to hit the panic button, but the Heat need to start figuring out how to play in the half-court with LeBron, Wade, and Bosh on the court. One thing I do like about Spolestra is that he divides court time with LeBron and 4, then Wade, Bosh, and 3. These are 2 good line-ups and good ways to give the 3 a rest without skipping a beat. However, when all 3 are on the court at the same time, you need a shooter out there too. Chalmers and Bibby are good shooters, but what about Miller and Jones. Wade and LeBron can handle the ball, and Miller and Jones have size to grab boards. This would be a tall line-up to help with rebounds and defense, and dangerous line-up with the Big 3, a center, and a pure shooter.
I feel like the Heat will figure it out, but they are running out of time. The Heat vs. Magic game was won by the Heat using their speed in the open court in the 1st half, which is their strength, and then by the Magic with 3 point shooting in the 2nd half, which is their strength. The Magic figured out how to slow down the Heat, now the Heat either need to figure out how to work in a slow paced, half-court offense, or learn how to keep playing fast paced ball when teams have men back on defense to prevent it. They can get better at what they are bad at, or get better at what they are good at by learning how to be good at it, when other people change their defense against it. The Heat are professionals, they have great players, they are motivated, and come playoff time, I think these losses will end up helping the Heat as they will continue to work on new things, grow, and improve.
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