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Carmelo & the double team
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bigbasketballs
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11/24/2015  2:03 PM
ChuckBuck wrote:
bigbasketballs wrote:
ChuckBuck wrote:I've seen the light, what can I say. Everything's clearer now, no lens fogged by homerism or Youtube Melo threads.

Or perhaps have a propensity for larger irrational swings than most.

Cool, take a break from stalking me, it's creepy.

Because that tactic is always so effective.

AUTOADVERT
ChuckBuck
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11/24/2015  2:05 PM
bigbasketballs wrote:
ChuckBuck wrote:
bigbasketballs wrote:
ChuckBuck wrote:I've seen the light, what can I say. Everything's clearer now, no lens fogged by homerism or Youtube Melo threads.

Or perhaps have a propensity for larger irrational swings than most.

Cool, take a break from stalking me, it's creepy.

Because that tactic is always so effective.

I thought I had the mental problems!

ramtour420
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11/24/2015  2:41 PM    LAST EDITED: 11/24/2015  2:44 PM
bigbasketballs wrote:
ChuckBuck wrote:
bigbasketballs wrote:
ChuckBuck wrote:Easy answer, Melo runs the pick and pop with KP. No double guaranteed.

Next question.

Wait, isn't it KP runs the pick and pop with Melo??

Can't forget who the offense should run through.

Interchangeable, although running it with KP as the shooter would be more efficient.

Wonder if it'd be even more efficient with Afflalo, since it'd be better of Melo wasn't on the team and all..?


Or maybe because it would leave KP more room for O rebounds and put backs, something that he is clearly very adept at
Everything you have ever wanted is on the other side of fear- George Adair
KEEPCAMBYNY
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11/25/2015  12:29 AM    LAST EDITED: 11/25/2015  12:36 AM
Knicks1969 wrote:Solution:
What I believe needs to happen to mitigate this issue, just so Carmelo can finally find the breathing room to operate is to use him as a point Forward.

Hi Mike D'Antoni! Have you found a new coaching job yet? Have you tried Craigslist?

I bleed orange and blue for life.
CrushAlot
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11/25/2015  12:34 AM
KEEPCAMBYNY wrote:
Knicks1969 wrote:Solution:
What I believe needs to happen to mitigate this issue, just so Carmelo can finally find the breathing room to operate is to use him as a point Forward.

Hi Mike D'Antoni, have you found a new coaching job yet? Have you tried Craigslist?


Yeah. I just don't think that can happen. The guy is putting forth effort at both ends of the court. His defense is much improved as is his passing but to add that responsibility seems like a lot. Also, am I the only guy that cringes when Melo brings up the ball?
I'm tired,I'm tired, I'm so tired right now......Kristaps Porzingis 1/3/18
yellowboy90
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11/25/2015  1:10 AM    LAST EDITED: 11/25/2015  1:15 AM
http://www.nba.com/heat/newsrecap/defense-many-faces

he Many-Faced Defense
The HEAT's Melo Rules Reflect A Multi-Year Evolution
Issac Baldizon
by Couper Moorhead
HEAT.com
Posted: Nov 24, 2015

Times have changed.

Once upon a first-round series, the Miami HEAT’s choices in covering Carmelo Anthony punched their ticket to the conference semifinals and, eventually, an NBA Championship. With New York’s scoring savant hitting jumper after jumper in 2012, Erik Spoelstra elected to have his defensive wings sit directly in front of Anthony in the post and force opposing guards to throw the ball over the top. As was the HEAT’s primary directive in those days, forcing a higher degree of difficulty on entry passes to a star player created turnovers, turnover fed transition, transition fed efficiency and efficiency won games.

Once enough of those turnovers came to pass with Miami’s big men swarming the back line of defense, sandwiching Anthony as he tried to make a reception, New York’s guard became reticent to even attempt the play. The offense stagnated, Anthony had to catch the ball farther and farther away from the basket, and Miami won. A few series later, Spoelstra employed the same strategy against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

What worked yesterday doesn’t always work today. Adapt or die, as they say.

Now, with much of Miami’s defensive system having undergone more than just superficial changes, the team has a different approach to Anthony. There’s still some fronting, as Dwyane Wade did last night, but the primary look was akin to what teams like Dallas and Chicago once used against Miami in the playoffs. Instead of outright denying the ball, give Anthony the catch and make him read a second defender.

There wasn’t any settling in, either. Miami went right into overloading the strong side of the floor right off the bat.

First, with Hassan Whiteside forcing a quick pass.

“[We were] just trying to get Melo to get the ball out of his hands,” Whiteside said. “He’s a great scorer. We just want to get him passing the ball.”

The next time Anthony caught the ball in the post, Whiteside was again on his way over to zone him up. Doing his part, Luol Deng – a longtime practioner of this style of defense during his time under Tom Thibodeau – angles his body to cut off the middle of the floor, forcing Anthony either to the baseline or a jumper.

“You know [your teammate] is there, so you don’t want him to hit a jumper on you,” Deng said. “My whole thing is if he drives, you have help. The whole key was to push him to the baseline.”

Anthony makes his move for the drive. Maybe he sees Whiteside, maybe he doesn’t, but a drive quickly becomes a jumper regardless.

Later in the quarter, we’re back in the same situation. Whiteside is still in the game, now defensive wunderkind Justise Winslow gets his turn at Anthony. Like Deng, Winslow angles his body so his feet and shoulders are essentially pointing North-South along the lines of the painted area. Gerald Green presses toward the left elbow. Go baseline, Miami is saying. Go baseline or go nowhere.

Anthony fakes once. Fakes twice. And on the third fake, Whiteside is there.

Revolutionary defense? This is no such thing. Miami played against this for years and plenty of other teams, including the Golden State Warriors, use the same tactics. The post-up is actually a solid counter to the overload, as opposed to attacking it face-on from the wing, because it gives the ballhandler a chance to find the opening in the defense from a good passing location.

Anthony has seen this coverage plenty, too, and he eventually recognized and reconfigured his approach. By the second quarter, as on this Bosh overload, he was finding Kristaps Porzingis.

And by the fourth quarter, those passes were being converted into points. But in between Anthony first, second and third shifts, Miami had taken control of the game with a 20-point lead.

“We talked about [the coverage] a little bit this morning [at shootaround],” Bosh said. “He’s one of the best scorers the league has ever seen. If you let him get a rhythm and give him the same look, he’s eventually going to tear it apart.

“I think we got him off balance, just for a little bit, and that bought us some time.”

Time was all Miami needed. With a sizeable lead, the HEAT threw a couple more looks at Anthony – such as Wade fronting – but generally trusted Deng and Winslow to defend him the same way Shane Battier was once trusted. Because by then Anthony was catching further from the rim.

That’s the story of one game, but Bosh mentioned the most crucial aspect to all of this. The coverage, though something Miami dabbled in the previous season, was something that was implemented that morning before the game. It was, Deng confirmed, the first time the team had tried to execute the overload this season.

Spoelstra said, in effect, ‘Let’s do this’. And the team did it, effectively.

“That’s the key, man,” Wade said. “We don’t have a lot of time to prepare for other teams, so Coach has to feel confident to be able to throw something in and we have to be able to pick it up. If you can pick it up more times than not in a quick shootaround and come out and it makes an impact on a team, man, you’ll be a good team. You can be a very good defensive team by doing that.

“I haven’t been on many teams – obviously our championship teams did – that had that capability to pick it up on the fly and it works.”

Wins are nice, this and any time of year. Being the top-ranked unit by defensive efficiency is even sweeter. But those can be fickle, fleeting achievements if they aren’t backed up by something real. By a firm, but flexible foundation.

Fortunately, Miami has been building just that over the past couple weeks. Spoelstra has found lineups that appear to work, as far as consistently supplying defense goes. Against a solid New York team those lineups showed they could also be molded to fit the situation.

The approach to those situations might be reversed from how things were a few years ago, but this isn’t a team holding on to the past. There’s no, ‘This is how we do things, and by golly we’re going to make it work’ to this group. Spoelstra’s toolbox includes everything that’s been used against him in the past, and the team seems to be showing it can be just as malleable as its coach.
Tags
Bosh, Chris, Deng, Luol, Whiteside, Hassan, Winslow, Justise, Heat
Related Content

CrushAlot
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11/25/2015  8:50 AM
^^^Thanks for posting this.
I'm tired,I'm tired, I'm so tired right now......Kristaps Porzingis 1/3/18
fishmike
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11/25/2015  9:02 AM
jrodmc wrote:
mreinman wrote:
jrodmc wrote:
bigbasketballs wrote:
ChuckBuck wrote:
Wow so witty! You really are a dime a dozen.

As I often say, I know my own limitations and do not attempt to compete with the visionary originality of being a New York Knicks fan fixated on criticizing Carmelo Anthony on the Internet.

You sir, are a pioneer.

The funnier thing is Mr. Groundbreaker used to be one of the biggest Melolovers on the board. Ah well, maybe it's the change in meds, maybe it's something to do with blood levels changing as one ages....who knows.

There has been so much Haterade provided here the past couple of years, it was bound to have some impact.

logic vs. love. You win some (CB) and you lose some (fishmike)

Worldview. You win some (tkf) or you lose some (misterearl)

always cracks me up to be labeled a Melo lover. Good stuff
"winning is more fun... then fun is fun" -Thibs
Knicks1969
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11/25/2015  9:57 AM
yellowboy90 wrote:http://www.nba.com/heat/newsrecap/defense-many-faces

he Many-Faced Defense
The HEAT's Melo Rules Reflect A Multi-Year Evolution
Issac Baldizon
by Couper Moorhead
HEAT.com
Posted: Nov 24, 2015

Times have changed.

Once upon a first-round series, the Miami HEAT’s choices in covering Carmelo Anthony punched their ticket to the conference semifinals and, eventually, an NBA Championship. With New York’s scoring savant hitting jumper after jumper in 2012, Erik Spoelstra elected to have his defensive wings sit directly in front of Anthony in the post and force opposing guards to throw the ball over the top. As was the HEAT’s primary directive in those days, forcing a higher degree of difficulty on entry passes to a star player created turnovers, turnover fed transition, transition fed efficiency and efficiency won games.

Once enough of those turnovers came to pass with Miami’s big men swarming the back line of defense, sandwiching Anthony as he tried to make a reception, New York’s guard became reticent to even attempt the play. The offense stagnated, Anthony had to catch the ball farther and farther away from the basket, and Miami won. A few series later, Spoelstra employed the same strategy against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

What worked yesterday doesn’t always work today. Adapt or die, as they say.

Now, with much of Miami’s defensive system having undergone more than just superficial changes, the team has a different approach to Anthony. There’s still some fronting, as Dwyane Wade did last night, but the primary look was akin to what teams like Dallas and Chicago once used against Miami in the playoffs. Instead of outright denying the ball, give Anthony the catch and make him read a second defender.

There wasn’t any settling in, either. Miami went right into overloading the strong side of the floor right off the bat.

First, with Hassan Whiteside forcing a quick pass.

“[We were] just trying to get Melo to get the ball out of his hands,” Whiteside said. “He’s a great scorer. We just want to get him passing the ball.”

The next time Anthony caught the ball in the post, Whiteside was again on his way over to zone him up. Doing his part, Luol Deng – a longtime practioner of this style of defense during his time under Tom Thibodeau – angles his body to cut off the middle of the floor, forcing Anthony either to the baseline or a jumper.

“You know [your teammate] is there, so you don’t want him to hit a jumper on you,” Deng said. “My whole thing is if he drives, you have help. The whole key was to push him to the baseline.”

Anthony makes his move for the drive. Maybe he sees Whiteside, maybe he doesn’t, but a drive quickly becomes a jumper regardless.

Later in the quarter, we’re back in the same situation. Whiteside is still in the game, now defensive wunderkind Justise Winslow gets his turn at Anthony. Like Deng, Winslow angles his body so his feet and shoulders are essentially pointing North-South along the lines of the painted area. Gerald Green presses toward the left elbow. Go baseline, Miami is saying. Go baseline or go nowhere.

Anthony fakes once. Fakes twice. And on the third fake, Whiteside is there.

Revolutionary defense? This is no such thing. Miami played against this for years and plenty of other teams, including the Golden State Warriors, use the same tactics. The post-up is actually a solid counter to the overload, as opposed to attacking it face-on from the wing, because it gives the ballhandler a chance to find the opening in the defense from a good passing location.

Anthony has seen this coverage plenty, too, and he eventually recognized and reconfigured his approach. By the second quarter, as on this Bosh overload, he was finding Kristaps Porzingis.

And by the fourth quarter, those passes were being converted into points. But in between Anthony first, second and third shifts, Miami had taken control of the game with a 20-point lead.

“We talked about [the coverage] a little bit this morning [at shootaround],” Bosh said. “He’s one of the best scorers the league has ever seen. If you let him get a rhythm and give him the same look, he’s eventually going to tear it apart.

“I think we got him off balance, just for a little bit, and that bought us some time.”

Time was all Miami needed. With a sizeable lead, the HEAT threw a couple more looks at Anthony – such as Wade fronting – but generally trusted Deng and Winslow to defend him the same way Shane Battier was once trusted. Because by then Anthony was catching further from the rim.

That’s the story of one game, but Bosh mentioned the most crucial aspect to all of this. The coverage, though something Miami dabbled in the previous season, was something that was implemented that morning before the game. It was, Deng confirmed, the first time the team had tried to execute the overload this season.

Spoelstra said, in effect, ‘Let’s do this’. And the team did it, effectively.

“That’s the key, man,” Wade said. “We don’t have a lot of time to prepare for other teams, so Coach has to feel confident to be able to throw something in and we have to be able to pick it up. If you can pick it up more times than not in a quick shootaround and come out and it makes an impact on a team, man, you’ll be a good team. You can be a very good defensive team by doing that.

“I haven’t been on many teams – obviously our championship teams did – that had that capability to pick it up on the fly and it works.”

Wins are nice, this and any time of year. Being the top-ranked unit by defensive efficiency is even sweeter. But those can be fickle, fleeting achievements if they aren’t backed up by something real. By a firm, but flexible foundation.

Fortunately, Miami has been building just that over the past couple weeks. Spoelstra has found lineups that appear to work, as far as consistently supplying defense goes. Against a solid New York team those lineups showed they could also be molded to fit the situation.

The approach to those situations might be reversed from how things were a few years ago, but this isn’t a team holding on to the past. There’s no, ‘This is how we do things, and by golly we’re going to make it work’ to this group. Spoelstra’s toolbox includes everything that’s been used against him in the past, and the team seems to be showing it can be just as malleable as its coach.
Tags
Bosh, Chris, Deng, Luol, Whiteside, Hassan, Winslow, Justise, Heat
Related Content

Excellent post. Thanks

Thank God Fisher is no longer our coach, now let's get Calderon out of here:)
mreinman
Posts: 37827
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11/25/2015  11:44 AM
yellowboy90 wrote:http://www.nba.com/heat/newsrecap/defense-many-faces

he Many-Faced Defense
The HEAT's Melo Rules Reflect A Multi-Year Evolution
Issac Baldizon
by Couper Moorhead
HEAT.com
Posted: Nov 24, 2015

Times have changed.

Once upon a first-round series, the Miami HEAT’s choices in covering Carmelo Anthony punched their ticket to the conference semifinals and, eventually, an NBA Championship. With New York’s scoring savant hitting jumper after jumper in 2012, Erik Spoelstra elected to have his defensive wings sit directly in front of Anthony in the post and force opposing guards to throw the ball over the top. As was the HEAT’s primary directive in those days, forcing a higher degree of difficulty on entry passes to a star player created turnovers, turnover fed transition, transition fed efficiency and efficiency won games.

Once enough of those turnovers came to pass with Miami’s big men swarming the back line of defense, sandwiching Anthony as he tried to make a reception, New York’s guard became reticent to even attempt the play. The offense stagnated, Anthony had to catch the ball farther and farther away from the basket, and Miami won. A few series later, Spoelstra employed the same strategy against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

What worked yesterday doesn’t always work today. Adapt or die, as they say.

Now, with much of Miami’s defensive system having undergone more than just superficial changes, the team has a different approach to Anthony. There’s still some fronting, as Dwyane Wade did last night, but the primary look was akin to what teams like Dallas and Chicago once used against Miami in the playoffs. Instead of outright denying the ball, give Anthony the catch and make him read a second defender.

There wasn’t any settling in, either. Miami went right into overloading the strong side of the floor right off the bat.

First, with Hassan Whiteside forcing a quick pass.

“[We were] just trying to get Melo to get the ball out of his hands,” Whiteside said. “He’s a great scorer. We just want to get him passing the ball.”

The next time Anthony caught the ball in the post, Whiteside was again on his way over to zone him up. Doing his part, Luol Deng – a longtime practioner of this style of defense during his time under Tom Thibodeau – angles his body to cut off the middle of the floor, forcing Anthony either to the baseline or a jumper.

“You know [your teammate] is there, so you don’t want him to hit a jumper on you,” Deng said. “My whole thing is if he drives, you have help. The whole key was to push him to the baseline.”

Anthony makes his move for the drive. Maybe he sees Whiteside, maybe he doesn’t, but a drive quickly becomes a jumper regardless.

Later in the quarter, we’re back in the same situation. Whiteside is still in the game, now defensive wunderkind Justise Winslow gets his turn at Anthony. Like Deng, Winslow angles his body so his feet and shoulders are essentially pointing North-South along the lines of the painted area. Gerald Green presses toward the left elbow. Go baseline, Miami is saying. Go baseline or go nowhere.

Anthony fakes once. Fakes twice. And on the third fake, Whiteside is there.

Revolutionary defense? This is no such thing. Miami played against this for years and plenty of other teams, including the Golden State Warriors, use the same tactics. The post-up is actually a solid counter to the overload, as opposed to attacking it face-on from the wing, because it gives the ballhandler a chance to find the opening in the defense from a good passing location.

Anthony has seen this coverage plenty, too, and he eventually recognized and reconfigured his approach. By the second quarter, as on this Bosh overload, he was finding Kristaps Porzingis.

And by the fourth quarter, those passes were being converted into points. But in between Anthony first, second and third shifts, Miami had taken control of the game with a 20-point lead.

“We talked about [the coverage] a little bit this morning [at shootaround],” Bosh said. “He’s one of the best scorers the league has ever seen. If you let him get a rhythm and give him the same look, he’s eventually going to tear it apart.

“I think we got him off balance, just for a little bit, and that bought us some time.”

Time was all Miami needed. With a sizeable lead, the HEAT threw a couple more looks at Anthony – such as Wade fronting – but generally trusted Deng and Winslow to defend him the same way Shane Battier was once trusted. Because by then Anthony was catching further from the rim.

That’s the story of one game, but Bosh mentioned the most crucial aspect to all of this. The coverage, though something Miami dabbled in the previous season, was something that was implemented that morning before the game. It was, Deng confirmed, the first time the team had tried to execute the overload this season.

Spoelstra said, in effect, ‘Let’s do this’. And the team did it, effectively.

“That’s the key, man,” Wade said. “We don’t have a lot of time to prepare for other teams, so Coach has to feel confident to be able to throw something in and we have to be able to pick it up. If you can pick it up more times than not in a quick shootaround and come out and it makes an impact on a team, man, you’ll be a good team. You can be a very good defensive team by doing that.

“I haven’t been on many teams – obviously our championship teams did – that had that capability to pick it up on the fly and it works.”

Wins are nice, this and any time of year. Being the top-ranked unit by defensive efficiency is even sweeter. But those can be fickle, fleeting achievements if they aren’t backed up by something real. By a firm, but flexible foundation.

Fortunately, Miami has been building just that over the past couple weeks. Spoelstra has found lineups that appear to work, as far as consistently supplying defense goes. Against a solid New York team those lineups showed they could also be molded to fit the situation.

The approach to those situations might be reversed from how things were a few years ago, but this isn’t a team holding on to the past. There’s no, ‘This is how we do things, and by golly we’re going to make it work’ to this group. Spoelstra’s toolbox includes everything that’s been used against him in the past, and the team seems to be showing it can be just as malleable as its coach.
Tags
Bosh, Chris, Deng, Luol, Whiteside, Hassan, Winslow, Justise, Heat
Related Content

some of those are just maddening. Especially the one where calderon is waving his hands and of course is disgusted in the end. Happen a couple of other times that game.

There was another play that calderon literally got pissed.

so here is what phil is thinking ....
GustavBahler
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11/25/2015  11:49 AM
Would rather see him using screens, employing his quick release. Less razzle dazzle.
mreinman
Posts: 37827
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11/25/2015  11:53 AM
GustavBahler wrote:Would rather see him using screens, employing his quick release. Less razzle dazzle.

The double and triple teams are great if he just used them to his advantage like finding the wide open men.

so here is what phil is thinking ....
GustavBahler
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11/25/2015  12:00 PM
mreinman wrote:
GustavBahler wrote:Would rather see him using screens, employing his quick release. Less razzle dazzle.

The double and triple teams are great if he just used them to his advantage like finding the wide open men.

I agree. We have two players now in KP and Melo who can draw double and triple teams, best to make the most it. Still want Melo to try to cut down on the wear and tear, make the most of what's left on his deal.

Knicks1969
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11/25/2015  1:25 PM
GustavBahler wrote:
mreinman wrote:
GustavBahler wrote:Would rather see him using screens, employing his quick release. Less razzle dazzle.

The double and triple teams are great if he just used them to his advantage like finding the wide open men.

I agree. We have two players now in KP and Melo who can draw double and triple teams, best to make the most it. Still want Melo to try to cut down on the wear and tear, make the most of what's left on his deal.

I have seen too much standing around by other players when Carmelo has the ball which is an issue in my opinion. I have watched the Warriors closely and the one big difference I have seen between them and other teams is constant movement by all five players until the ball goes up. Bigs are setting picks and others are rolling and looking for open spots on the floor. They copied the motion offense from the Spurs and it catapulted them to become champions. Fisher needs to copy that style and add it as rankle to the triangle

Thank God Fisher is no longer our coach, now let's get Calderon out of here:)
newyorknewyork
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11/25/2015  1:52 PM
mreinman wrote:
yellowboy90 wrote:http://www.nba.com/heat/newsrecap/defense-many-faces

he Many-Faced Defense
The HEAT's Melo Rules Reflect A Multi-Year Evolution
Issac Baldizon
by Couper Moorhead
HEAT.com
Posted: Nov 24, 2015

Times have changed.

Once upon a first-round series, the Miami HEAT’s choices in covering Carmelo Anthony punched their ticket to the conference semifinals and, eventually, an NBA Championship. With New York’s scoring savant hitting jumper after jumper in 2012, Erik Spoelstra elected to have his defensive wings sit directly in front of Anthony in the post and force opposing guards to throw the ball over the top. As was the HEAT’s primary directive in those days, forcing a higher degree of difficulty on entry passes to a star player created turnovers, turnover fed transition, transition fed efficiency and efficiency won games.

Once enough of those turnovers came to pass with Miami’s big men swarming the back line of defense, sandwiching Anthony as he tried to make a reception, New York’s guard became reticent to even attempt the play. The offense stagnated, Anthony had to catch the ball farther and farther away from the basket, and Miami won. A few series later, Spoelstra employed the same strategy against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

What worked yesterday doesn’t always work today. Adapt or die, as they say.

Now, with much of Miami’s defensive system having undergone more than just superficial changes, the team has a different approach to Anthony. There’s still some fronting, as Dwyane Wade did last night, but the primary look was akin to what teams like Dallas and Chicago once used against Miami in the playoffs. Instead of outright denying the ball, give Anthony the catch and make him read a second defender.

There wasn’t any settling in, either. Miami went right into overloading the strong side of the floor right off the bat.

First, with Hassan Whiteside forcing a quick pass.

“[We were] just trying to get Melo to get the ball out of his hands,” Whiteside said. “He’s a great scorer. We just want to get him passing the ball.”

The next time Anthony caught the ball in the post, Whiteside was again on his way over to zone him up. Doing his part, Luol Deng – a longtime practioner of this style of defense during his time under Tom Thibodeau – angles his body to cut off the middle of the floor, forcing Anthony either to the baseline or a jumper.

“You know [your teammate] is there, so you don’t want him to hit a jumper on you,” Deng said. “My whole thing is if he drives, you have help. The whole key was to push him to the baseline.”

Anthony makes his move for the drive. Maybe he sees Whiteside, maybe he doesn’t, but a drive quickly becomes a jumper regardless.

Later in the quarter, we’re back in the same situation. Whiteside is still in the game, now defensive wunderkind Justise Winslow gets his turn at Anthony. Like Deng, Winslow angles his body so his feet and shoulders are essentially pointing North-South along the lines of the painted area. Gerald Green presses toward the left elbow. Go baseline, Miami is saying. Go baseline or go nowhere.

Anthony fakes once. Fakes twice. And on the third fake, Whiteside is there.

Revolutionary defense? This is no such thing. Miami played against this for years and plenty of other teams, including the Golden State Warriors, use the same tactics. The post-up is actually a solid counter to the overload, as opposed to attacking it face-on from the wing, because it gives the ballhandler a chance to find the opening in the defense from a good passing location.

Anthony has seen this coverage plenty, too, and he eventually recognized and reconfigured his approach. By the second quarter, as on this Bosh overload, he was finding Kristaps Porzingis.

And by the fourth quarter, those passes were being converted into points. But in between Anthony first, second and third shifts, Miami had taken control of the game with a 20-point lead.

“We talked about [the coverage] a little bit this morning [at shootaround],” Bosh said. “He’s one of the best scorers the league has ever seen. If you let him get a rhythm and give him the same look, he’s eventually going to tear it apart.

“I think we got him off balance, just for a little bit, and that bought us some time.”

Time was all Miami needed. With a sizeable lead, the HEAT threw a couple more looks at Anthony – such as Wade fronting – but generally trusted Deng and Winslow to defend him the same way Shane Battier was once trusted. Because by then Anthony was catching further from the rim.

That’s the story of one game, but Bosh mentioned the most crucial aspect to all of this. The coverage, though something Miami dabbled in the previous season, was something that was implemented that morning before the game. It was, Deng confirmed, the first time the team had tried to execute the overload this season.

Spoelstra said, in effect, ‘Let’s do this’. And the team did it, effectively.

“That’s the key, man,” Wade said. “We don’t have a lot of time to prepare for other teams, so Coach has to feel confident to be able to throw something in and we have to be able to pick it up. If you can pick it up more times than not in a quick shootaround and come out and it makes an impact on a team, man, you’ll be a good team. You can be a very good defensive team by doing that.

“I haven’t been on many teams – obviously our championship teams did – that had that capability to pick it up on the fly and it works.”

Wins are nice, this and any time of year. Being the top-ranked unit by defensive efficiency is even sweeter. But those can be fickle, fleeting achievements if they aren’t backed up by something real. By a firm, but flexible foundation.

Fortunately, Miami has been building just that over the past couple weeks. Spoelstra has found lineups that appear to work, as far as consistently supplying defense goes. Against a solid New York team those lineups showed they could also be molded to fit the situation.

The approach to those situations might be reversed from how things were a few years ago, but this isn’t a team holding on to the past. There’s no, ‘This is how we do things, and by golly we’re going to make it work’ to this group. Spoelstra’s toolbox includes everything that’s been used against him in the past, and the team seems to be showing it can be just as malleable as its coach.
Tags
Bosh, Chris, Deng, Luol, Whiteside, Hassan, Winslow, Justise, Heat
Related Content

some of those are just maddening. Especially the one where calderon is waving his hands and of course is disgusted in the end. Happen a couple of other times that game.

There was another play that calderon literally got pissed.

I don't know what he was thinking during that play. The only thing I can think of was that when he saw the double coming from The 3 pt line he thought the baseline was open. Wasn't expecting the third defender to come. Other then that there is no logical explanation for that sequence as there is no way he would get a makable shot off under those circumstances. His head and eyes look at Jose's defender then he turns the other way. His head wasn't up to find Jose, might have panicked.

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newyorknewyork
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11/25/2015  1:56 PM
On the first one Lopez was the better option to pass to.

KP hitting that spot near the ft throw line seems like its there every time.

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mreinman
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11/25/2015  2:07 PM
newyorknewyork wrote:
mreinman wrote:
yellowboy90 wrote:http://www.nba.com/heat/newsrecap/defense-many-faces

he Many-Faced Defense
The HEAT's Melo Rules Reflect A Multi-Year Evolution
Issac Baldizon
by Couper Moorhead
HEAT.com
Posted: Nov 24, 2015

Times have changed.

Once upon a first-round series, the Miami HEAT’s choices in covering Carmelo Anthony punched their ticket to the conference semifinals and, eventually, an NBA Championship. With New York’s scoring savant hitting jumper after jumper in 2012, Erik Spoelstra elected to have his defensive wings sit directly in front of Anthony in the post and force opposing guards to throw the ball over the top. As was the HEAT’s primary directive in those days, forcing a higher degree of difficulty on entry passes to a star player created turnovers, turnover fed transition, transition fed efficiency and efficiency won games.

Once enough of those turnovers came to pass with Miami’s big men swarming the back line of defense, sandwiching Anthony as he tried to make a reception, New York’s guard became reticent to even attempt the play. The offense stagnated, Anthony had to catch the ball farther and farther away from the basket, and Miami won. A few series later, Spoelstra employed the same strategy against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

What worked yesterday doesn’t always work today. Adapt or die, as they say.

Now, with much of Miami’s defensive system having undergone more than just superficial changes, the team has a different approach to Anthony. There’s still some fronting, as Dwyane Wade did last night, but the primary look was akin to what teams like Dallas and Chicago once used against Miami in the playoffs. Instead of outright denying the ball, give Anthony the catch and make him read a second defender.

There wasn’t any settling in, either. Miami went right into overloading the strong side of the floor right off the bat.

First, with Hassan Whiteside forcing a quick pass.

“[We were] just trying to get Melo to get the ball out of his hands,” Whiteside said. “He’s a great scorer. We just want to get him passing the ball.”

The next time Anthony caught the ball in the post, Whiteside was again on his way over to zone him up. Doing his part, Luol Deng – a longtime practioner of this style of defense during his time under Tom Thibodeau – angles his body to cut off the middle of the floor, forcing Anthony either to the baseline or a jumper.

“You know [your teammate] is there, so you don’t want him to hit a jumper on you,” Deng said. “My whole thing is if he drives, you have help. The whole key was to push him to the baseline.”

Anthony makes his move for the drive. Maybe he sees Whiteside, maybe he doesn’t, but a drive quickly becomes a jumper regardless.

Later in the quarter, we’re back in the same situation. Whiteside is still in the game, now defensive wunderkind Justise Winslow gets his turn at Anthony. Like Deng, Winslow angles his body so his feet and shoulders are essentially pointing North-South along the lines of the painted area. Gerald Green presses toward the left elbow. Go baseline, Miami is saying. Go baseline or go nowhere.

Anthony fakes once. Fakes twice. And on the third fake, Whiteside is there.

Revolutionary defense? This is no such thing. Miami played against this for years and plenty of other teams, including the Golden State Warriors, use the same tactics. The post-up is actually a solid counter to the overload, as opposed to attacking it face-on from the wing, because it gives the ballhandler a chance to find the opening in the defense from a good passing location.

Anthony has seen this coverage plenty, too, and he eventually recognized and reconfigured his approach. By the second quarter, as on this Bosh overload, he was finding Kristaps Porzingis.

And by the fourth quarter, those passes were being converted into points. But in between Anthony first, second and third shifts, Miami had taken control of the game with a 20-point lead.

“We talked about [the coverage] a little bit this morning [at shootaround],” Bosh said. “He’s one of the best scorers the league has ever seen. If you let him get a rhythm and give him the same look, he’s eventually going to tear it apart.

“I think we got him off balance, just for a little bit, and that bought us some time.”

Time was all Miami needed. With a sizeable lead, the HEAT threw a couple more looks at Anthony – such as Wade fronting – but generally trusted Deng and Winslow to defend him the same way Shane Battier was once trusted. Because by then Anthony was catching further from the rim.

That’s the story of one game, but Bosh mentioned the most crucial aspect to all of this. The coverage, though something Miami dabbled in the previous season, was something that was implemented that morning before the game. It was, Deng confirmed, the first time the team had tried to execute the overload this season.

Spoelstra said, in effect, ‘Let’s do this’. And the team did it, effectively.

“That’s the key, man,” Wade said. “We don’t have a lot of time to prepare for other teams, so Coach has to feel confident to be able to throw something in and we have to be able to pick it up. If you can pick it up more times than not in a quick shootaround and come out and it makes an impact on a team, man, you’ll be a good team. You can be a very good defensive team by doing that.

“I haven’t been on many teams – obviously our championship teams did – that had that capability to pick it up on the fly and it works.”

Wins are nice, this and any time of year. Being the top-ranked unit by defensive efficiency is even sweeter. But those can be fickle, fleeting achievements if they aren’t backed up by something real. By a firm, but flexible foundation.

Fortunately, Miami has been building just that over the past couple weeks. Spoelstra has found lineups that appear to work, as far as consistently supplying defense goes. Against a solid New York team those lineups showed they could also be molded to fit the situation.

The approach to those situations might be reversed from how things were a few years ago, but this isn’t a team holding on to the past. There’s no, ‘This is how we do things, and by golly we’re going to make it work’ to this group. Spoelstra’s toolbox includes everything that’s been used against him in the past, and the team seems to be showing it can be just as malleable as its coach.
Tags
Bosh, Chris, Deng, Luol, Whiteside, Hassan, Winslow, Justise, Heat
Related Content

some of those are just maddening. Especially the one where calderon is waving his hands and of course is disgusted in the end. Happen a couple of other times that game.

There was another play that calderon literally got pissed.

I don't know what he was thinking during that play. The only thing I can think of was that when he saw the double coming from The 3 pt line he thought the baseline was open. Wasn't expecting the third defender to come. Other then that there is no logical explanation for that sequence as there is no way he would get a makable shot off under those circumstances. His head and eyes look at Jose's defender then he turns the other way. His head wasn't up to find Jose, might have panicked.

would be ok if this did not happen as much as it does. He either does not care that the double and triple are coming or he does not feel it. Either way, he is missing critical passes far too often and he is making the game much harder than it should be.

so here is what phil is thinking ....
yellowboy90
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11/25/2015  5:37 PM
I didn't see most of the 1st but for most of the game he was passing well. He still needs improve and pass consistently. I believe he had over 10 asrmt opp so that's good and need to be the standard
Malcolm
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11/25/2015  5:50 PM
I don't know. Sort of makes me feel for Melo a little bit. Not an easy life . . .
mreinman
Posts: 37827
Alba Posts: 1
Joined: 7/14/2010
Member: #3189

11/25/2015  6:51 PM
Malcolm wrote:I don't know. Sort of makes me feel for Melo a little bit. Not an easy life . . .

yeah ... poor guy!

so here is what phil is thinking ....
Carmelo & the double team

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