The Blueprint: How to beat the Heat

This article should/could also be known as a long-time basketball junkie’s guide on how three teams have beaten the Miami Heat so far.

Solid point playThe Heat have shown time and again that their defense is anchored not on a solid big man but on the rotating, aggressive defenses of their perimeter guys namely LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. In the games that they have won, the Heat did it by forcing opponents into a slew of turnovers which resulted in fastbreak opportunities. In their three losses, they were unable to break into transition—the losses being against New Orleans, Boston and Utah.

In case you missed it, all three losses came at the hands of teams with great discipline/ top-tier point guards (NO – Chris Paul, Boston – Rajon Rondo, Utah – Deron Williams). It’s as simple as opposing teams not panicking whenever James or Wade suddenly decides to pressure the ball handler and freelance on defense. Paul, Rondo and Williams were all able to keep their wits and find the open man (usually their frontline guys) or, if anything, hold onto the ball long enough to create a shot for themselves.

Big man woesThis is where Chris Bosh weaknesses are being highlighted for all to see. For all the reports of Bosh being “Miami’s answer to Pau Gasol,” people tend to forget one simple fact: Gasol led the Memphis Grizzlies into the playoffs with Mike Miller as his best teammate in a crowded Western Conference (with Tim, KG, Kobe and Dirk all in their primes). Bosh couldn’t even get out of the first round against the (L)Eastern Conference despite having solid, Euro-star teammates.

Bosh has been so bad, that not only is he taking more than 15 shots a game and making only 4 or 5, but is also grabbing a dismal amount of rebounds (he has yet to crack at least 12 rebounds in back to back games). People made so much out of Bosh’ recent off-court talks with James, but maybe someone should tell him that this team doesn’t really need him to score, but to be the anchor on defense much like Kevin Garnett is for the Celtics.

At present, Canadian shotblocker Joel Anthony is the token defensive anchor—an undersized, slow footed big who fights and scraps on defense, but is a lock to fumble the ball on offense. If Bosh were to be more assertive and aggressive in the paint, then the Miami Heat would almost certainly be a much  more versatile and well-rounded, championship caliber team.

Isolation OffenseOkay, Eric Spoelstra has been spoiled since he took over from Heat team president Pat Riley on the offensive end. While his defensive preachings mirror that of his mentor, Spoelstra remains a few notches lower than ex-Riley prodigee and Florida rival Stan Van Gundy as far as opening the offensive playbook is concerned.

Giving credit where it’s due, Spoelstra has learned how to properly rotate his men (by always having one of the “Big Three” on the floor at all times—either James with the second unit, or Wade and Bosh together).

But on offense, James might as well have ex-Cavaliers coach Mike Brown back on his side.

The pick and roll that everyone’s been fantasizing about with any pair of Bosh, Wade and James hasn’t been fully utilized, even Wade’s patented PNR play with Udonis Haslem has almost been forgotten. The only reason the Heat are scoring as much as they can is by the sheer greatness of both Wade and James, and nothing more.

Right now, I wouldn’t put all my money on the Heat to dislodge the Lakers or even the Celtics to win the title. They’re a notch higher than Orlando, but still not on the same plateau as the league’s top two teams/ storied rivals.

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