NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 647 The Heat's Zone Defense

Zone defense is best suited to counter teams with strong three-point penetration skills, such as the Bucks.

"Teacher Su, why is the Heat using a zone defense against the Clippers?" Wang Zixing asked.

"The Heat's zone defense isn't because the Clippers' three-point shooting is bad; it's just a last resort. Their starting lineup's individual defense is weak, and the Clippers have two stars. Jimmy Butler can only guard one, so who can guard the other? Besides, Duncan Robinson's defense isn't good, so you have to hide him. Dragic's defense is also average. Using a zone defense can make up for these weaknesses," Su Qun explained.

Jia Fei had the ball and, facing a zone defense, chose to drive to find a teammate for a three-pointer.

The Heat's zone defense is highly coordinated, and even with the Clippers' excellent offensive spacing, it's still difficult for them to find open shots through simple ball movement.

Gallinari's three-point attempt missed!

Reba protected the backcourt rebound and handed it to Zhuaji to bring the ball up the court.

Duncan Robinson kept running off the ball using screens, and Jia Fei had a hard time defending him.

It's "Duncan" and "Robinson" again, but in reality, this guy isn't an inside player; he's an undrafted white shooter.

Duncan Robinson's physical attributes are quite average, and being white, he would have had a very difficult time surviving in this league full of athleticism if it weren't for his excellent shooting. The Heat started him to solve their offensive spacing problem; otherwise, the team's offensive spacing would be a serious issue, especially since their core player, Jimmy Butler, isn't good at shooting threes, and their other core player, Adebayo, almost never shoots threes. And Jae Crowder's three-point shooting isn't all that impressive either.

In today's small-ball league, the Heat, a team lacking a strong inside offense, will perform very poorly on offense if they also lack consistent outside shooting ability.

However, many sharpshooters in this league are not good defenders, such as Korver, Duncan Robinson, and Joe Harper. Therefore, team defense is needed to support them.

The Heat moved the ball around a lot. Here, Adebayo received the ball near the paint after a pick-and-roll, but his mid-range jump shot missed!

Paul George secured the rebound, dribbled the ball up the court, faced JB, and made a series of smooth dribbles before cutting in and attacking the basket. However, he was interfered with by Adebayo who came over to help defend – and missed!

Jia Fei's putback attempt was disrupted by Dilraba, but he didn't succeed!

Crowder used his strong physique to hold his position, allowing JB to grab the defensive rebound.

Abramovich is a representative of small-ball centers in the league. He has a certain ability to protect the rim and rebound, is good at switching and helping on defense, is physically strong and durable, has a certain ability to handle the ball and score one-on-one, and has a mid-range shot.

If Anthony Davis can be considered a "flagship" small-ball center, then Adebayo can be considered a "luxury" center.

The Clippers certainly need this type of small-ball center. Although Olynyk can shoot threes and has some playmaking ability, his other abilities are indeed too mediocre, which is a weakness of the Clippers.

However, this league itself does not have perfect teams. If every position is top-of-the-line, other teams will not be able to compete, and the main problem is that your salary cap space will not be able to handle it.

The Clippers already have the strongest wing duo in the league in terms of both offense and defense, and their perimeter defense is also the best in the league. If they can also make their interior defense the top 3 in the league, then no one else will have a chance.

The NBA has a salary cap, so top teams can't expand at will, which helps maintain fairness to some extent. Of course, this is only relative; otherwise, the Lakers and Celtics wouldn't have so many championships. You don't really think the Lakers and Celtics have always had great draft picks, do you?

The Heat were on offense. After a drive to the basket, Dwight Howard passed to JB, who was following up on the other side. JB drew a foul under the basket!

JB will go to the free throw line.

The internet has always said that Harden is the MVP of flopping, but in fact, JB and DeRozan are also quite skilled at flopping. It's just that Harden's reputation in this area is so great that people overlook the existence of these two flopping masters.

People tend to remember the first, but don't pay much attention to the second or third. For example, the world's highest peak is Mount Everest, but what is the second highest? The world's largest ocean is the Pacific Ocean, but what is the second largest? The world's largest country is Russia, but what is the second largest?

The same applies to the NBA. The highest single-game score in the NBA is Zhang Liangwan's 100 points, so who is third? The NBA player with the most traveling violations on layups is Running Man, so who are second and third? The NBA player with the longest penis is Ibaka, so who are second and third?

and so on...

JB made both free throws, giving the Heat a 4-0 lead!

The Clippers were on offense, with continuous passing from the perimeter, but a turnover occurred on this play!

The Heat's zone defense is very well coordinated, and many people overlook the team's teamwork and resilience. It's worth noting that this team defeated the Bucks, who were first in the Eastern Conference in the regular season, and the Celtics, who were third. They are definitely not a team that can be defeated easily.

Jia Fei was mentally prepared; if the Heat were really that easy to beat, then this team wouldn't have even made it to the Finals.

But the Heat are not necessarily stronger than the Nuggets. The Heat's strength lies in their resilience, which is like chewing gum – tough, not inedible.

The Heat were on offense, and JB got caught out by Beverley, drawing a foul from him!

Beverley is really annoyed. It's been three consecutive series. In the Western Conference Semifinals against the Rockets, he was outplayed by Westbrook. In the Western Conference Finals, he was outplayed by Murray. He thought things would be better against Dwight Howard in the Finals, but JB kept targeting him and outplaying him. It's killing him!

After a few more possessions, the Clippers struggled to find their rhythm and score, while the Heat played patiently, constantly using pick-and-rolls and off-ball movement to exploit the Clippers' defensive weaknesses. With Crowder hitting a three-pointer from the corner, the Heat went on a dream 9-0 run, forcing the Clippers to call a timeout!

The Clippers have paused play!

"Mr. Su, the Clippers have been down 9-0. What adjustments do you think they need to make?" Wang Zixing asked.

Su Qun adjusted his glasses and said, "The Clippers can't just keep shooting threes from the outside. Obviously, the opponent's zone defense is very good, and there aren't enough open threes. Plus, they're a bit too tight, which makes the players' three-point shooting percentage poor. The Clippers rested too much, which is a problem. I knew they might start slowly, but I didn't expect the opponent's pre-game preparation to be so thorough. I think they should increase their playmaking around the free-throw line, play more patiently, and not necessarily shoot threes. They could play some passing and cutting, and they could also try to play inside."

After the timeout, the game resumed.

Jia Fei dribbled the ball across half-court, and Zhuaji went to take his place as the primary defender. Zhuaji was obviously not the main defender; the Heat were playing a zone defense, so if Jia Fei broke through, other Heat players would immediately come to help defend.