lcionline Chapter 646 Former Heat Players Are Not Working Well
Chapter 646 Former Heat Players Are Not Working Well
The jump ball begins, and Adebayo jumps heavily. Olynyk has already given up, and the Heat gain possession of the ball on the first offensive possession.
Dragic dribbles the ball across half-court.
While Joel is not a superstar, the fact that he can still be a starter on a championship-contending team at his age speaks volumes about his ability. Many people look down on him, thinking that the Suns were short-sighted to develop him as Nash's successor. But while he wasn't Nash's successor, he wasn't entirely without merit either.
The Heat's offense is highly team-oriented, with various screens, handoffs, off-ball movement, and seamless ball movement. Many people praise Jimmy Butler, but as good as he is, without the Heat's system, he couldn't have achieved this level of performance.
Although the Heat play with a big man and four small men, their offensive spacing isn't that explosive. Apart from Duncan Robinson being a shooter, Adebayo lacks three-point ability, JB can be left open for threes, and Dwight Howard's three-pointers are not consistent. This makes the team's offensive spacing actually inferior to the Clippers and the Rockets.
JB is still very impressive. His ball-handling ability is not as good as Running Man or Jia Fei, but it is much stronger than that of the average star wing player. Moreover, he plays very smartly and makes excellent use of mismatches.
Everyone says he's tough, the toughest man ever, but in reality, he doesn't always go toe-to-toe with those defensive stalwarts. He's more about decisively exploiting mismatches, having a very high success rate when picking on weaker opponents, and using various fakes and flopping to draw fouls. He's tough when he needs to be. People tend to have selective memories of him; in fact, he's had his share of impressive plays, but most people only remember his highlight moments.
But it has to be said that JB is truly inspiring. It's incredibly difficult for a late first-round draft pick to reach this level. He's already 31 years old and still continuously improving; the training he puts in behind the scenes is unimaginable for most people. His temperament really fits the Heat's team culture, which is known for its intense training regimen. So, you'd better not choose players who leave the Heat. It's not that their performance starts to decline due to increased injuries; think about it: after being pushed to their limits by the Heat's grueling training, even someone with exceptional physical abilities like a running man suffered injuries. How could an average person sustain that level of performance? Moreover, these low-draft picks have very little potential left; their time with the Heat was their peak.
Therefore, the former players of the Heat are not as good as the former players of the Rockets. Just like stocks, the former players of the Heat are like those who bought at the top, while the former players of the Rockets may be like those who bought at the bottom.
That's why players from the Heat become "fraudsters"—because you bought in at a high price, while the main players had already sold off, and you were still thinking about pushing the price up. It would be a disservice to the main players' reputation as scythes if you didn't harvest these韭菜 (a metaphor for retail investors) (a term used to describe retail investors who exploit others).
This also explains the logic behind many unspoken rules in the league: Are the Spurs' assistant coaches good? Budenholzer's championship ring and Coach of the Year title are the best proof; Are former Rockets players good? Birdie and Little Cannon have something to say; Are the Thunder's rookies good? Jia Fei, the Thunder's Big Three, Reggie Jackson, and others have something to say…
It's well known that the former players of the Spurs and Heat are no longer up to par; their potential has been completely exhausted. In comparison, the former Spurs players are still decent. It doesn't matter if they lack potential; they are capable of contributing immediately. Moreover, their playing style is more team-oriented, which is thanks to Popovich. He advocates for team basketball and rationally manages players' playing time.
The Heat's JB immediately exploited a mismatch against Beverley, using his height advantage to step into the paint and score with a floater, giving his team the first two points!
Although Beverley is brave and has a strong biting ability, he is only 185cm tall. He is really powerless to defend some wings. They just overpower you. If you use a little force, you will be fouled. If you don't use force, they will shoot over your head. You have no chance.
Beverley dribbled the ball over and passed it to Jia Fei.
To the Clippers' surprise, the Heat immediately set up a zone defense.
This zone defense is somewhat like a "3-2" and somewhat like a "2-3," and it's not fixed. The main reason for not sticking to the FIBA-style 2-3 zone defense is that, firstly, the NBA has a defensive three-second rule, so Adebayo can't stay under the basket to protect the rim all the time; secondly, the Clippers' five-outside lineup spreads out very quickly, making it easy for the wings to leave open three-pointers when defending a 2-3 defense.
This isn't the first time the Heat have used a zone defense. Their ability to get past the Bucks and Celtics in the playoffs this season was largely due to this zone defense.
Zone defense, as the name suggests, is a joint defensive strategy. It includes positional zone defense and man-to-man zone defense. When combined with man-to-man marking, it can also be transformed into mixed defense. The biggest difference between zone defense and man-to-man marking is that man-to-man marking aims to stop a player, while zone defense aims to stop the ball. Integrating zone defense and man-to-man marking creates a more collective approach than man-to-man marking, while zone defense is more targeted and specific.
依据防守队员的站位形式，常把区域联防分为2-1-2联防、2-3联防、3-2联防、1-3-1联防及对位联防等几种。
Zone defense is not uncommon in the NBA nowadays. Many teams will use zone defense at certain times during the game. The significance of zone defense is that it can prevent opponents from frequently overpowering you due to insufficient individual defensive ability, as is the case with man-to-man defense. It can make the team's defense work together to limit the opponent's breakthrough.
The reason why the three-second rule is not used as much in the NBA as it is in FIBA games is mainly because the NBA has a defensive three-second rule, the courts are larger, and the star players have stronger individual abilities, making it less effective in implementation than in FIBA games.
The Heat's preference for zone defense stems primarily from their starting lineup's generally poor one-on-one defense, lack of a strong defensive leader, and a lack of a dominant center. Their zone defense is renowned for its excellent teamwork and close coordination.
In this respect, the Heat's discipline is evident, and Coach Spoelstra deserves much credit for it. Many people have always thought he was just average, having relied on the Big Three back then. But now, he has led this team without a top-tier superstar to the Finals, proving his ability. If he can lead a team to a championship, then whether Jimmy Butler can achieve legendary status, he can too.
Zone defense has its advantages and disadvantages, but it's not perfect. If it were perfect, all NBA teams would be using zone defense, but in reality, most teams still use traditional man-to-man defense.
Breaking a zone defense requires teamwork; relying on individual efforts is likely to be a thankless task.
Two key weapons for breaking a zone defense are the support play near the free-throw line and the three-point shot.
Because it's zone defense, players stay within their designated zones, meaning defenders don't closely follow attackers. If a player makes a breakthrough or the ball is quickly moved, the defender can't immediately close in, creating a three-point opportunity.