A Legacy in the Balance

by user BigPPup

The Miami Heat are on the ropes and looking shaky, the NBA Finals have not gone the way Pat Riley and company anticipated. Sunday night game two went down in nightmarish fashion for the Miami Heat who found themselves on the wrong side of a 99-85 showdown. Currently the Heat look own slow and at times confused on the court. Not the look you would expect from a team constructed by a coaching guru, and full of seasoned veterans.

The root of Dallas’s success has been in their backcourt. Constant ball movement and speed on the perimeter has been the Achilles heel for Miami. Dallas has been able to carve the Miami Heat defense almost at will. Jason Terry has had a coming out party in the first two games. He has exposed the Jason Williams and the once great Gary Peyton for what they are, average players. He followed his game one 32 point performance by scoring 16 and picking up 9 assist. He has been the catalyst for the Dallas offense.

Terry has pushed the tempo of the game and it has Miami rocking and reeling. When he pushes the ball up the court, he is able to find creases to snake into the paint. Once there it becomes a shooting clinic for the Mavs. Dallas is the epitome of a non-selfish team (as seen by their 29 team assist). Terry finds the holes in the D, once inside he has his pick of targets that are eager to size up for the open jump shot. Jerry Stackhouse came off the bench to go 4-5 from beyond the line. Just an example of what Dallas is capable of.

That brings us to Dallas’s other major advantage they hold over the Heat. Dallas is a fast team that is playing basketball at a blazing speed. What has made them different than other teams who have tried this in the past is the depth of the Dallas Mavericks bench. The Mavs can honestly say they go ten players deep which are difficult for a team at any level to claim. With players like Stackhouse, and Devon Harris who can come in and give the Mavs 20-30 minutes off the bench it will wear down any team especially one of Miami’s build. Miami goes maybe 7 players deep in depth and you must remember one of those bench players is Alonzo Mourning who is more a liability in this series than a help.

Dallas has used its versatility and depth to dismantle the Heat. They have found a way to play small ball, while still remaining big in the middle. Watching the Mavs they are playing basically with three to four guards at any time on the court. The difference maker is one of their guards is the 7-foot German. This becomes key for their defensive match ups. Dallas uses their speed, and athleticism to master the NBA version of the Zone defense. Eric Dampier and DeSagana Diop have been the staples in the middle against Shaq. Dallas then accompanies those two with whoever is close by and swarms the Diesel. When the help side defense is able to come from 7 footer in Dirk Nowitzki it makes for a solid rotation. The Dallas Defense has made Shaq very uncomfortable. He is having difficulty finding his spots on the floor, and being able to hold them long enough for the entry pass to reach him. If Shaq gets the pass there are so many bodies around him so quickly that it’s difficult for him to maintain position without generating an offensive foul. This is an odd situation watching Shaq struggle and appear uncomfortable on the court.

The Dallas swarming style of defense has also worked on Heat guard Dwayne Wade. Dallas is playing a loose zone that has frustrated Wade by keeping him from doing what he does best in attacking the paint. The Mavs let their intent be known they are going to swarm Wade with bodies and not give him the opportunity to get to the paint. That’s where he does the bulk of his damage, but either converting insanely difficult shots, or getting to the free throw line. By keeping him from the paint the Mavs are forcing Wade to rely on the one weak area of his game, his jump shot.

The small ball Dallas Mavericks while tough and swarming on defense, they are death to the Miami defense. Shaq and Zo are lost when guarding the likes of Van Horn, and Nowitzki. While Dallas has mastered the zone defense Miami is struggling adapting to running variations of it. The Heat need to run a zone to protect their big men by hiding them out in the back of the paint, and keeping them from picking up cheap fouls on the outside, or guarding faster jump shooters.

Dallas’s athleticism has wreaked havoc on the Miami Heat. Perhaps in constructing this team, Pat Riley was a bit too short sited. The current Miami Heat team was put together to defeat last years Detroit Pistons. A group of seasoned veterans who can come together play tough half court defense, and create offense based on a half court set. Well Mr. Riley forgot to prepare for any team in the Western Conference. Dallas just happens to survive the gauntlet that is the West to get the right to play the Heat. The results would have been the same for Miami no matter who they played though. San Antonio is built in near the same mold as Dallas. Ginobili and Parker would have run the Heat back court out the building, while Tim Duncan is a match up problem for Shaq. Had it been the Phoenix Suns, the series would be interesting, but Miami could not have kept up. Steve Nash and company would have run a track meet on the Heat.

With the series shifting back to Miami for a three game set, the Heat have a daunting task ahead of them. Only two teams have come back from a 2-0 deficit. Miami needs to shift the focus of their attack. They have to find a way to get Wade some open shots and looks from inside the paint. They also need to step up their perimeter defense. Pat Riley is often thought of as a coaching guru, now its time for him to step up and prove it. It’s been a long time since Riley has had post season success, in many ways his legacy is on the line with the performance of his team in this series. He needs to make the necessary adjustments not. Not just to save his team, but to save his legacy.

Date

Mon 06/12/06, 8:14 am EST