The Heat’s Two Game Winning Possessions | NBA Playbook

The Heat’s Two Game Winning Possessions

Coming out of a timeout with 5:41 left in the fourth quarter, the Miami Heat trailed the Golden State Warriors by one point.  After two very nice possessions (and an empty possession from Golden State), they were winning by 4 points and they didn’t give that lead up for the rest of the game.   Both of these plays featured Dwyane Wade as the primary ball handler, which is a pretty interesting strategy.  Here is the first:

Now, it might look like a simple ISO play, but I really like it.  The Heat show a screen on one side with Udonis Haslem, take it away, and bring a screen on the opposite side with Jermaine O’Neal.  It might not look like much, but look at how the Warriors are set up to defend both screens.

twoscreens

The top shot is the screen that the Heat show and take away.  The Warriors defender is in proper position to defend the screen.  The bottom shot is from the screen that is actually set, Ronnie Turiaf is too far back to hedge out on the screen, and the result is an open step back jumper from Wade.

After the Warriors miss a three pointer, the Heat come back down the court with a one point lead.  Again, it is Dwyane Wade bringing it up.

Q3

The beauty of Dwyane Wade bringing it up is that he can build up steam.  If Wade catches the ball and comes out of triple-threat on the wing, there is a chance you can prevent him from getting into the lane.  When he brings it up with the purpose of driving the basketball, there isn’t really anything anyone can do about it.

Q31

That is what happens here.  Wade is able to go by his defender without any trouble.

Q32

And when Dwyane Wade gets into the paint, there is going to be a crowd.  That is what happens here, and as the Warriors crowd him, he kicks it out to a wide open Quentin Richardson who knocks down the three, giving Miami a 4 point lead.
03
Mar 2010
POSTED BY admin
POSTED IN 4th Quarters Golden State Warriors Miami Heat
DISCUSSION 2 Comments
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  • http://khandorssportsblog.com/wordpress khandor

    The beauty of the first play is that by faking the initial pick action with Haslem … and then slipping the pick … Miami can then use a simple, but classic mis-direct, to ensure that they get exactly what they are looking for on a crucial possession:

    i. A relatively uncontested step-back jumper from their best player; or, if that specific option is effectively denied by Golden State,

    ii. An uncontested jumper from their best mid-range shooter not named D-Wade [i.e. Udonis Haslem].

    Only 2 of the 5 Heat players on the court are reliable scorers, at this point of their respective careers, and Coach Spoelstra has them as Option 1 [i.e. "pass to the slipper"], Option 2 [i.e. "step-back J"] and Option 3 [i.e. throwback pass to “the eventual popper”, using this specific action.

    The beauty of the 2nd play is the way in which it builds on the success of the prior sequence, with the same players essentially in the same positions on the court … but flip-flopped sides, in this case … with D-Wade driving hard toward his strong hand side of the floor and adjusting to what the defense will then try the most to take away, leaving Miami with an uncontested Corner 3 from their 3rd best scorer in this 5-man unit.

    In the end, it is very simple action that generates 2 high percentage shots for the Heat.

  • tommy2tymes

    i’m loving these breakdowns of plays/sets/etc.

    keep up the good work