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.

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.

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.

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

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.