In my preview post looking at Miami’s pick and roll defense, I said that I expected to see Miami in their hard hedge/trapping style defense to start but abandon it later in the game.  I was incorrect as the Heat started in their usual defense, and played it all the way through, committing an extra defender to the ball handler on 23 of the 32 pick and rolls that the Dallas Mavericks ran during the course of the game (including 5 out of 7 pick and rolls in the 4th quarter).  Much like in their series with Chicago, the Heat made their adjustment on the backend of the pick and roll defense.  Miami was really focused on keeping the basketball out of Dirk Nowitzki’s hands (and if he did make the catch, they wanted to turn him into a playmaker rather than a scorer).  Despite Dallas performing better in the pick and roll in game one vs. the postseason (0.9374 PPP tonight vs. 0.92 playoffs PPP), it is my opinion that Dallas left scoring opportunities on the table.  The main reason why I feel this way is because Dallas (and Dirk Nowitzki especially) seemed prepared for the Heat’s defense.

When the Heat trapped the ball handler coming off of the screen, they were committing a third defender to the roll/pop man.  When it was Dirk Nowitzki, he was able to make the catch and make the right decision:

Here, Nowitzki sets a screen for Jason Terry and pops out towards the corner.  This is by design as it forces LeBron James (the third man being sent to Nowitzki) to come from the opposite corner to make sure Nowitzki doesn’t get a clean look off.  Instead of panicking, Nowitzki makes the catch, surveys the area, and spots the open man, hitting him with a pass.  In this case, it is Shawn Marion, who makes the extra pass to Jason Kidd, who hits the shot as the defense attempts to rotate back to him.

Read more…

LeBron James’ dunk with 2:47 left in the game pretty much sealed the game as it took the Heat’s lead from 7 points and stretched it out to 10 points (after the foul shot).  While it looked like just your average isolation set late in the game, showing yet another example of a coach choosing the easy way out over a set play, looking at Miami’s previous two possessions shows you how the Heat and their coaching staff were able to set up Dallas’ defense for the dunk:

The two times down the court, the Miami Heat ran the same action twice in a row, with LeBron James bringing up the basketball, handing it off (or at least trying to) to Dwyane Wade and then letting Wade work off of a pick and roll.  The Heat were actually looking to run the same action, but with the defense anticipating it, James was able to attack the rim:

As LeBron James crosses half court, he starts to take the basketball to Dwyane Wade, who is cutting towards James looking for the dribble handoff.  Which is exactly what they ran two possessions in a row now.

Read more…