Despite missing a key cog last night, Chicago put up quite the fight against Miami. Barring injury, these are the two teams many expect to battle it out in the Eastern Conference Finals once again. With the two teams meeting three more before the playoffs, every regular season tilt, even minus a player like Deng, still helps each team experiment with new ways to slow down an opponent they are becoming more and more familiar with.

In yesterday’s match up, the latest twist in strategy came with Tom Thibodeau deployed a zone for a handful of possession starting in the middle of the first quarter. While this move was most likely meant to help Derrick Rose avoid picking up a debilitating third foul, it could be tool the Bulls use again come playoff time. The question of whether or not they use it is something that remains to be seen, but both teams now have the tape to assess whether not it will be effective and to what degree.

Before diving into the film, it’s important to review what exactly a zone does to opponent’s game preparation. Depending on its effectiveness, a scheme change like a zone can take anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes of a given practice, walk-through and/or film session to countering it. That doesn’t seem like much. But remember, in a lockout-afflicted season teams (like the Heat) have precious little practice time to perfect their own schemes, let alone react to another team’s.

If a team consistently struggles against a certain scheme then that 10-40 minutes can blow up to over 3-5 hours of practice/film/walk-throughs over the duration of a playoff series (assuming that coach wants his team to be prepared). That is time a team could spend refining their own concepts, adding new wrinkles or simply use to let their players rest their worn-down bodies. With that logic, it seems like the perfect idea for the Bulls to trot out even a marginally effective zone against the Heat, right?

When looking at the numbers, it would appear to be a no-brainer. By unofficial count, the Bulls limited Miami to 5 points over 6 possessions (0.83 PPP). Obviously, six possessions is a ridiculously small sample size. That is where the film comes into play and when looking at that, the answer becomes much less clear.

The first time we see the zone is off a sideline out-of-bounds with 3:03 left in the first quarter. LeBron James enters the ball into Mario Chalmers who quickly swings the ball to Shane Battier on the left wing. Battier reverses the ball back to Chalmers then (perhaps unintentionally) cuts along the baseline with Udonis Haslem back to the strongside of the floor.

As James’ catches on the right wing, Ronnie Brewer drops to defend both cutters, giving up a gap in the zone. LeBron, employing a basic tenant of attacking zones, punches that gap with his dribble, flattening out the defense and forcing two defenders to the ball. On the collapse, James executes a brilliant hook pass to Chalmers spotting up on the weakside wing. The result is a semi-contested 3-pointer (Chalmers could have easily used a shot-fake, one-dribble pull up attack for a cleaner look, however).

Here is the video:

On the surface, it looks as if the Bulls forced a tough shot, but in all reality Chalmers just didn’t exploit a long closeout by Hamilton efficiently enough. The next clip is a bit of a mirage as well.

Norris Cole ends up setting a screen inside the top on ball defender (Rose). James uses the ball screen to pull Hamilton high toward him. Seeing Haslem flashing middle, James threads a pass through the gap. However, Haslem doesn’t hold his position long enough and looks to change space, leaving James’ pass to find only Joakim Noah.

Even though this lead to a run out and layup for Chicago, Miami was in a great position had Haslem just used a bit more patience. In the following picture, you’ll see that if Haslem catches the ball in that spot, the Bulls defense is extremely vulnerable. Not only does he have the space to immediately shoot a foul line jumper, but Haslem can look to go high-low with Eddy Curry (if Noah rotates up) or find Shane Battier (if Boozer rotates) hunting space either behind the defense or cutting up to the opposite wing.

Upon further inspection, this turnover is an easily correctable mistake. Perhaps this concept and alignment will be something that Spolestra uses should the Bulls zone them again.

The other things zones are notorious for giving up our offensive rebounds. In one possession, the Bulls actually gave up two offensive rebounds and only escaped due to a botched putback attempt by Haslem. In the following clip, a freeze-frame highlights a blockout dilemma for Kyle Korver.

With Noah and Carlos Boozer moving to contest a shot from the corner, Korver is left to try to fend off two Heat players (Battier and Mike Miller) coming in from the weakside for the rebound. Korver chooses to throw his body in front of the hard-charging Miller, which opens up a gap for Haslem (left unimpeded by Rose) to sneak in for the third shot attempt. Haslem misses a great chance, but this possession highlights the rebounding problems zones bring.

With two more match-ups on the docket in the regular season, it will be interesting to see how much (if any) zone is used by Chicago. Perhaps last night was a one-time thing centered around a need to protect Rose given his foul trouble. Or perhaps it was a chance for Thibodeau to see if a zone has a chance to slow down the Heat come playoff time. Either way, this chess match will be fun to watch.

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During Wednesday night’s game against the visiting Timberwolves, the Dallas Mavericks received their much-anticipated championship rings for the 2011 season. You don’t often see teams on Ring Night mirror those of the previous season, change always happens. With these 2012 Dallas Mavericks, change is certainly noticeable when looking over at the bench.

Gone is Tyson Chandler, who has taken his talents to the Big Apple this season to try to do for Carmelo Anthony what he did for Dirk Nowitzki. Just to give you an idea of how good Chandler was for the Mavs last year, Chandler finished in the top 1% of overall defense. That is a stat that is sure to make any club much better. Dallas finished last year with a .928 Points-Per-Possession, good enough for eighth in the NBA, according to Synergy Sports. Now, I don’t need to break down all the ways in which Chandler was a major asset to the Mavs, Sebastian Pruiti already did so over on Grantland.com.

The surprising turn of events has been that the Mavericks have been able to reproduce the success defensively this season that they showed last year, only minus Chandler. They are currently forth in the NBA in overall defense, coming in to today with a fantastic .859 PPP. Last season, back-up big men Ian Mahinmi played a small role on the team, accounting for only 12% of total minutes according to 82games.com. This year with Chandler gone, Mahinmi is now getting more minutes, his percentage playing time all the way up to 41%. So far, he has used his 6’11 frame to help contribute on his end to fill the shoes of Chandler.

Late in the game on Wednesday night, a game in which Rubio and the Timberwolves attacked the rim and got to the free throw line 33 times, they tried to again get to the paint create havoc. In this play, Mahinmi is going to hedge hard on Rubio, almost like a soft-double team, not worrying about the pick and pop from Pekovic.

Mahinmi is able to use his feet well and deter Rubio from thinking of a three-point attempt, then recovers to his man on the roll.

Finally, Mahinmi finishes the job with rolling onto his man, closing off any passing lane Rubio may have towards Pekovic, and contesting any shot that may come from Rubio. The play ends with a turnover as Rubio gets stuck underneath.

Brenden Haywood has also proved to be more than capable in the starting center role, starting every game so far this season. Haywood has always been known for his post-up defense, using his size and strength to keep opposing pivots as far away from the block as possible. A big reason why Dallas is second in the NBA in points in the paint defensively is because of him. 

Here, Haywood uses his strength to move Emeka Okafor off the block just enough that Okafor has to reach for the entry pass, causing Okafor to be off-balance. What Haywood is trying to do is stay body-to-body, letting his strength do the work and if need be, his length to go up and contest the shot or block it.

After letting Okafor try to back his way in deep, Haywood knows that if Okafor goes in either direction, he’s got him. He knows that each way Emeka turns, he’ll already have position on him and be able to make the shot a difficult one.

Haywood gets the block on Okafor that was set up by his being low, staying wide and using his length.

Most Dallas fans knew replacing Chandler wasn’t going to be easy. Until Wednesday night, the Mavs have made it seem so by holding opponents under 100 points for 15 consecutive games, a franchise record. Thanks to both Haywood and Mahinmi men, the Mavs are also currently ranked fourth in opponent FG%. With Dirk out of the line-up for the next week or so, the offense will have to pick up, but the defense is still the key if there is to be another ring ceremony.

Here is a look at the defensive schemes Miami put in place to soundly defeat L.A.

Torrid. Unconscious. Hot. All words that could be used to describe the Heat’s shooting performance in against the Spurs last night. Miami rained down hellfire from everywhere on the court to the tune of a 71-35 second half throttling that left San Antonio shell-shocked. However, lost in that offensive eruption was another sterling effort by the Heat defense.

Perhaps embarrassed by allowing 63 points in the first half, Miami put on a defensive display in the third quarter that, in combination with their torrid shooting, engineered a 27 point swing. In a period very similar to one we wrote on a few weeks back, they allowed a mere 12 points and forced a gaggle of turnovers. As we’ll soon see, the Heat had stretches where they made it difficult for the Spurs to even get a shot off, much less make one.

In perhaps an ominous start, the very first possession of the quarter ends in a turnover. Tony Parker runs off a double stagger set by DeJuan Blair and Richard Jefferson. As Parker curls, Chris Bosh is forced to show high to contest a quick mid-range shot, this leaves Blair open momentarily. Before Parker can deliver the pass, not one, but two Heat defenders rotate onto Blair and end up tipping the ball back to Bosh for a steal.

Just a few trips later, a poor pass from LeBron leads to a quick run-out by San Antonio. Parker pushes hard but is cut off and forced to dribble back outside the arc in a great effort by Bosh. However, due to the quick transition push, Bosh is forced to stay matched up with Parker. The first thing you’ll notice is the subtle positioning of Mario Chalmers on the play.

Chalmers basically switches assignments with Bosh and covers one of the bigs (Blair first, then Tim Duncan). Due to Blair/Duncan’s inability to stretch the floor from 3, Chalmers slides across the paint and sits in help on the strongside block, discouraging Parker from attacking Bosh on the isolated side of the floor. Parker is forced to try and reverse the ball only to receive it back and try to take on Bosh near the end of the shot clock. The result is a contested long-two that draws only back iron.

The next play is an absolutely perfect rotation by Miami on a dangerous screening action involving Gary Neal. Neal receives screens from both Duncan and Blair along the baseline as he heads toward the ballside corner. Whether due to great scouting or great focus (or a combination of both), the Heat shut this play down without a hitch.

Anthony, guarding Duncan, kicks out to the corner to contest Neal’s shot attempt while his defender, James Jones, fights through the screens. Bosh, guarding Blair on the opposite block, rushes over to defend Duncan and take away a quick dump-in and finish. James then crashes down hard on Blair while Chalmers fills the middle of the paint as the shot goes up. Due to a bad miss, the ball bounces long and the Spurs get the offensive rebound, but it doesn’t take away from a perfectly executed defensive rotation.

With Miami fully engaged on the defensive end of the floor, the beginning turning up the heat on the Spurs (bad pun intended). At this point, San Antonio is still clinging to a four point lead as Duncan hits Parker with a pass on the right wing. He chases his pass with a ball screen that Anthony and Chalmers string out. Chalmers does a great job of getting his hands on an attempted throw back pass.
That deflection leaves rookie Kawhi Leonard with the ball 35 feet from the basket with only seven seconds left on the shot clock. Leonard passes to Blair who forces up a wild shot that doesn’t draw iron (thus being a shot-clock violation), but due to an error on the reset, the Spurs get the ball back after an ensuing scramble with the shot clock at 2.7 seconds. The result ends up being same the same as Miami forces Neal into a wild floater that hits nothing but backboard. Here is the play:

A few possessions after that excellent defensive stand, James nails a 3 that put Miami ahead 69-68, a lead they would never relinquish. In the next video, you’ll see that three out of the next five San Antonio possessions ended in turnovers. An Anthony steal, a Jones steal and finally, a flustered Duncan simply throws the ball away on a simple reversal pass. The Spurs body language walking back toward the bench at the timeout says it all.

The Heat’s offensive fireworks will get all the headlines today, but it is important to note that it was the defensive effort that got things started. Unlike last night’s shooting bonanza, Miami’s defensive performance is repeatable. After all, this isn’t the only time this season they have thoroughly dismantled a team on that end of the floor. So while Miami currently sits at seventh in Hollinger’s defensive efficiency rankings, it is quarters like the third last night that frighten rival GMs and coaches around the league most. Wade or no Wade, if Miami can bring this type of sustained effort on the defensive end on a consistent basis, the Larry O’Brien trophy will be taking its talents to South Beach this June.

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Here’s a look at what the Grizzlies game showed us about the improving Knicks defense.

LeBron and the Heat’s gaudy offensive numbers may get all the headlines, but the Heat defense is beginning to operate with devastating efficiency. Even without Dwyane Wade, the Heat, thanks to their defense, still had no problems defeating one of the East’s better teams at home last night. While this season’s Pacers aren’t exactly the second-coming of the 2005 Suns, the real story of the previous night’s tilt was how Miami’s D simply dismantled the Pacers’ offense in the second quarter.

Much of the Heat’s defensive success is attributed to their athleticism, as it should be given Wade and James are two of the most athletic players in the league. Mario Chalmers and Chris Bosh certainly rank near the top of that category for their respective positions as well. However, not enough credit is given to the intelligence, activity and grit the rest of this current Heat roster shows, especially with Shane Battier on board and Udonis Haslem healthy. That combination, under the guidance of head coach Erik Spoelstra, should have the Heat challenging for the title of “Best Defensive Team” come year’s end. While taking a look at last night’s second quarter, we’ll see they are well on their way.

With James on the bench to start the quarter, the Miami has a lineup of Bosh, Haslem, Battier, Jones, and rookie Norris Cole on the floor. The first play we’ll see starts with a high, flat ball screen between George Hill and Tyler Hansbrough. The Heat defend it by corralling (basically a soft trap-like action) Hill with the screener’s defender (Haslem) and the on-ball defender (Cole).

Behind the play, Bosh rotates off Lou Amundson and picks up Hansbrough as he slides toward the paint after screening. The other two Heat defenders of the floor (Battier and James Jones) zone up on the three Pacers on the weakside (Battier dropping low on Amundson in the short corner to prevent an easy look at the rim with Jones playing between two Pacers spotting up on the perimeter).

Hill looks to defeat the trap by passing over the top of it to Hansbrough. Thanks to Bosh’s quick rotation, Hansbrough can’t make an immediate attack on the rim and instead looks to move the ball opposite. Jones, playing the role of free safety to perfection, positions himself between his two offensive threats and denies an obvious passing lane. Battier sits on Amundson near the block until Haslem, switching assignments with Bosh, who was originally guarding Amundson, recovers back to him.

The end result of all this defensive activity is the ball being forced back out top and the Pacers essentially having to restart their offense with nine seconds on the shot clock. After a deflection on a skip toward the weakside, Shane Battier’s on-ball defense results in a travel from Lance Stephenson. After all that exhaustive mental imagery, here is a visual of the play:

The next clip is perhaps the Heat’s finest defensive possession of the game. For starters, both Battier and Cole do an impressive job guarding the ball. Battier recovers nicely through a ballscreen while Cole takes away a middle penetration on a difficult closeout against Hill filling behind the Amundson’s roll toward the hoop.

The final thing to notice is Haslem’s activity on the play. On the second pick and roll, he rotates across the lane to pick up the dive man (Amundson) then sprints back across the court to get into a position to contain dribble penetration off a third Pacer ballscreen. Battier finishes off the play by switching onto the roll man (David West) and forcing him into a tough, contested shot. Here is the video:

While not every Heat defensive possession was executed that well, they were certainly of high quality. Here is a brief three edit reel of three other top notch Miami defensive stands in the second quarter that all resulted in turnovers:

In the end, Indiana ended the quarter with only three more points than turnovers (12 to 9) and mustered only one made field goal (a Louis Amundson dunk on a late rotation by Heat rookie Norris Cole). It was perhaps the final play of the quarter that added an exclamation point to their dominating, 12-minute performance. Check it out:

Watch out NBA. It looks like the new-fangled Heat offense isn’t the only thing you need to worry about in 2012.

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For those that don’t know, I’m originally from Kansas in a small town called Parsons. Home to Detroit Lions back-up QB Shaun Hill, my favorite college basketball coach Bill Guthridge, and actress ZaSu Pitts.  Now, I know what you’re thinking, who in the hell is ZaSu Pitts and is she also in that new movie New Year’s Eve with the rest of Hollywood?  Who is ZaSu you ask?  This is who .

She was a good actress that added value to the movies she was in. She brought her strength, comedy, to every one. She knew her role and played it well. Not many remember her name they way they do other stars of her era and let’s face it, they really shouldn’t.

So why am I brining up ZaSu Pitts in a post about basketball? For two reasons; first because Mario Chalmers is the ZaSu Pitts of the Miami Heat and second, well, because I can. Just like Pitts, Chalmers will never be confused with someone who wins a “Best Actor/Actress” award, but can certainly play a role in a great cinematic adventure and play it well. Chalmers as a player is like Pitts as an actress, he brings exactly what the Heat need from him; defense. On a team stacked with headlining talent in the form of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, Chalmers’ defense on-ball and ability to help Miami transition quickly from a defense stop to an offensive attack leads to even more easy points for a team that already has a leg up in the scoring department.

Last season, Chalmers finished in the top 40 in steals among guards. Much of this can be attributed to great hand-eye coordination and a desire to attack lazy passes with unmatched vigor. He seems to get his hands on passes he shouldn’t, resulting in an abundance of deflected passes, something he may well be leading the league in this season. Take a look at his at the video below to see Mario show off his ball-hawking skills.

What’s similar about all three clips above is that as soon as the ball is deflected or turned over, it’s immediately pushed up court, something that Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has preached more than ever this season. According to Synergy, the Heat were No. 1 in transition offense in 2010-2011 with a PPP of 1.002. That number can certainly be attributed to having two of the best players in the league on the team (but some credit should be given to Chalmers for his role in pushing the pace looking to get the ball in the hands of Wade or James). Transition offense all starts on the defensive end of the floor, so it is imperative that Heat defenders play aggressive, harrassing defense on and off the ball. Chalmers isolation defense last year was near the top third according to Synergy last season, a rank that while not great, definitely helps Miami accomplish their goals. Here is a look at Chalmers’ aggressive on-ball defense leading to a run-out on the other end:

In the above clip, Chalmers plays excellent on-ball defense. He fights over the screen, pushing Kidd to the baseline and allowing the defense to rotate into position. Chalmers stays body-to-body with Kidd as he goes towards the wing/baseline and keeps his hands low, knowing the pass will be entered into the low post. One thing that Chalmers does well is mirror the ball. By keeping his hands active and shadowing the ball, Super Mario makes it tough any passer, or in this particular case, the venerable Jason Kidd, who is forced into a turnover. Chalmers makes things even harder on Dallas by pushing the ball ahead to a sprinting James without hesitation.

That quick push is something that gives Heat opponents nightmares. Anytime Wade and James are off the ball, they are always ready to break out quickly after any turnover. Watch how fast those two transition from defense to offense after Chalmers relieves the Spurs Tony Parker of the ball.

Let’s face it, the Heat have shown that this type off offense is terrifyingly spectactular. Awesome dunks aside, this is truly a team effort, with Chalmers sometimes leading the way. According to Hoopdata, Miami finished in the top 5 last year in Defensive Efficiency (100.7). This number is a reflection of a team defensive effort, a primary reason the Heat made the Finals last year. With the emergence of Norris Cole, Chalmers defensive impact might be mitigated but if Mario can build on what he’s shown thus far, his supporting role in the Heat’s feature film will be secure for years to come.

After the Boston Celtics scored a two points with the help of two Paul Pierce free throws, tying the score at 80, Boston scored just 11 points in the final 7:10 of the fourth quarter including a stretch where the Celtics didn’t score for three minutes and fifty seconds.  This stretch is what turned a close game into a blowout, with Miami pulling away.

Even though there was some strange playcalling, the Miami Heat deserve a lot of credit for digging in and playing fantastic defense.  This defense involved strong help defense and a unique strategy to prevent Rajon Rondo’s dribble penetration.

Curious Playcalling

While Miami’s defense stole the show, Boston did contribute to their drought with some odd playcalling choices early in this stretch:

After Pierce’s two free throws, Glen Davis wound up taking the next two shots.  Now, the fact that he was taking wasn’t the problem.  The problem was that these weren’t typical Glen Davis shots where he was the third option on a set, got an offensive rebound, or was playing off of the Big three.  These were designed plays where Davis was the primary option.

The first play, Boston dumps the ball into Davis and clears out, running an ISO for him, and he eventually misses the shot.  The second play is an off ball screen ran for Davis, allowing him to cut to the block, get the ball, and go up with the shot that is blocked.

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In their series against the Dallas Mavericks, the Portland Trailblazers got absolutely destroyed by Dallas’ pick and roll.  Case in point, according to Synergy Sports Technology, Dirk Nowitzki had the highest points per possession of any roll man with at least 10 possessions.  Nowitzki 1.32 points per possession when he was the roll man on screens, shooting 68.8%.  Now, normally Nowitzki hurt Portland when he was popping (something he did 77% this series), but in game six, he hurt Portland by rolling to the rim after his man hedged out on him:

On this play, Jason Terry gets the basketball and Dirk Nowitzki comes over and sets a ballscreen for him.  Earlier in the series (and this game even), the Blazers were switching this screen and struggling to stop it.  So here, the Blazers are going to try and hedge the screen.  LaMarcus Aldridge takes a big step out as Nicolas Batum (the man defending Terry) works over the screen.

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