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.

Strong Help Defense

In addition to the curious playcall, the second play where Glen Davis gets blocked at the rim was a good example of the Heat and their help defense.  Bosh is originally on Davis, but when the off ball screen gets set, instead of Bosh fighting through, Joel Anthony steps up and gets the block.

This wasn’t a fluke.  Miami’s help defense was strong all night and it shined during the final 7 minutes of the game against Boston:

On this play, Paul Pierce gets a ball screen and Joel Anthony is late with the hedge, allowing Pierce to split the screen.  However, instead of allowing Pierce get to the rim, Chris Bosh steps up and forces Pierce to give up the ball.  What makes this play is the rotation back after the help.  Because Bosh steps up, it looks like Jermaine O’Neal is open for the easy finish.  However, Anthony was always working, rotating back, and able to block the shot.

On this play, the Boston Celtics are looking to run Ray Allen off of a couple screens away from the basketball, sending Allen off of a staggered screen that lets him curl to the basketball.

As Allen makes the catch, Anthony (covering Kevin Garnett – the screener) shows with Dwyane Wade closing out on Allen as well.  Noticing his man leaving him, Kevin Garnett slips the screen and waits for the pass from Allen (Allen might be the best player in the league when it comes to this type of pass).  However, as soon as Allen makes the catch and Anthony leaves Garnett, LeBron James is rotating over to the middle of the paint.

So when Garnett makes the catch, LeBron James is right there ready to deny the shot, which is what he does, meeting Garnett in the air and getting the block.  Here is the play in real time:

If LeBron James is making the correct reads and willing to trust his teammate and leave his man, he is a dangerous help defender because he is so athletic.  He gets where he wants to go quickly and gets himself in position to get the block.

Defending Rajon Rondo

The final aspect of the Heat’s defense during this stretch (and for the entire game) was how the Heat chose to defend Rajon Rondo.  In one situation, the Heat went to a conventional strategy, in another, they went to with a unique gameplan that seems to be working out.

Pick And Rolls

Looking at the conventional strategy, the Heat were able to neutralize Rajon Rondo coming off of screens by simply going under screens and forcing Rondo to make a play on the outside.

Here, Rondo actually runs off of two ball screens and his defenders goes underneath each one, and eventually Rondo is forced to take a jumper, one that he misses.

On this play, when Rondo’s defender goes under the screen, he actually draws the offensive foul, getting in Kevin Garnett’s way and taking the shove that he gives.

On Dribble Penetration

While going under Rajon Rondo screens is a pretty common site when watching teams defend the Celtics, the way they handled Rondo’s dribble penetration when not in a pick and roll situation was a little more unique.  Instead of playing off of him or anything like that, they played him straight up and when Rondo attacked the lane, they helped.

What made this unique is who came and helped.  Instead of sending help from a certain spot (the weakside block), they had Joel Anthony leaving Kevin Garnett and dropping into the paint, basically funneling the action back to Garnett and giving up a Garnett jumper from the elbow/top of the key.

This is strange considering that Garnett was 10th in FG% among power forwards with at least 20 games played and 20+ minutes per game, shooting 47% during the regular season.  The Heat must have seen something in Garnett (maybe it was because he was 0-2 and looked uncomfortable from that spot in game one, or maybe it just looked like he was lagging in game two), made them comfortable leaving Garnett.  For what it’s worth, it is working so far as Garnett is 2-11 (18.2%) from 16-23 feet.

As Rondo sprints the basketball up the court, he gets an impromptu screen from Paul Pierce, freeing up a path allowing Rajon Rondo to get himself to the rim.  Instead of sending Chris Bosh from the weakside block to help, Joel Anthony leaves Garnett and sinks into the middle of the lane.

With Anthony in the paint, this allows Chris Bosh to stay in the passing lane and take away the kick out pass to Jeff Green.  Essentially what they are doing here is funneling the action back to Garnett.

When the pass gets made, Joel Anthony is deep in the paint so when the ball gets kicked out he goes ahead and closes out on him.

Anthony is mobile/athletic enough to at least bother Garnett with the closeout, even if he doesn’t get a strong closeout.  Here is the play in real time:

As you can see, the Heat are taking away just about everything here.  The drive to the rim is taken away by Anthony.  The pass to the corner is taking away with Bosh sitting in the lane.  The only option that Rajon Rondo has here is to kick the ball out to Garnett, who misses the jumper.

On this play, Mario Chalmers is pressing Rajon Rondo way up top in the backcourt, allowing Rondo to simply blow by him.  Again, Anthony leaves Garnett and provides the help, keeping Rondo out of the lane.  This is important because with the help coming from Anthony, it allows Dwyane Wade to stay with Ray Allen in the corner.  Here, he is face guarding him, not even worried about what is taking place behind him.  His only concern (as it should be) is Ray Allen on the outside.

On this play, the Heat are actually able to force a turnover on this possession using their strategy to send help from Garnett’s man.  Again, the Heat are playing Rondo very high, allowing him to get a running start and attacking the lane.  Once he gets into the paint, he is met by Joel Anthony, who leaves Garnett.  It is worth repeating that with Anthony helping off of the paint, it allows the rest of the defense to stick with their men on the outside.  Here, with James not worried about helping, he is able to return to his man easily and get the steal on Rondo’s pass.

While this worked for the Heat in game two, it is going to be interesting to see if they do it in game three and if they do, will it work?  Garnett is shooting nearly 50% from 16-23 feet, so it is worth wondering if the Heat noticed Garnett’s early struggles (on mostly open jumpers) and just started leaving him or if the Heat see something in Garnett’s shot/health and that is why they are leaving him.  The tell will be if the Heat try this again early in game three and stick with it despite Garnett hitting a few open jumpers.

Possession 1: Pick And Pop

Matt Moore pointed this out after the first tine the Mavericks and Hornets played, but the Dallas Mavericks executed their strategy of keeping Chris Paul out of the lane (the same strategy used on Rajon Rondo) very well.  However, Paul and the Hornets countered this by initiating their offense on the wing rather than on top.

Once Paul reaches the wing, David West comes over and sets a screen for Chris Paul.  Paul uses it and heads back towards the middle of the court.

Now the Mavericks are going to jump this screen in an effort to keep Paul out of the lane (as their defensive scheme dictates), and David West pops the screen to the corner.

Now, this is a standard pick and pop (similar to what the Celtics did against the Mavs), but by taking it from the wing to the middle rather than the other way around there is no pass back (a play that makes it easy to close out on the pop), instead Paul is hitting West in the corner, making it harder to rotate over to him and he gets a wide open shot out of it.  Here is the play in real time:

Notice how easy David West pops out and how open he is on the wing.  Great counter by New Orleans Hornets.

Possession 2: Paul Goes Baseline

On this next possession, the Hornets run a standard pick and pop starting from the top of the key and heading towards the wing.  West sets the screen, and Paul uses it to get into the corner.

Now you see both Dallas Mavericks swarming Chris Paul in an effort to keep him out of the paint.  Doing so frees up the pass back, but that is a pass the Mavs are willing to give up.

Everything is working according to their plan, however a terrific hesitation dribble frees up the baseline, and Dirk Nowitzki is unable to recover and cut the baseline off.  This lets Paul get to the lane, and everything breaks down after that:

The Mavs are forced to rotate and scramble to the basketball, however both Jason Terry and J.J. Barea.  This leaves Marco Belinelli wide open to knock down the three.

Possession 3: Mavericks Try Zone

After getting burned twice on defense while playing man to man, the Mavs switch the zone to try and break up the Hornets rhythm.  The problem with this is that the Mavs try to do this on the fly rather than out of a timeout or a made basket (when you normally see teams make the switch).  Here is the result:

There is a lot of confusion among the Maverick defenders (especially in regards to where Tyson Chandler should be positioned), and that allows for Chris Paul to come off a screen and step into a wide open shot, finishing the 7-0 run.

The key seemed to be the Bobcats willingness to attack the basket. The Bobcats seemed determined to get themselves inside the paint every possession of overtime. Each time, it resulted in one of two things; a trip to the foul line or an easy basket:

Possession 1 – Gerald Wallace Gets To The Line Using A Screen

On this play, the Bobcats set up what looks to be an ISO set for Gerald Wallace. At the last moment, Tyson Chandler comes up and sets a screen for Wallace. Wallace uses the screen and gets all the way to the rim, where he is fouled.

Possession 2 – Raymond Felton Attacks

This is yet another screen and roll, and this time, the defense is at fault here. Javale Mcgee sits too far back, allowing Felton to use his full head of steam to get to the rim. He gets the ball on the backboard, when Mcgee goaltends, giving the Bobcats the 2 points.

Possession 3 – Gerald Wallace Gets To The Line Again

Again, the Bobcats use a pick and roll (this time on the wing) and again, Javale Mcgee’s soft hedge is what allows Gerald Wallace to get inside the paint, where he is fouled.

Possession 4 – Diaw Bullies Singleton

Here, the Bobcats run a neat little play to get Diaw open on the wing. Instead of settling for the jumper (which is what you come to expect from Diaw), he takes it to the hole strong, just kind of bullying his defender out of the way, and giving him room to make the hook shot. I think this play pretty much sums up the Bobcats strategy in overtime, as even the Bobcats least aggressive player is taking it to basket aggressively.

Possession 5 – Getting Stephen Jackson Free

Until this play, Stephen Jackson wasn’t really involved in the Bobcats offense. Here though, Larry Brown calls a play that is designed to free up Stephen Jackson. After setting a screen on the baseline, Jackson comes off of a double screen at the top of the key. This play is nice because it gives Jackson plenty of options. Jackson could make the catch and pull up for the shot, but because his defender remains on his hip as he comes off the screen, he just curls it and gets into the lane. Jackson forces help to come and is able to find Tyson Chandler for the easy dunk.

Possession 6 – Wizards Remain Passive

The Bobcats really used the pick and roll to their advantage in this overtime period. The Wizards weren’t really defending it properly, and what I mean by this is that the defenders responsible for “hedging” on the man coming off the pick played it too soft. They allowed the man with the basketball to comfortably come off their screen, keep their dribble, and pick out a lane to attack. That is exactly what happens here.

Possession 7 – Bobcats Spread Everyone Out And Get One Last Drive

With a 9 point lead, the Bobcats simply spread the court and passed it around as the Wizards tried to get a trap on. Eventually, as the shot clock was winding down, the ball ends up in Boris Diaw’s hands, and he once again attacks the basket strong, drawing the foul.

Possession 1 – Blazers Steal

After Portland made a couple free throws to cut the lead to 6 points, they dropped back into a zone defense.  It isn’t a straight up zone though, as it appears to be more of a match-up zone.  If you watch Blazers’ players as the Warriors make cuts, you can see the Blazers “handing off” players, making sure everyone knows where they need to be.  You can tell the Warriors look a little confused, and because of that they aren’t in sync.  The pass to the middle is late, allowing for the defense to get their hand on the ball and get the steal.  3-0.

Possession 2 – Transition Three For Rudy Fernandez

Continuing from the play above, the ball ends up into Andre Miller’s hands and he pushes it down the court.  Fernandez runs with Miller, filling the lane and spotting up for the three.  Since Andre Miller has shown the ability to get into the paint, he is able to draw the man responsible for Fernandez, getting him the open look.  6-0.

Possession 3 - Stephen Curry Missed Three

This match-up zone that the Blazers were running really gave the Warriors a ton of trouble the final 6 minutes of the game.  Up until this point, the Warriors were getting into the lane whenever they wanted, whether it was in transition or in the half court.  Right before this play, Stephen Curry tried to drive the lane and throw a kick-out pass.  It was deflected out of bounds.  It really had an effect on him, because the next time he caught the ball, he pulled and shot a bad three.  He had no interest in trying to get into the paint. 6-0.

Possession 4 – Rudy Fernandez Three In The Half Court

Shooters like Rudy Fernandez just need to see the basketball go in once and they are in a rhythm.  Here, Andre Miller once again uses his size to get into the paint, and when he does so, he gets attention from help defenders.  As Miller posts up, Anthony Morrow, the man defending Fernadez, sprints into the paint.  Fernandez does a great job of sliding into an open space and giving Andre Miller a lane for the pass.  Miller make a great pass and hits Fernandez for the wide open three.  Just like that, the game is tied.  9-0.

Possession 5 – Anthony Morrow Missed Three

After Fernandez’s three pointer, both teams exchanged some pretty bad possession and for about 2 minutes the only point that was scored was a LaMarcus Aldridge free throw.  After an offensive foul from Aldridge, the Warriors had a chance to get a go-ahead basket:

The Warriors don’t take advantage of it though.  Once again, it is just two passes around the perimeter, and a three pointer.  There is actually a missed assignment here by the Blazers as Reggie Williams cut into the lane uncovered, but Anthony Morrow doesn’t even look inside and jacks up a three.  So it has been around 4 minutes since the Blazers started playing there zone, and there hasn’t been 1 meaningful bounce of the basketball inside the lane.  10-0.

Possession 6 – Monta Ellis’ 6th Foul

The reason that previous missed three was so important is because Andre Miller grabs the rebound and pushes it down the court.  Again, he goes inside against a smaller Warriors guard (this time it is Monta Ellis).  As Ellis tries to body Miller up, he picks up a foul, his 6th of the game.  So now on of the few Warriors willing to attack the basket and try to get into the lane has fouled out.  Miller hit both foul shots that resulted from the foul as well.  12-0.

Possession 7 – Another Missed Three For The Warriors

Even after all of the poor possessions on both ends of the court for the Warriors, they are still only down three points.  Here, the Warriors actually get a good look.  They use dribble penetration to suck in the Blazers’ defense and then kick it out to Steph Curry for the open three pointer.  He just can’t knock it down.  This shows you have effective attacking the basket can be.  It is a shame this is the only time they decided to do it.  12-0.

Possession 8 – Forced Jumper

After Curry’s missed three, the Warriors get a stop on the defensive end and bring the ball up still down three.  A good possession can get them right back into the game.  That doesn’t happen though.  C.J. Watson gets the ball to start the offense in the half court.  He dribbles it to the wing and wants to swing it back to Steph Curry, however, the Blazers switch things up and deny him.  Watson panics, uses a screen (that the Blazers switch because of their match-up zone), takes the ball to the elbow and shots a contested jumper with 13 seconds left on the shot clock.  At this point of the game, this is your biggest possession and the Warriors don’t even pass the ball…once…now if it was in your best players hand, it might be understandable.  Watson is your 4th or 5th option on offense though, so that isn’t what you want.  Credit Portland for their defense here, but this is such a poor decision by C.J. Watson.  12-0.

Possession 9 – LaMarcus Aldridge’s And 1

Coming off of Watson’s miss, the Blazers decide to flatten it out (put four players along the baseline with one ballhandler) with the ball in Roy’s hands.  The main purpose here it to kill some clock (as he dribbles the shot-clock down to 10), but they are also looking for Roy to create, and that is exactly what he does.  He penetrates to the right, forces help to come and kicks the ball out to Andre Miller.  The closeout comes too hard at Miller, giving him the baseline.  He takes it, forces help to come, and finds an open LaMarcus Aldridge who finishes with the foul.  15-0.

Possession 10 – Blazers Offensive Rebound

After Steph Curry hits a three to cut the Blazers’ lead down to three points, the Blazers have the ball with about 48 seconds left:

The Warriors, not needing to foul, play straight up defense here, and they actually get the shot they want.  As Roy drives (from the same flat set), the Warriors force him to kick it out to Aldridge for the baseline jumper.  He misses it, but the Warriors are unable to secure the rebound.  At first look, it seems like just a bad bounce for the Warriors, but I disagree with that.  The Warriors are in the correct position for the rebound, but watch them as the ball goes up.  Nobody is putting a body on any Blazer, they just stand waiting to try and time their jump.  With the Blazers being bigger than the Warriors, they are able to get a hand on it and the corral the ball.  15-3.

Possession 11 – Silly Foul From Watson

After the Blazers get the ball back in their possession, there is a three second differential between the shot-clock and the game clock.  When you are in this situation, you have to decide whether you are going to foul and extend the game, or hope to get a stop, call a timeout (the Warriors did in fact have one), advance the ball to half-court, and try to get a three.  For most of the possession, it seems that Watson is going to be content to let Andre Miller dribble out the clock, but for some unknown reason, he gambles and tries to get a steal, fouling Miller in the process.  Watson let 19 seconds run of the clock, and then fouled.  He probably thought he could get the steal, but if you look at it from the second angle, there wasn’t really any opening to try and do that.  Not smart at all.  As Miller makes both free throws, he clinches the game for the Blazers, who got their first win in a long time at Golden State.  17-3.

Poss. 1 – Terry Steal/Marion Dunk

After two Jason Terry free throws, the Bobcats started the ball up the court.  The Bobcats get in their set, and Gerald Wallace is actually open on the wing.  Jason Terry does a great job of leaving his man, jumping the pass, and getting the steal.  The ball ends up in Jason Kidd’s hands who quickly tosses it back up court, starting a two on one fast break that ends with a Shawn Marion Dunk.  4-0.

Poss. 2 – Stephen Jackson Missed 3

After a defensive three second call on the Mavericks, the Bobcats inbound the ball to Stephen Jackson at halfcourt.  Jackson receives the pass, comes off of a screen, and forces up a contested three point shot.  All throughout this run, the Bobcats seemed to settle for too many outside shots and one on one situations.  The ball seemed to stick at least once a possession during this run.  The ball sticking lead to bad shots, which lead to stops for the Mavericks.  This is exactly the case here.  4-1.

Poss. 3 – Jason Terry Jumper

Coming off Stephen Jackson’s missed three, the rebound gets corralled, and this is where the Mavericks really shine.  The Mavericks are so good at getting the ball into Jason Kidd’s hands after a defensive rebound, and Jason Kidd is so good at pushing the ball ahead with his passing and trusting his teammates (this was talked about at length during Sunday Night’s Mavericks game on ESPN).  Here, Kidd pushes the ball ahead to Jason Terry, who gives it up, but gets it back wide open for the jumper.  Terry is left open due to the confusion on the Bobcats’ end because the Mavs pushed the ball up the court.  6-1.

Poss. 4 – D.J. Augustin Missed Three

There is some pretty good ball movement here by the Bobcats, as D.J. Augustine enters the ball and then works off of a double screen on the opposite side.  My problem isn’t with the shooter here (Augustine shoots 35.2% from three, which is right at league average), it is with how early in the clock this shot goes up.  Augustine takes a contested three with about 14 seconds left on the clock.  You can get a contested three at any time in the clock, so why not work it around and see what you come up with?  Also, quick shots is what seems to fuel runs like this one.  6-1.

Poss. 5 – Jason Terry Runner

The Mavericks get the rebound off of Augustin’s miss and bring it up court.  They get it into Jason Terry’s hands and run a pick and roll involving Dirk Nowitzki.  The beauty of this play is involving Dirk, because as you can see, the Bobcats initially defend the pick and roll correctly with Gerald Wallace showing on the hedge.  However, Wallace needs to get back to Dirk, and when he retreats, Terry is able to get to the baseline and hit a short jumper.  8-1.

Poss. 6 – Tyrus Thomas Missed Hook

This play here is another example of the ball sticking.  Gerald Wallace uses a Tyrus Thomas screen, and as Thomas rolls to the basket, he seals Dirk and calls for the ball.  Wallace gets it in to Thomas, who holds onto the ball.  After taking two dribbles to try and back down Dirk, Thomas spins baseline and takes an awful hook shot that doesn’t even hit the rim.  Tyrus Thomas is a freakishly athletic player, buy his strength isn’t in the post.  So to run a post up play for him is kind of silly.  If this wasn’t a designed play, then it is on Thomas to understand his weakness and kick the basketball out.  8-1.

Poss. 7 – Dirk Jumper

Jason Kidd gets the rebound on Thomas’ airballed hook shoot.  After walking it up, he swings the ball to Jason Terry who comes off of a Dirk screen.  Instead of rolling all of the way to the basket, Dirk sets up in his sweet spot, right at the middle of the foul line.  Dirk makes the catch with no other Bobcat near him besides his own defender, meaning there can be no double-team.  Dirk takes his time, rises up over Gerald Wallace, and knocks down the jumper.  10-1.

Poss. 8 – Boris Diaw Missed Three

After both teams exchange empty possessions (Charlotte turned it over, then Jason Terry missed a jumper going 1 against 4), Raymond Felton jogs the ball upcourt.  Thinking he sees a lane, Felton attacks and tries to get into the paint.  A second defender comes to help, so Felton kicks it out to Boris Diaw.  Boris Diaw is a 31% foul shooter, but he makes the catch and quickly fires a three pointer with 17 seconds left on the shot clock.  He clangs it off of the backboard without even hitting the rim.  Boris Diaw is a poor 3 point shooter and it is real early in the clock, but what really makes this an awful shot is that Gerald Wallace is standing on the wing wide open.  If Diaw makes the catch and swings it to Wallace on the wing, he either has a wide open 3 (he is shooting it at a 38% clip) or if the defender closes out, he has a lane to attack the basket and end the run.  10-1.

Poss. 9 – Jason Terry Three

The Mavs bring the ball up and get it in Jason Terry’s hands once again, and once again, Terry runs off of a Dirk screen, and this time the Bobcats try to switch it.  This is a reasonable strategy, but Boris Diaw doesn’t attack Jason Terry hard on defense.  He seems passive, backpedaling, and he is unable to get a hand up to contest Jason Terry’s three pointer.  Terry knocks it down, and the Bobcats are forced to take their second timeout during this run.  13-1.

Getting Dwight Touches:

The Magic came out in the third quarter and made it obvious that they wanted to get Dwight Howard the basketball.  He scored 7 of the team’s first 9 points to start the quarter.  In my opinion, the success of Dwight Howard (and in turn, the Orlando Magic) is where and when Dwight catches the basketball.  Let’s look at these first couple of possessions.

This first possession of the quarter is a set play for the Magic to get Dwight the basketball.  Here, the Magic are running a pick and roll away from Dwight, and that action lulls Kendrick Perkins to sleep, allowing for Dwight to seal him off.

In my opinion, the key here is that they get it to Dwight so early in the shot clock.  This allows him to size up the defense, kick it out, get the ball back on a re-post, and then he has the time to take a dribble and score on a hook shot.

Knocking Down Threes:

Whenever the Magic are successful, you know that they are going to be hitting their three point shots.  The Magic were 4-5 from three point line in the third quarter.  This third quarter looked like it was straight out of the Eastern Conference Finals.  They weren’t forcing three pointers (which is something they seem to be doing when they struggle), they were getting their 3 pointers in transition and after dumping it into Dwight.

This first three comes off of a block from Dwight Howard.  The Magic quickly push the ball up the floor, and it gets swung to Vince Carter.  Vince Carter (who many people are getting on right now) does a great job of making the extra pass to Rashard Lewis, who knocks down the three.

This next one is what makes the Magic so dangerous.  When they get Dwight Howard touches and he takes advantage of them (by scoring), teams have no choice to double team.  The problem is, the Magic have 4 guys on the court around Dwight who can hit a three point shot.  So no matter where the double team comes, you are forced to leave a three point shooter open.  Here, the ball gets passed into Dwight, he starts his move, gets doubled, and kicks it out.  Rashard Lewis knocks down the wide open three: