Monday, April 25, 2011

Because Skip Bayless doesn't know what he's talking about.

After a three by Lou Williams gave the Philadelphia 76ers a two point lead, the Miami Heat had the basketball on the side with 8.1 seconds left.  In this situation, the Heat ran what basically was an isolation set for LeBron James.  The problem was the way the play was drawn up, it lead to poor spacing that allowed the Sixers to crowd the paint and eventually get the block:
block1

The play starts with the Miami Heat basically in a line formation with LeBron James in the front of the line.  As the ball goes to the trigger man, LeBron curls off of three Heat players (including Dwyane Wade) to get the basketball at the top of the key.

block2
As LeBron catches the ball, Andre Iguoldala is fighting through the screens and closing out on him hard.  When that happens, LeBron attacks the basket on the right side.
block3
Now, as James attacks the rim, you have the four remaining Heat players on the opposite side of the basketball.  None of these guys are a threat to catch the basketball.  This allows the Sixers’ defenders to sink off of them and crowd the paint.  As James starts his attack, both Elton Brand and Evan Turner are in the paint.
block4
With Turner in the paint, Brand is able to leave his man (Chris Bosh) and make a play on the basketball.  The result?  A blocked shot by Brand.  Here is the play in real time:
I understand what coach Spoelstra was trying to do here.  By clearing out the right side, there was nobody in the short corner, meaning the defense can’t help from there.  However, with the way the play was run, there was one option and one option only. This allowed the defense to react/sink in accordingly.
Personally, I would have liked to see a James/Wade pick and pop, forcing the defense to make a decision about who to defend (do you hedge out on the screen/switch/trap).  However, with what the Heat run, they are making it easy for the defense.  It was a simple read/react play for the defense, allowing the help to come and block the shot.
[Source]

Yup.

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