Months later, against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Spoelstra again saw something he liked in a busted play. Again, he called the exact same set a possession later. And again, two points. This time, going with what amounted to an educated hunch got Miami to a series tie in the NBA Finals. The Thunder were stacking the upper regions of the paint, nullifying all the pick-and-rolls James was attempting to run.
Oklahoma City was making its move, and if they kept grinding like this, there would be no salt left to grind.
What Spoelstra dialed up for the fix was something the team had been running all season. With a twist. Wade would get the ball from Mario Chalmers to the left of the top of the key. Bosh would be on the left block. James would sit in the right corner. After Chalmers passed off, he would run to the right corner and set a screen for James. James would then sprint to Wade, threatening the deadly James-Wade pick-and-roll.
But James would always slip the pick, and as he did so, Bosh would come up the middle of the floor and set a screen for Wade.
Sometimes, James would slip into space on the left wing and get an open three as he did in Game 4 against New York. Sometimes, Bosh would slip his pick and dive into space where he could catch the ball. All playoffs, Spoelstra would facilitate late-game movement when the team desperately needed a basket. Up three with just over 90 seconds to play in Game 2, Bosh was back. But instead of running the same thing they had all season, Spoelstra mutated his creation.
Now, Bosh would be on the right block. James would set the screen on the right side of the floor. Bosh would fake the pick and James would initiate the true pick-and-roll. Technically, the play resulted in a score, but only after the set broke and James scored an incredible isolation basket, dropping in a jumper off the glass. Ryan Yousefi October 2, AM. We might want to appreciate the fact that it took until the NBA Finals for this Heat team to actually trail in a series.
Bam neck strain and Dragic torn plantar fascia are both listed as doubtful for Game 2 vs. Lakers pic. There's gonna be a lot of Miami Heat doom and gloom today. Don't fall victim to it. Don't let a bad game -- or series for that matter -- make you forget what this team has done or is capable of I feel pretty good about being disappointed about a Miami Heat NBA Finals performance.
Join the New Times community and help support independent local journalism in Miami. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. Support Us Miami's independent source of local news and culture. Cheer up, Heat fans. Photo by Kevin C. Unfortunately, the devil is in the details when it comes to the context of what the Heat are facing if they are to rebound from the loss. It was bad, and tonight is a must-win if Miami wants to remain in this fight for an NBA championship.
From Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic leaving Game 1 early owing to injuries and being labeled doubtful for tonight's Game 2 to LeBron James and Anthony Davis looking like a well-oiled basketball machine, there isn't a lot of hope floating around the Heat's chances to win an NBA title right now.
Heads are down and bad vibes are abundant. Have no fear, though, depressed Miami Heat fan. We're here to do what a good friend does: pick you up off the hardwood, kiss your boo-boos, and tell you everything is going to be all right. Even if we don't fully believe it ourselves. Here are five reasons Heat fans should remain positive heading into Game 2 against the Lakers. Now cheer up! The great thing about one game in a seven-game series is that it only counts as one game of a seven-game series.
It was one game. It caught the Mavs off guard in Game 1 but they'll make adjustments to try to use Miami's speed and aggressiveness against it. Also, the bench may not win against the Mavs' bench but it needs steady production, especially from Mario Chalmers and Udonis Haslem. Kevin Arnovitz, Heat Index: James clucked at the notion that the injury to Dirk's "guide hand" would have an impact going forward. The bigger issue for Dallas is an ability to get its trio of scoring guards off the schneid.
If Jason Kidd, Terry and Barea combine to shoot 27 percent again, the Mavericks can get all the crisp ball movement they want and it won't matter. John Krolik: Dirk's help. Dirk wasn't much better before the injury than he was after it, and he's a true gamer. He'll play through it.
But there's no way Dallas is going to beat Miami's defense if more players don't step up and put some pressure on it. Rob Peterson, Hardwood Paroxysm: Dirk's help. Dirk will be fine. It's the Dallas bench that's worrisome. Spectacular all postseason, the Mavs' bench was outscored by the Heat bench in Game 1, which, I think, has consisted of five guys from the VFW in Fort Lauderdale most of the season. Terry, Barea and Peja Stojakovic need to step it up for the Mavs to win.
Terry admitted they weren't prepared for James guarding him. Peja's shot disappeared. And you could make a strong case that Chalmers outperformed both Kidd and Barea. That can't happen again if Dallas plans to win this series. Brian Windhorst, Heat Index: The Mavs are one of the deepest teams in the league, if not the deepest, and the supporting cast will come around.
Dirk probably isn't going to be debilitated by the injury but his game could be diminished a bit. I'm not sure the Mavs can afford that.
Kevin Arnovitz, Heat Index: That LeBron is stepping into his long-range shot with Ray Allen-like confidence isn't all that surprising -- but the Allen-like results are.
We have to expect a regression to the mean on LeBron's jumper, but the good news about defense? It doesn't slump. John Krolik: LeBron's shooting. LeBron has played great defense in the playoffs and the regular season for years, so this should be no surprise. But he's never shot particularly well from the outside in the playoffs, and he's been on fire from long range this postseason. Rob Peterson, Hardwood Paroxysm: Everyone knew that if and when LeBron put his mind to defense that his size, strength and quickness would make him a premier defender.
That's not a surprise. But that LeBron's J from the perimeter has been consistently wet? That's a surprise. It makes him unguardable. But if we're honest with ourselves, we shouldn't be surprised by LeBron any longer.
He's been a great defender, when motivated, for a while now. His shooting has never been as good as it's been in these playoffs -- especially in the fourth quarter. It's to the point now where he's got to be the best bad, ill-advised, off-balanced shot-maker in the league.
The more difficult the shot, the better his chances are to make it. This is the first time he's shown elite shooting at this consistency level. The way defenses play him, he will usually have open shots from outside.
If he's making them, he's hard to deal with. Kevin Arnovitz, Heat Index: The Heat win Game 2 because they've figured out that speed is their best weapon and are strangling Dallas with it. On top of that, Thursday night will be the moment that the Dwyane Wade we all know and value returns from his mysterious basketball exodus and operates as the Heat's human zonebuster.
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