Defense has been Heat’s ‘anchor.’ A look at the thing that makes the Heat a title contender
Elite defense has been the most consistent component of the Miami Heat’s formula this season. So consistent that an above average offensive performance usually means a win.
The Heat is 40-6 this season when finishing a game with an offensive rating better than 113 points scored per 100 possessions, just slightly better than this season’s league average offensive rating of 112.
In other words: The Heat’s defense is great, so just be better than average on offense and the result will likely be a win. It’s the reason why Miami is considered one of the NBA’s few true championship contenders.
“We’ve been a special defensive team all year,” guard Victor Oladipo said, with the Heat posting the NBA’s fourth-best defensive rating in the regular season. “We’ve just got to continue to make sure that’s our anchor, make sure we realize that’s what creates everything else for us. If we do that, everything else will take care of itself.”
The top-seeded Heat returned to practice at FTX Arena on Friday morning in preparation for its second-round playoff series, which opens Monday against the fourth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers led by the All-Star duo of center Joel Embiid and guard James Harden.
The Heat took Wednesday and Thursday off for rest and recovery after winning its first-round series, 4-1, over the Atlanta Hawks behind a dominant defensive effort that included relentless pressure and a switching scheme designed to neutralize star guard Trae Young. It was executed to perfection.
▪ The Hawks closed the regular season with the NBA’s second-best offensive rating with 115.4 points scored per 100 possessions. In the five-game first-round series, the Heat limited the Hawks to an offensive rating of 104.1 points scored per 100 possessions that would have ranked third-worst among teams in the regular season.
▪ The Hawks had the NBA’s best half-court offense in the regular season with 101.1 points per 100 half-court players, according to Cleaning the Glass. But the Hawks scored just 91.8 points per 100 half-court played against the Heat in the first round for a half-court offensive rating that would have ranked seventh-worst among teams in the regular season.
▪ Young, who finished the regular season as the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer with 28.4 points per game, averaged 15.4 points on 31.9 percent shooting from the field and 7-of-38 (18.4 percent) shooting on threes against the Heat in the series. He finished with more turnovers (30) than made field goals (22).
The Heat’s defensive scheme isn’t much different than it was in the last few seasons. Coach Erik Spoelstra has built a switch-heavy system that’s set up to close driving lanes and limit opportunities around the rim by playing “on a string” and providing help with multiple defenders even if it means allowing an opponent to shoot a bunch of threes, which resulted in the Heat allowing the second-most three-point attempts per 100 possessions in the NBA this regular season at 39.3.
“Their team is more of a system than who they have on their team, and no matter who they have out there, they can play,” Young said. “It’s about their system. Their defensive system is all about helping.”
But Spoelstra has also incorporated other layers to make the Heat’s defense multidimensional, mixing in a 2-3 zone, timely traps and even a full-court press when needed throughout the season. All of those looks were used during different stretches against the Hawks in the first round.
“I just think that we have each other’s back,” Heat forward Caleb Martin said. “I think we kind of are like on a string, so all of us mentally are super engaged. Kind of like what coach says a lot, it’s next-play speed. So I think that we’re always not only engaged on what’s happening now, but what we need to be doing next. We do a good job of kind of thinking ahead on certain plays and certain scenarios that could happen.”
While the scheme is similar to previous seasons, the Heat’s improved defensive personnel has made a difference. The additions of Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker to a unit already anchored by All-Defensive-caliber players like Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler helped lift the Heat from the 10th-best defense last season to a top-five defense this season.
Throw in quality defenders like Gabe Vincent, Martin, Oladipo, and the Heat’s depth of switchable options on that end of the court is impressive.
Adebayo pointed to Tucker as “the lifeline of our defense.” Tucker, 36, improved the Heat’s defensive performance by a very good 6.6 points per 100 possessions in the first round of the playoffs, according to FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR metrics, which was second-best on the team behind only Lowry.
“He doesn’t get as much credit as he should, in my opinion,” Adebayo said of Tucker. “The way he has everybody’s back, one through five, and gives ultimate effort. Certain nights, he only gets two shots and he doesn’t say anything. So just to a teammate like that, he’s the real reason why our defense is the way it is.”
Tucker also received praise from Martin at the end of the Heat’s first-round series.
“He’s calling stuff out before it happens,” Martin said. “He’s kind of a couple steps ahead on what’s going on. He’s been there, done that, seen it. Kind of orchestrating guys, putting them in position, and when guys are that vocal it’s kind of hard not to be on that same page. So, he’s definitely the leader.”
The Hawks’ offense was one of the NBA’s best in the regular season, but the 76ers will be an even bigger challenge with the multitude of offensive weapons on their roster. While the Heat’s defense could load up on Young because the Hawks didn’t have another consistently elite scorer, the 76ers feature four skilled scoring threats in their starting lineup with Harden, Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris.
With a bunch of offensive options to turn to, Philadelphia will try to find the soft spots in Miami’s defense and take advantage of mismatches against the Heat’s weaker defenders when possible.
The good news for the Heat is its defense hasn’t let it down much this season.
“I thought we had some really great stretches during the regular season and you don’t develop a top-five defense just in a few weeks,” Spoelstra said. “We’ve developed a lot of really good habits with our full roster with different schemes and different rotations with guys in and out.”
