How are they going to stop us

[BigDaddyPR]

Its not like you have alot of players from that team coming back to say how good they were last year will determine how good defensively they will be this year. But Lebron and Wade will be beast defenders on the wing's and this should keep them "anywhere" in the top 10.

Joel Anthony, Carlos Arroyo, Mario Chalmers, Udonis Haslem, James Jones, Jamaal Magloire, Dwyane Wade. About half a roster, and the exact same coaching staff. Come again?

OWNADGE!!! LOL!

[jc23]

I admit there is some ownadge (because knowing is half the battle) in there but the fact remains that you cant say for certain that a team with only half of their players returning will be still as potent of a defense. Lebron is a huge addition but outside of that nobody else signed to the roster is known as a defensive player. That's all i meant.

[TrueRain]

I admit there is some ownadge (because knowing is half the battle) in there but the fact remains that you cant say for certain that a team with only half of their players returning will be still as potent of a defense. Lebron is a huge addition but outside of that nobody else signed to the roster is known as a defensive player. That's all i meant.

Your whole argument is pointless because no one who left, aside from JO, was KNOWN as a defensive player. This team isn't built off great defensive players, it's built off a good defensive system. I don't understand why all these other team's fans can't grasp that.

[HeatSince88]

I have been watching videos of Wade and Lebron on youtube the last few hours and I am just wondering how in the hell are teams going to be able to stop these 2 guys? They couldnt stop them when the could focus the whole defense around them, how are they going to do it when they are both on the same team???
Has there ever been a pairing like this in the NBA as explosive as this before?

If Joel or Magloire are on the floor, I would use my C to double-team Wade and Bron anytime they catch the ball in the halfcourt. I'd also send my C to double-team Bosh anytime he catches at the elbow or closer.

I'd also have Wade/LeBron's defender back off a couple feet to avoid blow-by's and instead give the 20-foot jumper, which those guys probably hit at around 40%. This not only lowers team FG pct, but most importantly keeps both guys off the line and keeps me out of foul trouble.

And of course I'd trap Wade or LeBron every time one runs the PNR, then take my chances that the big who set the pick can do something with the ball 20-feet out. Bosh and Haslem are solid PNR guys obviously, but I'd rather have them creating offense off the dribble at 20 feet than Wade/LeBron.

With all this said, it still won't "stop them" ... These strategies can slow the Heat down, but the roster talent is so flexible and the playmakers are so great that they'll find a way to drop 100 on you even if you craft and execute the perfect defensive game plan. At the end of the day, the refs will decide how well teams like Boston, Orlando, LA can defend the Heat ... depending on how much grabbing, nudging, hand-checking, etc that they allow against us.

[Cloud765]

+136

Nice avatar! My second fav team of all time. It's easy to forget how awesome the sonics were.

[Cloud765]

I have been watching videos of Wade and Lebron on youtube the last few hours and I am just wondering how in the hell are teams going to be able to stop these 2 guys? They couldnt stop them when the could focus the whole defense around them, how are they going to do it when they are both on the same team???
Has there ever been a pairing like this in the NBA as explosive as this before?

If Joel or Magloire are on the floor, I would use my C to double-team Wade and Bron anytime they catch the ball in the halfcourt. I'd also send my C to double-team Bosh anytime he catches at the elbow or closer.

I'd also have Wade/LeBron's defender back off a couple feet to avoid blow-by's and instead give the 20-foot jumper, which those guys probably hit at around 40%. This not only lowers team FG pct, but most importantly keeps both guys off the line and keeps me out of foul trouble.

And of course I'd trap Wade or LeBron every time one runs the PNR, then take my chances that the big who set the pick can do something with the ball 20-feet out. Bosh and Haslem are solid PNR guys obviously, but I'd rather have them creating offense off the dribble at 20 feet than Wade/LeBron.

With all this said, it still won't "stop them" ... These strategies can slow the Heat down, but the roster talent is so flexible and the playmakers are so great that they'll find a way to drop 100 on you even if you craft and execute the perfect defensive game plan. At the end of the day, the refs will decide how well teams like Boston, Orlando, LA can defend the Heat ... depending on how much grabbing, nudging, hand-checking, etc that they allow against us.

Dunk. Dunk. Dunk.

These guys aren't 1 man iso machines, you forget that on any given night, they have dropped 15+ assisst to what can now be called "bums". You really think doubling with your center will help? All that will do is turn Joel Anthony into an allstar.

[HeatSince88]

Dunk. Dunk. Dunk.

These guys aren't 1 man iso machines, you forget that on any given night, they have dropped 15+ assisst to what can now be called "bums". You really think doubling with your center will help? All that will do is turn Joel Anthony into an allstar

Right, how often do Anthony and Magloire catch cleanly and "dunk, dunk, dunk!!!" on everybody ... ?

That's pretty much the thing they're both worst at. No?

Passing the ball to an open Shaq, Ilgauskas, and J O'Neal (the guys you're calling "bums" who've been among the best catch-and-finish centers in the league for a decade) is a lot different than passing it to Stone Hands Anthony and Wheelchair Magloire and expecting them to dunk on the Magic, Celtics, Lakers a dozen times a game.

Also, last I checked Anthony and Magloire played with Wade last year and didn't quite make the All-Star team as you're suggesting.

Still, I can appreciate your optimism! Let's hope LeBron's passes come with some magical glue and finishing-ability-fairy-dust that Wade's passes have lacked the last couple years.

[Cloud765]

Dunk. Dunk. Dunk.

These guys aren't 1 man iso machines, you forget that on any given night, they have dropped 15+ assisst to what can now be called "bums". You really think doubling with your center will help? All that will do is turn Joel Anthony into an allstar

Right, how often do Anthony and Magloire catch cleanly and "dunk, dunk, dunk!!!" on everybody ... ?

That's pretty much the thing they're both worst at. No?

Passing the ball to an open Shaq, Ilgauskas, and J O'Neal (the guys you're calling "bums" who've been among the best catch-and-finish centers in the league for a decade) is a lot different than passing it to Stone Hands Anthony and Wheelchair Magloire and expecting them to dunk on the Magic, Celtics, Lakers a dozen times a game.

Also, last I checked Anthony and Magloire played with Wade last year and didn't quite make the All-Star team as you're suggesting.

Still, I can appreciate your optimism! Let's hope LeBron's passes come with some magical glue and finishing-ability-fairy-dust that Wade's passes have lacked the last couple years.

You can't seriously compare last years team to this years...

Wade is no longer the only true threat on the floor. Teams can't double Wade AND Bron AND Bosh (that's 1 too many ). Bosh may not be a spectacular creator, but Lebron and Wade are way above average at distributing the ball.

What I as referring to was, that if teams do as you suggested, the C will be open... a lot. Eventually he'll start catching them, or we'll put in someone who will (maybe Pigman?). In the past couple of years, we've seen defenses rotate to double. I predict this year we will see some situations where the D flat out scrambles to cover, leaving someone WIDE open.

[HeatSince88]

Teams can't double Wade AND Bron AND Bosh (that's 1 too many ).

C'mon, I obviously wasn't saying they should double Wade/Bron/Bosh at the same time. You only double the guy with the ball.

Kinda like a box-and-one, where the "one" is whoever is matched up with Joel Anthony. He can attack the the ball whether it's in Wade's hands or LeBron's hands, or if Bosh gets it down low.

Obviously all 3 of those scenarios can't happen simultaneously -- there's only 1 ball.

Besides, I thnk you just read my first paragraph about doubling off of Joel Anthony and missed the part where I said "These strategies still won't stop the Heat. Even if you execute perfectly, they'll still drop 100 on you."

But I do think that slowing down the game's best player (LeBron) by doubling him with the defender of the worst offensive player on the floor (Joel Anthony) is just plain common sense basketball. I'm not sure what's so debatable about that strategy, it's employed in virtually every game at every level of basketball ...

[HIF]

But teams were double and triple teaming Wade last year - JA was playing then. So now we have Lebron and Boash and then Miller to hit the 3. Having said that I think JA will score because teams will take your attitude and rightly so.

[Wade2k6]

The problem with doubling Wade or LeBron is that they have very good vision and can easily find the open teammate, so I don't think it will be very effective. Say a team doubles LeBron, the Heat will have Miller/House/Jones sitting at the 3pt line ready to shoot, Wade curling around screens to get open, and Bosh sitting in the mid-range area spotting up ready to knock down that mid-range shot. LeBron is more then capable of seeing over a double and finding the open man. Get Wade the ball in a 4 vs 3 advantage with Bosh at the elbow and they're going to score very efficiently with Wades mid-range shot, constant penetration & getting to the line, and ability to find the open teammate. And vice-versa if Wade is getting doubled. Centers will be able to sag off Anthony and Magloire to help out on penetration, but I don't think Wade or LeBron will have much trouble adjusting and finding the open teammate. Anthony, Big Z, and Magloire are all relatively good offensive rebounders so they will find opportunities for easy buckets.

If I were opposing teams I would try to switch the defense up as much as possible. Trap sometimes, man up other times, go to zone for stretches, etc. Just try to keep them off balance.

[HeatSince88]

The problem with doubling Wade or LeBron is that they have very good vision and can easily find the open teammate, so I don't think it will be very effective. Say a team doubles LeBron, the Heat will have Miller/House/Jones sitting at the 3pt line ready to shoot, Wade curling around screens to get open, and Bosh sitting in the mid-range area spotting up ready to knock down that mid-range shot.

If you double off of Joel Anthony, how does that make Miller/House/Jones/Wade open? Those guys' defenders will be up in their chest, not leaving them.

If I'm the opposing coach, I'd rather LeBron pass out of a double to Joel Anthony for him to do something with it, than to let LeBron eat me up one-on-one.

If you have to pick your poison, do you really pick LeBron ... or Joel Anthony?

If I were opposing teams I would try to switch the defense up as much as possible. Trap sometimes, man up other times, go to zone for stretches, etc. Just try to keep them off balance.

OK, and who do you trap with? Do you leave Wade open? Miller? Bosh? House? ..... Or Joel Anthony?

And what zone do you use? Who shades to LeBron when he gets the ball? Do you leave Wade open? Miller? Bosh? House? ...... Or Joel Anthony?

Basically we're agreeing that defenders will need to help each other to slow down LeBron or Wade. But somehow there's a disconnect on where that help should come from. It's obvious to me that it's Joel or Magloire you help off of, not Wade/Miller/Bosh/House/etc.

[Cloud765]

The problem with doubling Wade or LeBron is that they have very good vision and can easily find the open teammate, so I don't think it will be very effective. Say a team doubles LeBron, the Heat will have Miller/House/Jones sitting at the 3pt line ready to shoot, Wade curling around screens to get open, and Bosh sitting in the mid-range area spotting up ready to knock down that mid-range shot.

If you double off of Joel Anthony, how does that make Miller/House/Jones/Wade open? Those guys' defenders will be up in their chest, not leaving them.

If I'm the opposing coach, I'd rather LeBron pass out of a double to Joel Anthony for him to do something with it, than to let LeBron eat me up one-on-one.

If you have to pick your poison, do you really pick LeBron ... or Joel Anthony?

If I were opposing teams I would try to switch the defense up as much as possible. Trap sometimes, man up other times, go to zone for stretches, etc. Just try to keep them off balance.

OK, and who do you trap with? Do you leave Wade open? Miller? Bosh? House? ..... Or Joel Anthony?

And what zone do you use? Who shades to LeBron when he gets the ball? Do you leave Wade open? Miller? Bosh? House? ...... Or Joel Anthony?

Basically we're agreeing that defenders will need to help each other to slow down LeBron or Wade. But somehow there's a disconnect on where that help should come from. It's obvious to me that it's Joel or Magloire you help off of, not Wade/Miller/Bosh/House/etc.

Damn. You're making me think now.

I get that you help off the least dangerous player (Mags/JA in this case) but if I'm the opposing coach, I would feel uneasy leaving guys in the paint rather than leaving perimeter guys. I think I would rather let the shooters shoot instead of letting guys get dunks. Dunks are 100% from the field (unless you're magloire sometimes )

I think all in all, our team is going to be giving opposing coaches headaches weeks before we matchup. Should be fun!

[DeeDub]

Teams can't double Wade AND Bron AND Bosh (that's 1 too many ).

C'mon, I obviously wasn't saying they should double Wade/Bron/Bosh at the same time. You only double the guy with the ball.

Kinda like a box-and-one, where the "one" is whoever is matched up with Joel Anthony. He can attack the the ball whether it's in Wade's hands or LeBron's hands, or if Bosh gets it down low.

Obviously all 3 of those scenarios can't happen simultaneously -- there's only 1 ball.

Besides, I thnk you just read my first paragraph about doubling off of Joel Anthony and missed the part where I said "These strategies still won't stop the Heat. Even if you execute perfectly, they'll still drop 100 on you."

But I do think that slowing down the game's best player (LeBron) by doubling him with the defender of the worst offensive player on the floor (Joel Anthony) is just plain common sense basketball. I'm not sure what's so debatable about that strategy, it's employed in virtually every game at every level of basketball ...

It might sound good on paper to use one's C to double the guy with the ball, but how many Cs have the mobility to really do that in any meaningful way against guys like Wade and LeBron? Most people have been most concerned about the teams with the big, physical Cs, such as the Lakers and Celtics. What kind of on-the-move help defense are guys like Shaq, Bynum, Perkins, etc. going to give? Not much. They will cause tons of fouls as they try to get their slow feet set in front of Wade and LeBron and they will quickly exhaust themselves even trying to do it. Wade and LeBron are both very capable of splitting the double team, especially if one of the double teamers is a big, slow center who is not comfortable in space out on the perimeter. And they don't have to split it and go all the way to the hoop -- they just need to get in position to find an open Anthony or Magloire near the hoop.

There are defensive stratgeies that can work if this team is impatient and has bad ball movement. I don't think that will be the case. If we are patient and pass the ball around, cracks will appear in the defense. And with the guys we have, those cracks are going to look like giant caves. If I am opposing D I do want to get Wade and LeBron shooting 20 footers and will probably give them those, but that doesn't mean they have to, or should, take them. If they are aggressive going to the whole, that will force all kinds of movement by the D to provide help defense and that will leave guys open. Not just Anthony and Magloire, but also guys like LeBron, Bosh and Wade.

[levinsonesq]

double teaming everyone!!! LOL!!! WOW!!!

the pool of tears idea is classic...the only other options I can think of are thuggery and snipers in the stands!!!

[Chosen01]

They will flood the court with their tears and delay the game. That's the only way to stop them.

Honestly this team is pretty scary, most of the league are still on the "denial" stage.

Some people think Boston will beat the heat because their "stacked", not knowing most of them aren't even going to play more than 15 mins, we've seen how "stacked teams have performed in the past (Dallas, Rockets,Portland to an extent).

Its good to have stacked teams in the reg season, for security(injuries) but in the playoffs, you want your main guys playing 35-40 mpg.Lakers weren't stacked at all, and the suckiest bench yet still won back2back ships.


If we do get Dampier, the only thing I could think of that the rest of the league can use since "weakness" is gone, is that this team won't play together and implode, which is possible, but unlikely since if egos were such a big deal, I doubt LeBron,Wade and Bosh would team up. Plus they've shown they can let egos aside to get the ultimate prize(Olympics)

I'm sure they can do it for 5 years, winning rings, and partying like shaq said

[HeatSince88]

It might sound good on paper to use one's C to double the guy with the ball, but how many Cs have the mobility to really do that in any meaningful way against guys like Wade and LeBron? Most people have been most concerned about the teams with the big, physical Cs, such as the Lakers and Celtics. What kind of on-the-move help defense are guys like Shaq, Bynum, Perkins, etc. going to give? Not much. They will cause tons of fouls as they try to get their slow feet set in front of Wade and LeBron and they will quickly exhaust themselves even trying to do it. Wade and LeBron are both very capable of splitting the double team, especially if one of the double teamers is a big, slow center who is not comfortable in space out on the perimeter. And they don't have to split it and go all the way to the hoop -- they just need to get in position to find an open Anthony or Magloire near the hoop.

I think you're confusing doubling someone with guarding someone one-on-one.

A double-team is mostly about positioning and has virtually nothing to do with keeping up with someone laterally. A double-teamer comes over with his hands up and angles himself in such a way to eliminate 50% of the floor. Meanwhile, the defender getting the help similarly angles himself to cut off the other 50% of the floor.

You make it seem like Shaq or someone will be coming out to guard LeBron one-on-one...

As for what centers can handle that, doesn't every team in the league now "show" and "trap" off the pick-and-roll, even if it's with their center? YESSSS. They have for at least 10 years now. It's the same concept man, same amount of effort, etc. No actually, it's LESS effort and lateral movement to show on a double-team than to show and trap a guy on a pick-and-roll like every team does already.

There are defensive stratgeies that can work

Such as?

Apparently Joel Anthony's man shading to help against LeBron isn't one of them, so where does YOUR help come from? You leaving Wade? Bosh? Miller? House? Chalmers?

[Chosen01]

All I can say is that if Wade carries his 3pt shooting from the playoffs into this season and above, plus the acquisition of Dampier, this team really has NO Weakness except maybe the "pg" slot (Chalmers) but I think we all know LeBron and Wade will be running the show anyways..

[DWadeno3]

All I can say is that if Wade carries his 3pt shooting from the playoffs into this season and above, plus the acquisition of Dampier, this team really has NO Weakness except maybe the "pg" slot (Chalmers) but I think we all know LeBron and Wade will be running the show anyways..

And if Chalmers is able to play like he did in his rookie year, there isn't really a weak spot.

[Mind Bullets]

Well, the Magic will funnel those players into Dwight Howard, in order to take advantage of his shotblocking ability. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWjnvYfo6og Yes, the Heat will drive at him to draw fouls but they're still going to have some shots blocked. And you still need to consider how well the Heat will defend. No one's writing them off as a bad defensive team but they still have to demonstrate they can guard the elite teams if they want a title.

Howard couldnt get any respect from the refs in the 1st round vs Charlotte!

Game 1 - 5PF in 23 minutes.

Game 2 - 5PF in 26 minutes.

Game 3 - 6PF in 29 minutes.

Game 4 - 6PF in 28 minutes.

Now replace Wallace, Jackson and Felton with Bron, Wade and Bosh.

The Magic will get smashed!