Spoelstra

[ninjabelly]

Seems like he still hasn't learned to adapt to situations in the game(like the zone).

will he ever learn to adapt?

plus why didnt he pull wade tonight?

[TRG]

Sometimes you just gotta trust your superstars even if they're having off nights.

Spo does indeed suck though he got out-coached big time tonight.

[DefenseWins]

He doesn't have the cojones to pull Wade lol. I mean he called him to make the game winning shot when he was playing terribly.

And I must say ATL's coach did a fine job as well as ATL. I won't take away credit from ATL, even though Wade played like utter crap.

They played how the Heat played, it was really strange to be honest lol.

[OtW]

Because Spoelstra wants to "trust the system" and "not let go of the rope" because he thinks using the same defensive system (heavy help defense, clogging the paint etc.) will get us back to the finals again. Spo has been all about consistency and does not change. In fact, I was surprised this season to see him make some changes, like having our superstars not jack up three's and such. His offense is good and all, but when zone stops it, he either doesn't adjust, or adjusts too late.

Like, he put Jones in to bust the zone, but did not realize that Atlanta's coach stopped playing zone so they could play man to man against our reserves and so Marvin Williams could light JJ up on the offensive end (which he pretty much did).

Spo is always either adapting too late when getting out coached, trusting the system, expecting it to take us back to the finals, or hoping Superstars like Wade could end the scoring droughts (which we saw tonight).

Atlanta pretty much played Zone for a good 75% of the game, other teams are going to pick up at that. During halftime, Keith Askins, Rothstein, and McAdoo keep saying that we are prepared to beat the zone (which they identified was implemented before half time and expect it implemented again), but we never do so successfully.

TL;DR: Spo gets outcoached, and either adjusts too late when the other coach is two steps ahead of him, or hopes for 'the system' and/or Superstars to bail him out.

[EscapoTHB]

He's playing the long game. Yeah he could have put James Jones in and probably busted the zone. But Jones isn't going to be in our finals rotation probably. The guys out there tonight need to figure out how to beat the zone without relying on hot 3 point shooting.

I think this is part of the process of how you get better over the course of the season, particularly when you don't have practices.

One loss now is meaningless. We were never going to win all of them. And Atlanta played well and we let them control tempo.

It's not a big deal. I think Spo is a darkhorse COY candidate for the changes he's made in our offense. It is night and day, even tonight, between what were doing last year and what we are doing now.

[DefenseWins]

I don't know. I thought the offense was great, until it went up against the zone. They couldn't do ANYTHING.

[BFRESH44]

He's playing the long game. Yeah he could have put James Jones in and probably busted the zone. But Jones isn't going to be in our finals rotation probably. The guys out there tonight need to figure out how to beat the zone without relying on hot 3 point shooting.

I think this is part of the process of how you get better over the course of the season, particularly when you don't have practices.

One loss now is meaningless. We were never going to win all of them. And Atlanta played well and we let them control tempo.

It's not a big deal. I think Spo is a darkhorse COY candidate for the changes he's made in our offense. It is night and day, even tonight, between what were doing last year and what we are doing now.

Nailed it.

[diablerouge]

Im glad that we are playing our best players, even if it means being undersized. Theres no reason Joel should play more than 20 mins and theres no reason Howard should play at all. Kudos.

[HeatFanSince87]

We'll figure the zone out boys...

Just sucks 66-0 is out the window

[Pimpwerx]

He's playing the long game. Yeah he could have put James Jones in and probably busted the zone. But Jones isn't going to be in our finals rotation probably. The guys out there tonight need to figure out how to beat the zone without relying on hot 3 point shooting.

I think this is part of the process of how you get better over the course of the season, particularly when you don't have practices.

One loss now is meaningless. We were never going to win all of them. And Atlanta played well and we let them control tempo.

It's not a big deal. I think Spo is a darkhorse COY candidate for the changes he's made in our offense. It is night and day, even tonight, between what were doing last year and what we are doing now.

I agree, but I would have swapped Cole in for Battier or Jones. Bron and Wade were the only two ball-handlers, and they were getting pressured. We needed someone else who could create out there. We had Haslem out there too long as well. There was a point under 3 minutes, where it was obvious we needed 3pt shooting out there, yet we kept Haslem out. Cole could have pushed the pace and tried to get us out in front of the zone. PEACE.

[This IsMy House]

He's playing the long game. Yeah he could have put James Jones in and probably busted the zone. But Jones isn't going to be in our finals rotation probably. The guys out there tonight need to figure out how to beat the zone without relying on hot 3 point shooting.

I think this is part of the process of how you get better over the course of the season, particularly when you don't have practices.

One loss now is meaningless. We were never going to win all of them. And Atlanta played well and we let them control tempo.

It's not a big deal. I think Spo is a darkhorse COY candidate for the changes he's made in our offense. It is night and day, even tonight, between what were doing last year and what we are doing now.

I agree, but I would have swapped Cole in for Battier or Jones. Bron and Wade were the only two ball-handlers, and they were getting pressured. We needed someone else who could create out there. We had Haslem out there too long as well. There was a point under 3 minutes, where it was obvious we needed 3pt shooting out there, yet we kept Haslem out. Cole could have pushed the pace and tried to get us out in front of the zone. PEACE.

I agree we should've played Cole more in the fourth but I think Haslem was kept in the game bc Smith was just destroying us down low. We seemed to be real slow on closing out on players yet again. I don't know why we worry so much about people scoring in the paint. It gets us toasted from 3 and tires the player out from all that running.

[ninjabelly]

spo will never win coy for this team sorry, if we win he did the job he was supposed to in the eyes of everyone, if we lose he failed. it's a lose lose almost.

[radikalBaller]

"Rookie point guard Norris Cole, who has gone from revelation to steady contributor, scored nine of the Heat's 27 second-quarter points, showing no fear about tossing up jumpers against Atlanta's zone. Spoelstra, however, opted to go more often with Chalmers, who committed a team-high five turnovers, twice evoking the ire of James. The Heat closed the game without a true point guard on the floor."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miam ... ory?page=2

[CablexDeadpool]

He's playing the long game. Yeah he could have put James Jones in and probably busted the zone. But Jones isn't going to be in our finals rotation probably. The guys out there tonight need to figure out how to beat the zone without relying on hot 3 point shooting.

I think this is part of the process of how you get better over the course of the season, particularly when you don't have practices.

One loss now is meaningless. We were never going to win all of them. And Atlanta played well and we let them control tempo.

It's not a big deal. I think Spo is a darkhorse COY candidate for the changes he's made in our offense. It is night and day, even tonight, between what were doing last year and what we are doing now.

Ok so you beat zone by shooting and pushing the pace and forcing shots inefficient shots to get the rebound and get on the break...

but he plays the same defense which allows zoning teams to get open shots then he doesn't put JJ in at the right time to at least get some points on the board and then play straight up defense.

that's not logical.

Atlanta slowed the game down, the zone leaves the perimeter open, you gonna have to shoot jumpshots, mainly 3s.

You also gonna have to run cutters through the middle and from end to end, to get easy lay ups and create passing lanes.

There's no way else to beat the zone when the team is playing extreme help defense and clogging the paint and leaving the 3 wide open like her always does.

If 2 of your best players are no longer shooting 3s, you have 2 players that are not stretching the court. Then you got Bosh in the post.

He gonna need floor spacers, there is no playing your best lineup or playing players you only gonna play in the playoffs, you gonna need JJ, he's your best bench weapon besides Cole. Use your entire bench. He have to, he don't have a fully capable offensive players on your bench. He is limited on offense, you gonna need everybody.

That's the problem with Spo, he goes around studying all this crap and ends up outsmarting himself because he's not creative and pretty much copies what people give him and what he sees others doing.

So no, don't expect him to reinvent the wheel, or learn from this because he still can't beat the zone because zone is not an offensive problem.

It's a defensive problem, when you play against zone, you gonna have to play straight up defense. There is no helping on the perimeter, there is no clogging the lanes, you gonna need to tell your players to D up straight up and play man to man and force bad shots.

This means after you score, you should use full court presses, half court traps, playing tough defense without helping. This is how you push the tempo when a team is zoning you.

How about use the zone yourself?

If you afraid of giving up the lay up so much, how about you use freaking zone. How about you come up with defensive schemes and plans that protect the paint without giving up open jumpshots?

Spo is a like Spock or something, he has no creative thinking at all.

[Pimpwerx]

I like Spo, but he is slow on adjustments.

Anyway, anyone else find it strange that Bosh has attempted more 3s than Wade and Bron combined? It seems like when we need a 3, we're more likely to go to him than them now. I don't like that particular development, just as I didn't like all the random heat-check 3s they used to take out of the flow of the offense. PEACE.

[tsherkin]

I'd like to know why James Jones won't be in the Finals rotation. That was a bad move last year; is the assumption that Battier will take most of the minutes in his stead? A move at the deadline? I'm curious because he's working on his third-straight season shooting 40%+ from downtown and that's the kind of support that you desperately need against a zone.

[dflash3]

I'd like to know why James Jones won't be in the Finals rotation. That was a bad move last year; is the assumption that Battier will take most of the minutes in his stead? A move at the deadline? I'm curious because he's working on his third-straight season shooting 40%+ from downtown and that's the kind of support that you desperately need against a zone.

During the post season, James Jones knocked down his threes at a 47% clip before he was completely phased out of the line up during the ECF. He never played himself out of rotation, but he had some foot problems that led to him not seeing the court again. Although, JJ kept saying he was ready to play, and I think Wade wondered why JJ wasn't being given any minutes during a press conference.

It seems JJ is at best an insurance policy due to the Heat trying to get Battier going, and once Miller comes back opportunities for him to play will be even more scarce. It wouldn't be a bad thing if Battier and Miller can reclaim their shooting touch. But, if the two don't get their shot going I hope the Heat will be more open to adjustments as opposed to making the same mistake of sticking with players who aren't producing like they did when they started the Bibby and Big Z tandem for two rounds before realizing it wasn't going to work.

But, there is no reason for the fire spo type threads, since this is just the regular season, and Spoelstra is the best coach available for the Heat. Any other replacement wouldn't be any better, and the offense has actually improved drastically compared to last season. If anything, losses and struggles like this are a gift, since the regular season is the best time to get the opportunity to figure out the zone as opposed to being blind sided by it during the post season. For all we know Spoelstra's goal is for the Heat to figure out how to beat the zone without relying on the three, since the three ball isn't always going to be there.

[Vertical Limit]

You guys are so quick to react. Guys.. it's a LOSS. Oh my god! No way! The Heat lost a game! Yes the "impossible" has truly happened, we didn't repeat the 1972 Dolphins and now this whole season is a failure and everything is going wrong!

Relax.. jesus christ relax.. When we start losing 3 straight then start freaking out.. but it's just one loss.

And I post this because I know for a fact that this thread would not have been created had we won by 1 point.

[Heat_team02]

The way to figure out the zone is to remove Wade from the ball game cause he can neither shoot it from outside or bust the zone cause he get's the ball poked away. He's also become more selfish as can be seen by his declining assist numbers.

Lebron is also shaky against the zone but his passing could become useful in that situation if he doesn't try to play hero himself.

Cole would have been the perfect player to bust the zone but Spoelstra doesn't know this yet.

[Heat_team02]

There is such a thing as keeping a player out on the floor for too long even when they're struggling.

This has been the case with Chalmers towards the 2nd half of 3rd quarters. Because Spo wants to play Cole in the 4th, he'll leave Chalmers out there no matter how bad he's performing and this pigeon holing is going cost us big down the line.

Also, Battier shot ok last night but to me, he's not ready yet and game time is not the place to get the rust off.