As the NBA finals rolled around, the Miami Heat knew that they barely stood a chance with their undersized roster against the larger players of Denver Nuggets. Both opposing teams wanted to win and receive the title.
Zone defense is where players guard different zones on the court instead of particular opponents, which was banned by the NBA for more than 50 years. When the NBA was just starting out, they thought the many teams crowding their defense around the hoop could slow down the game, pulling the audience’s attention away from the game.
In the 2001-2002 season, NBA unbanned zoning, giving teams more options for defending. People criticized zone defense, seeing it a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency deal. Usually, zone defenders are too slow to react when the ball is being zipped around, making zoning unpopular among teams. The defensive three-second rule added to the flame, forbidding defenders to stay no more than three seconds in their opponent’s lane.
Gabe Vincent, the main point guard for Miami Heat saw zoning in a different perspective—a unique, yet effective way to defend.
The Miami Heat uses a very interesting type of zone defense-often setting up in a 1-1-3 form, later switching into a 2-3.
Miami plays zone nearly 20 percent of the time, regularly. This is what Max Strus, the guard for the Miami Heat said about their coach, Erik Spoelstra: “Spo does a great job preparing us all year to be ready for situations like this, to be able to switch in a timeout, switch a scheme, switch a defense.” Erik Spoelstra has trained his team to adapt to the actions their opponents make.
An example of this was in the early second quarter of the third final game, Miami Heat created a 2-2-1 zone press. When the Nuggets managed to get the ball upcourt, Heat shifted their defense into a 2-3 set, causing the Nuggets’ point guard to miss his shot.
Zone defense makes the Miami Heat strangely unpredictable. When bringing the ball upcourt, opponents of Miami Heat always calculate what the Miami Heat are going to do. In the third final game, the Miami Heat lost 109-94.
The Miami Heat are currently losing to Denver Nuggets with a score of 2-1. Knowing Miami, they are likely to use a trick up their sleeve. Zoning has helped Miami Heat win many times, so we may see it again in the rest of the finals, and perhaps they may even win because of it.
Zone defense is where players guard different zones on the court instead of particular opponents, which was banned by the NBA for more than 50 years. When the NBA was just starting out, they thought the many teams crowding their defense around the hoop could slow down the game, pulling the audience’s attention away from the game.
In the 2001-2002 season, NBA unbanned zoning, giving teams more options for defending. People criticized zone defense, seeing it a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency deal. Usually, zone defenders are too slow to react when the ball is being zipped around, making zoning unpopular among teams. The defensive three-second rule added to the flame, forbidding defenders to stay no more than three seconds in their opponent’s lane.
Gabe Vincent, the main point guard for Miami Heat saw zoning in a different perspective—a unique, yet effective way to defend.
The Miami Heat uses a very interesting type of zone defense-often setting up in a 1-1-3 form, later switching into a 2-3.
Miami plays zone nearly 20 percent of the time, regularly. This is what Max Strus, the guard for the Miami Heat said about their coach, Erik Spoelstra: “Spo does a great job preparing us all year to be ready for situations like this, to be able to switch in a timeout, switch a scheme, switch a defense.” Erik Spoelstra has trained his team to adapt to the actions their opponents make.
An example of this was in the early second quarter of the third final game, Miami Heat created a 2-2-1 zone press. When the Nuggets managed to get the ball upcourt, Heat shifted their defense into a 2-3 set, causing the Nuggets’ point guard to miss his shot.
Zone defense makes the Miami Heat strangely unpredictable. When bringing the ball upcourt, opponents of Miami Heat always calculate what the Miami Heat are going to do. In the third final game, the Miami Heat lost 109-94.
The Miami Heat are currently losing to Denver Nuggets with a score of 2-1. Knowing Miami, they are likely to use a trick up their sleeve. Zoning has helped Miami Heat win many times, so we may see it again in the rest of the finals, and perhaps they may even win because of it.
