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The Miami Heat’s victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 bears the signature of Erik Spoelstra’s great competition and planning. Frank Vogel had to adapt.
We predicted, Erik Spoelstra would have changed his strategy after the disastrous results of the 2-3 zone defense in Game 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Considering that such a defense was powerless against the player he was designed to stop, Anthony Davis, the Miami Heat coach, completely scrapped his plan for Game 3, going with something totally different.
This time around, he opted for a simpler approach (for the NBA), deploying a one-on-one defense with systematic double teams in AD. And it was worth it.
The big man was forced into a bad game with a terrible first half and found himself in foul trouble throughout the game, preventing him from getting into rhythm. With him on the bench, we also saw flashes of a 3-2 zone, which quickly reverted to a regular individual defense.
Contemplating Spoelstra’s new approach, Frank Vogel immediately adapted his strategy, keeping Dwight Howard extra minutes on the court alongside Davis to take advantage of his size. But AD soon had to leave the court with the aforementioned foul problems and Vogel quickly switched to a small lineup with Markieff Morris at the five.
And this lineup worked, making good runs that kept the Lakers in the game. However, in the end, the most effective of the second half was that of Morris in the fourth and Davis in the five, although he scored just 10 points.
Vogel will have to consider starting with the “small lineup,” moving AD to center full-time and promoting Morris once again in the starting lineup, as he did against the Houston Rockets.
On the defensive side, more adjustments are needed. When Jimmy Butler has 40 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists, scoring or assisting on 73 points for the Heat, the second most in the NBA Finals, and he is averaging 29.3 points, 7 rebounds and 10.3 assists in the Finals, it’s clear what what the Lakers should do. .
Like he did in the Western Conference semifinals with James Harden, Vogel has to count on catching Butler on a systematic double team. With Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo out with injuries, he’s basically Miami’s sole starter and the engine of the Heat’s offense.
Tyler Herro is also a good playmaker, but mostly opts to leave the screens for the three of them or wait in goal when the ball is in Jimmy’s hands.
Preventing the Texan from getting into the paint and forcing the ball out of his hands prematurely should strongly disrupt his offense. Adebayo could return to the lineup soon, but as of now, the Heat are counting on an all-out-of-the-way approach, with four three-point shooters waiting on goal as Butler creates the game for himself and his teammates. team.
Playing 48 minutes with a small lineup and systematically catching Jimmy Butler seems like the best option right now for the Lakers, one they will have to seriously explore heading into Game 4.
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