Miami Heat are hot on Christmas Day
December 25th 2011 21:41
One of the things I have noticed thus far with the Miami Heat in their Christmas Day game with the Dallas Mavericks is the pace Miami is dictating against the Mavericks. Erik Spoelstra was given a contract extension, so there is no doubt he has the confidence and support from owner Micky Arison and president Pat Riley. Interestingly enough, Spoelstra comes directly from the "Pat Riley School of Basketball" and clearly uses much of what he learned under Riley to his current team. I mean he was being groomed by Riley to be the next coach in succession for the Heat so it makes sense when Riles headed up to the front office once more he appointed Spoelstra his head coach.
To me the relationship between Micky Arison and Pat Riley is much like that of Knicks owner James Dolan (one of the sons of Cablevision and HBO founder Charles Dolan) and Isaiah Thomas. Except the difference is Pat Riley knows how to coach and run an organization in the proper manner and earned Arison's trust because of his resume.
Riley has built a powerhouse in Miami, but last season was not real shocking. Considering the fact it was their first season together, the Heat did well to make the NBA Finals but endured a season of up-and-downs along the way. In their first game, Miami is playing with an uptempo pace not often seen last season. There was a lot of walking the ball up the floor, but it seems Spoelstra and company want to take advantage of the athletes they have on the floor.
And the best way to do that is to let these guys push the ball up the court and look to score before a defense can settle in and try to contain them in the half court. So far, it is evident the Heat have been practicing quick inbound and outlet passes to get the ball out to a guard and look for Wade, James, or Bosh cruising down the floor. If they make it look as fun and easy as they have today (they are leading by 31 right now as I write this), Miami definitely might have found a better offensive philosophy that allows more freedom and space for these stars to score.
Even though Pat Riley was known for his reliance on defense and hard practices, Riley coached the fast breaking Lakers from 1982 to 1990. So if the Heat continue this offensive style, it would not be anything Pat Riley has not seen before. The other thing is the Heat could be one of those rare teams that could play an open style kind of offense at times and still be able to lock people up defensively because they are strong on that end of the floor.
Of course, the old saying goes the playoffs slow down tenfold, but I think Miami's stars would be able to play at this kind of pace in the playoffs at times and still be able to dig in defensively. It would not be like the early 2000s Dallas Mavericks or the mid to late 2000s Phoenix Suns because those teams were poor defensively.
To me the relationship between Micky Arison and Pat Riley is much like that of Knicks owner James Dolan (one of the sons of Cablevision and HBO founder Charles Dolan) and Isaiah Thomas. Except the difference is Pat Riley knows how to coach and run an organization in the proper manner and earned Arison's trust because of his resume.
Riley has built a powerhouse in Miami, but last season was not real shocking. Considering the fact it was their first season together, the Heat did well to make the NBA Finals but endured a season of up-and-downs along the way. In their first game, Miami is playing with an uptempo pace not often seen last season. There was a lot of walking the ball up the floor, but it seems Spoelstra and company want to take advantage of the athletes they have on the floor.
And the best way to do that is to let these guys push the ball up the court and look to score before a defense can settle in and try to contain them in the half court. So far, it is evident the Heat have been practicing quick inbound and outlet passes to get the ball out to a guard and look for Wade, James, or Bosh cruising down the floor. If they make it look as fun and easy as they have today (they are leading by 31 right now as I write this), Miami definitely might have found a better offensive philosophy that allows more freedom and space for these stars to score.
Even though Pat Riley was known for his reliance on defense and hard practices, Riley coached the fast breaking Lakers from 1982 to 1990. So if the Heat continue this offensive style, it would not be anything Pat Riley has not seen before. The other thing is the Heat could be one of those rare teams that could play an open style kind of offense at times and still be able to lock people up defensively because they are strong on that end of the floor.
Of course, the old saying goes the playoffs slow down tenfold, but I think Miami's stars would be able to play at this kind of pace in the playoffs at times and still be able to dig in defensively. It would not be like the early 2000s Dallas Mavericks or the mid to late 2000s Phoenix Suns because those teams were poor defensively.
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