Spoelstra brings Ducks' spread to NBA

"When the Heat's training camp finally opened after the five-month lockout, Spoelstra explained his new philosophy to his players by appealing to its offensive freedom. Inspired by Kelly's gridiron principles, Spoelstra laid out a simple offensive blueprint: spread the floor, maintain spacing and create controlled chaos.

"By doing this, Spoelstra was essentially burning his playbook and relying on his players' basketball IQ to make decisions."

5 months ago Tim S. 41 comments 0 recs |

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dude, i thought this was the mighty ducks' V spread lol

by Belize on Dec 22, 2011 12:13 PM CST reply actions 15 recs

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that

by SidM on Dec 22, 2011 1:25 PM CST up reply actions

I don't know what was worse

1. The thought of Spoelstra being desperate enough to try a made up hockey offense didn’t surprise me

2. The thought that it might work over what they were doing last year in the half court.

by runningman on Dec 22, 2011 1:51 PM CST up reply actions 3 recs

I didn't create the headline.

by Tim S. on Dec 22, 2011 4:57 PM CST up reply actions

I thought that he brought some kind of garnish made out of duck...

by THEKILLERWHALE on Dec 22, 2011 5:18 PM CST up reply actions

Have you guys ever seen a flock of ducks flying in perfect formation? It’s beautiful. Pretty awesome the way they all stick together. Ducks never say die. Ever seen a duck fight? No way. Why? Because the other animals are afraid. They know that if they mess with one duck, they gotta deal with the whole flock. I’m proud to be a Duck, and I’d be proud to fly with any one of you. So how about it? Who’s a Duck?

by Belize on Dec 22, 2011 9:28 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs

Belize....

I got the reference, and i recd….shame on those who didnt…

I dont care what the D.N.A. Says, the Guy wearing number 12 Cannot be Kirk Hinrich, he is definetly Kurt. Kirk can actually play basketball!

by piccolomair on Dec 23, 2011 3:03 PM CST up reply actions

oh..

by Belize on Dec 23, 2011 4:42 PM CST up reply actions

by Belize on Dec 22, 2011 9:30 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

DEUCE HERE

by obnoxious american on Dec 23, 2011 10:25 AM CST up reply actions

2 quacks...

48 minutes of intensity...RIP NVL.

by Lt.Dan on Dec 23, 2011 6:55 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

haha, same

Recovering...

by Juiceboxjerry on Dec 22, 2011 7:25 PM CST up reply actions

i'd rather maintain the SEC's philosophy

be strong in the middle of your defense and pound teams by being more physical.

I’m not worried about anything that was written in this article. Basketball players are making reads based on the defense! Wow! Spo won’t be calling plays every time?!? Welcome to the other half of the league. Sometimes writers create story lines, and that is what the Heat Index is best at – historical fiction.

If the Heat go small against the Bulls they will be pounded out of the gym. They won’t be able to control pace because they won’t be able to control the boards. Bring it Miami. Let Bosh shoot all the 3 pters he wants. The NBA game is still won in the paint.

by Basketball Smurf on Dec 22, 2011 12:27 PM CST reply actions 3 recs

This may also be a way of covering their deficiencies.

Weak at point guard? Anybody can be the point guard! Weak at center? Go small!

It could work if it means Wade and James spend more time as playmakers and Bosh and James spend more time in the paint. Wade doesn’t like to be called a point guard and Bosh doesn’t like to be called a center and James doesn’t like to be called a point guard or a center, so muddying up the positions could be a way of encouraging them to play those positions without admitting that’s what they are doing. One of the advantages of the triangle was that it effectively made Jordan and Bryant into playmakers without requiring them to say they were point guards.

The problem is, will Spoelstra sit the nominal point guards and centers who are the weak links on the team?

On the whole, I’m happy that Miami is trying out a whole new experimental offense. I thought Miami’s offense at the end of last year was pretty good. Maybe this will be better eventually, but at best it should still take them a while to change old habits. Plus, this offense might work better in the regular season than in the playoffs.

by Tim S. on Dec 22, 2011 12:39 PM CST up reply actions

*James doesn’t like to be called a point guard or a forward

by Tim S. on Dec 22, 2011 12:40 PM CST up reply actions

*James doesn’t like to be called a point guard or a power forward

We really need an edit option, at least for the first five minutes.

by Tim S. on Dec 22, 2011 12:41 PM CST up reply actions

agreed

I wonder if James is willing to spend more time in the paint this year. We’ve all heard that he’s working on a post game, I wonder what it will look like in this alleged spread offense.

"What do you think, I just dunked my whole career?" Jordan asked Henderson after making a 3.
"You’ve got to miss eventually," Henderson told him.
"That’s what Cleveland said," replied Jordan

by MRubio52 on Dec 22, 2011 1:16 PM CST up reply actions

Lebron has demonstrated over his entire career

that he doesn’t want to spend time in the paint. I don’t care how many moves he learns from Hakeem or Ewing, if he lacks the will to post up even when guarded by the other team’s point guard, it won’t matter.

by runningman on Dec 22, 2011 1:59 PM CST up reply actions

I really don't think Kobe or Jordan cared what they were called

The beauty of the Triangle offense is that you turn Jordan and Kobe into playmakers while taking them off the ball.

by tuluse on Dec 22, 2011 2:17 PM CST up reply actions

When Jordan was the point guard he was infatuated with triple-doubles.

He was, of course, a great point guard, but it also did change his game. In the triangle labels didn’t matter so much.

by Tim S. on Dec 22, 2011 2:34 PM CST up reply actions

They went small and beat the Bulls last year.

by Ozzie Montana on Dec 22, 2011 2:21 PM CST up reply actions

and considering small ball this year is something like

pg (their rook looks decent)
sg-wade
sf-battier
pf-lebron
c-bosh

thats kinda…well not too small, and defensively capable.

I dont care what the D.N.A. Says, the Guy wearing number 12 Cannot be Kirk Hinrich, he is definetly Kurt. Kirk can actually play basketball!

by piccolomair on Dec 22, 2011 3:27 PM CST up reply actions

is Battier really that much better than Miller? Its the same small lineup they played

last year.

by Basketball Smurf on Dec 22, 2011 3:31 PM CST up reply actions

healthier

and defensively for sure. Miller really didnt provide anything last year at all, even on offense last year. Battier might be able to AT LEAST produce the same on offense as miller did last year, and will certainly provide far more defense.

also you made me realize, that the best lineup, might actually be this

wade
battier
lebron
haslem
bosh

i think thats scary……

I dont care what the D.N.A. Says, the Guy wearing number 12 Cannot be Kirk Hinrich, he is definetly Kurt. Kirk can actually play basketball!

by piccolomair on Dec 22, 2011 4:11 PM CST up reply actions

They really didn't play James a lot at the 4 last year

http://www.82games.com/1011/1011MIA2.HTM

You have to scroll down to lineup 14 to see James at the 4. I don’t recall them going small too often against us in the playoffs either. They almost always had Anthony or Haslem in there along with Bosh.

Pat Riley is the devil.

by Poloplaya14 on Dec 22, 2011 4:28 PM CST up reply actions

No they didn't

they went small and lost game 1. Than Haslem came back and they stayed big the entire series. Haslem game 1 – 4 minutes played. Haslem games 2-5: 23, 24, 34, and 26 minutes played.

Anthony Bulls series – 29 minutes a game. Bosh – 42 minutes a game.

by Basketball Smurf on Dec 22, 2011 3:30 PM CST up reply actions 4 recs

Yes, getting Haslem back for a whole season is like acquiring a free agent.

by Tim S. on Dec 22, 2011 4:10 PM CST up reply actions

this.

they won game 2, 3 and 4 with haslem and miller’s coming into their own, mostly their rebounding. spo was hopeless after game 1 and turned to haslem desperately. that changed the whole momentum.

Grab it, Jo!

by Jesus Fever on Dec 22, 2011 8:31 PM CST up reply actions

priceless

“We don’t have Dwight Howard,” Riley said. “We don’t have an 18-rebound guy. We don’t have a 7-foot-2-inch guy who’s going to take care of that stuff. Playing bigger and thinking bigger is trying something new.”

Poor Eddy Curry…if only he had 2 more inches.

by SidM on Dec 22, 2011 1:38 PM CST reply actions 1 recs

if only he could jump 2 more inches!

Look
I didn’t want to offend anyone by saying the "f" word or generalizing my statement to any particular sex by saying "gays" or lesbians" or "bi’s" so "homos" is the most "politically correct" term. I’m just trying to be more tact in a tactless blog.

by Hindut Patrol on Feb 15, 2011 2:51 PM EST

by Jaina on Dec 22, 2011 2:25 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

if only he could jump!

fixed.

"What do you think, I just dunked my whole career?" Jordan asked Henderson after making a 3.
"You’ve got to miss eventually," Henderson told him.
"That’s what Cleveland said," replied Jordan

by MRubio52 on Dec 22, 2011 2:37 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs

if only he could jump 2 inches

A true friend stabs you in the front - Oscar Wilde

by dantheman3k on Dec 23, 2011 12:24 AM CST up reply actions

In other words, Spo is saying:

“Fuck it, I can’t coach. Let the stars do their stuff and hope for the best”
Controlled chaos?! Ha!

by JustAnotherFan on Dec 22, 2011 4:45 PM CST reply actions

which is literally what vdn does

the only real play any vdn team has ever run is the high screen and roll. Except now you have cp3 running the high screen and roll with blake/deandre ……which is…well close to unstoppable…

I dont care what the D.N.A. Says, the Guy wearing number 12 Cannot be Kirk Hinrich, he is definetly Kurt. Kirk can actually play basketball!

by piccolomair on Dec 22, 2011 5:22 PM CST up reply actions

While this is true

I also think there’s some merit to recognizing that treating this team like an ordinary team is holding them back. Traditional offensive schemes are created for players who need those types of schemes to succeed. The Heat stars don’t, and having Lebron stand to the side at the 3 point line while Wade runs a pick and roll with Bosh is just making things too easy for defenses that have seen that play a million times. Having only 1 ball means that Wade and Lebron are always going to neutralize each other, but a good coach would find ways to minimize that as much as possible.

It’s also clear that point guards and centers are not lining up to do the dirty work while the 3 amigos get all the credit and offensive touches. The coaches pretty much admitted that half of this nonsense is about getting the best players on their team to agree to roles that they wouldn’t normally want, if it wasn’t sold to them in this kind of package. I find it pretty amusing that Spoelstra is spending the summer watching college football games because he’s too scared to outright tell Bosh to go down low and grab some rebounds, and tell Lebron that this plan only works if he’s more willing to put team needs over personal comfort.

by runningman on Dec 22, 2011 8:28 PM CST up reply actions

I thought they called it the spread eagle??

by chitown's own on Dec 22, 2011 6:30 PM CST via mobile reply actions

in Miami it's the dirty sanchez

by Rose Colored Goggles on Dec 22, 2011 9:21 PM CST up reply actions

At first I was going to write a lengthy post about why this article is dumb

But, now I’m just going to make two points:

1) Unless the Heat deploy an all-out full court press on every defensive possession, they will never be able to create controlled chaos as possession alternates in basketball (unlike football)

2) This isn’t new, Mike D’Antoni developed a Ducks style offense in Phoenix.

by chowder on Dec 22, 2011 9:24 PM CST reply actions

The Miami

Wimpy Ducks?

"Violence is not always the answer."
"Violence is the question, and the answers always YES!"

by T.Moore on Dec 22, 2011 9:56 PM CST reply actions

Ira Winderman

is concerned about Miami’s new unstructured offense.

“Q: There is no better defense for Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh than LeBron James dominating the ball and forcing shots. The Heat will never be the team that they can be until they play as a team on the offensive end of the floor. He won’t hit those forced jumpers more than one night out of three, at best. He is such a good passer that he could be so much more. — Ron.

“A: Which is why I would think more structure in the offense would be a good thing. Wednesday, even though only an exhibition, raised concerns. I think breaking LeBron of old habits isn’t going to be as easy as occasionally stationing him in the post.”

by Tim S. on Dec 23, 2011 9:44 AM CST reply actions