Heat’s Defensive Scheme May Include Butler-Adebayo as Primary Roamers

After diving into the Miami Heat’s offensive scheme against the Bucks yesterday, now it’s time to look at the defensive side of things. Most of Erik Spoelstra’s post-season adjustments have occurred on the defensive end over the years, but I feel there will be more changes on the offensive end as highlighted yesterday.

The most important element to Miami’s defense in this series is match-up based, but tomorrow’s piece will highlight who I believe guards each guy on both sides. But it still must be noted here the different match-ups that can be used, and the ones that just won’t work at all.

When talking about both teams not being the same as last year, it begins with Miami’s personnel on the defensive end, since they don’t have a Jae Crowder type to throw at Giannis Antetokounmpo and build a wall. But frankly, Milwaukee’s offense wouldn’t allow that wall scheme to work anyways.

So, let’s take a look at some of the things Miami will need to do against the current Bucks.

Eliminating Robinson on Bigs

Once again, this piece won’t be describing as much stuff match-up based, but the Duncan Robinson element must be noted. Some suggested that him guarding Brook Lopez would allow others to match-up better on the perimeter, but that way just doesn’t seem possible.

For one, Jrue Holiday running the offense now means that he will get the ball to Lopez if he sees that match-up down low, as he did on this play. The reason he found himself on Lopez here was due to a scramble in transition, but the Heat cannot rely on doubling Lopez in the post when Holiday, Middleton, and Antetokounmpo are all on the floor.

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So, that kind of seems like it’s out of the equation, but what about the constant switches?

The switch on this play led to Adebayo blanketing the driving DiVincenzo and forcing a Bucks offensive reset. The issue was that the initial switch had Robinson on Antetokounmpo, which Middleton found and resulted in an and-1 finish.

When I say there won’t be as many defensive changes this time around, I mean that the switching scheme isn’t going anywhere. Of course possessions like this will occur, but they also lead to minor changes within the scheme, like this…

Ariza-Robinson Doubles Leads to Butler-Adebayo Roaming

The defensive headliner for Miami in this series will include the traps and blitzes on Milwaukee’s shot creators, which make some people nervous due to the firepower on their roster. The difference with this exact double is that it won’t contain Bam Adebayo or Jimmy Butler, the Heat’s two best defenders.

Robinson has improved as an individual defender, but more importantly, his team defensive skills have been the major leap in his game. Combine that with a savvy veteran like Trevor Ariza and good things will come out of it.

The reason I mention Ariza and Robinson specifically is that this allows Miami’s two best defenders to roam on the backside. Adebayo can await the cut from a big, while Butler splits two defenders on the opposite side. The most obvious defensive attribute for Miami heading in will be that Adebayo and Butler will be swarming ball-handlers any chance they get.

But I feel it might just be the complete opposite.

These doubles don’t only pertain to Middleton as well. It’s hard to truly showcase the film of how they will go about it due to the fact Jimmy Butler didn’t play the Bucks this year, but everybody’s completely aware of his abilities on that end of the floor.

On this play, Robinson fronts Antetokounmpo, as Ariza doubles on the backside as soon as the catch is made. Adebayo lurks on the opposite side, forcing him to dump a pass inside to Lopez leading to a turnover. And if there’s any odd defensive trait to mention with Butler, it’s that he’s a very good post defender.

Last thing to evaluate in these two clips is the time and quarter of this game. Erik Spoelstra adjusted to this in the second half of Saturday’s game against Milwaukee, and I don’t think it’s the last time we see it. I’m saving match-ups for tomorrow’s piece, but the biggest mismatch between the Buck’s offense and the Heat’s defense is Erik Spoelstra and Mike Budenholzer.

Constant Help Scheme

When looking at Ariza’s defensive abilities compared to Jae Crowder, it’s obvious he doesn’t play with the same type of physicality on the block. But he does thrive on the perimeter, which it’ll be hard for Miami to find a way to keep him out there primarily.

So, since he will be in the interior for a lot of possessions, the theme of Miami’s defense must continue: constant help. Butler being the replacement for Bjelica in this clip clearly means that he would’ve already dropped down to deny, which makes things quite different. Even though this Bucks team has an extra weapon, Miami’s still going to focus on the head of the snake.

Ariza may not have the same amount of strength to guard an Antetokounmpo type player, but this continues the theme of Adebayo and Butler as roamers. Nunn would have to rotate down sooner to try to muck things up, as Adebayo splits the defenders on his side. This team will have an approach for Antetokounmpo, but it’ll most likely look a lot different from last playoffs. And that’s a good thing.

Lopez Interior Play is…Acceptable

An extra thing that must be noted about Brook Lopez in this series is that they will live with his interior play at times. Milwaukee has some extra size on the front line, and Lopez is far from being their primary worry. The usual Adebayo rotation on the backside just isn’t necessary as he’s forced to stay with a cutting Antetokounmpo.

Miami won in five games last post-season, and a forgotten element is that Lopez had a pretty great series. Dewayne Dedmon may be a key part of how Miami goes about things this year, since they haven’t had a physical back-up big to just throw at opposing teams.

The moral of this play: Lopez may have a series and Miami may be fine with it.

Bam on Giannis Means No Help Necessary

And finally, the individual battle of Antetokounmpo and Adebayo. I’ve discussed the overarching theme of blitzing and doubles, but the one-on-one match-up between these two will always be the thing we come back to.

Putting Adebayo on an island with him is no big deal, since his lateral quickness basically cancels out Antetokounmpo’s length. I’m not so sure how many times we will see this match-up one-on-one like this, but it’s something that Miami feels very comfortable doing.

If they can force him into trying to score in the half-court this way, it could majorly work in Miami’s favor and can spark some runs on the offensive end.

As mentioned earlier, the defensive adjustments in this series don’t seem to be as major as last season, but sometimes they don’t need to be. The minor changes can actually be the ones to overturn a series, and that seems like the best route to go if I’m Erik Spoelstra.

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