Trusting the Defensive Process of Erik Spoelstra

Erik Spoelstra is a known mad scientist when it comes to the atmosphere of the NBA playoffs. He knows what the strengths of his team are and how to maximize them to their potential. Last season, we saw the team go from a drop-centric scheme throughout the regular season into a high-flying hyperactive switching group of maniacs with Jae Crowder’s insertion into the starting lineup. It’s no secret that Coach Spoelstra is a master of adapting his scheme to the roster’s strengths and weaknesses. The guy squeezed a top 10 defense out of a lineup that had no business in doing so in 2016-2017. You give Erik Spoelstra lemons, and he’s making lemonade with a 4-course meal on the side.

In his tenure with the Heat, he’s made sure to help his team build habits throughout the course of a season. Spoelstra has never worried about a singular regular-season game but about what direction the team trends in the season as a whole. He knows the goal should be to smooth out those edges so that in the playoffs, you know your identity just as well as you know the back of your hand. This then allows you to enforce your will on your opponent to the point where they’re succumbing to it. Doing all of this while still being flexible enough to make adjustments in the margins is what makes him such an outstanding coach.

Fans of the team recently had some questions about the defensive scheme they played against the Memphis Grizzlies. Everyone wondered why they continued blitzing pick and rolls with guys like Grayson Allen or Killian Tillie as the ball handler. When, in reality, the fans should have been asking why the rotations weren’t up to snuff. Or why they allowed so much dribble penetration even though limiting such action is a staple of Miami’s identity.

At that moment, it seems easy to ask, “why are they not switching to a drop coverage?” Yes, I asked similar questions, but everyone needs to take a step back for a minute and remember what coach you’re dealing with. Coach Spoelstra has only so much time left before the playoffs begin and plenty of new additions he’s looking to integrate into the system. He knows he needs to start nudging the pieces closer and closer together. The Grizzlies found the seams in the defense, and Miami wasn’t sharp on their rotations, and the team knows that. Coach Spo, after the game, stated that a lot of their open looks “weren’t scheme related.” Bam Adebayo shared similar sentiments when he said “late rotations, lock of communications” and “defensive reps” were the cause of the trouble. It’s not really something fans want to hear, but you realize just how far off the Heat were in executing their game plan when looking back at the game. The inordinate amount of dribble penetration to the lack of knowing who would be where on the weakside help.

In the play above, you can see Miami blitzing Ja, as is their game plan, but Duncan Robinson sits in No Man’s Land for the slightest second after the blitz. He relaxes for a millisecond, not really guarding anyone before realizing Jimmy has Kyle Anderson and that he needs to head over to the man in the corner. Props to Duncan for even getting a semi-contest in this spot, though. He did well enough to get out there, but this is also credit to Memphis for making the right read and keeping Miami on their heels as they did all night.

Above is an example of the rare dribble penetration allowed throughout the game. Jimmy takes a really rare bad angle on Brooks as soon as he heads towards the ball. Iguodala and Bjelica both give a semi-dig, but they’re worried about their men getting an open corner 3 or a dump-off pass. These sorts of plays happened a lot, and if it wasn’t a layup like the play above, it was a Grizzlies player collapsing the defense and forcing scrambling rotations.

It was a mess all around, but it’s a necessary one for a team who wants to make sure these sorts of things don’t happen once the playoffs come around. It’s a process, and the coaching staff knows it. They’re not trying to hunt wins – they’re trying to get ready for the primary hunt that is the playoff beast. In doing this, the team and staff hope that the wins will start stringing along as those smudges get cleaner and cleaner.

It was no surprise that in the next game against Portland, the rotations and communications were about as crisp as it gets. The team learned from their mistakes and were back to that defense everyone had grown accustomed to. Everyone was making the rotations a second faster than before, and a second in NBA game terms is a lifetime. The defense that Miami wants to run requires those rotations to be on point and you need to get as much cleaned up in the meantime as possible.

Whether it’s against Grayson Allen or Damian Lillard or Jayson Tatum in the future, the Heat knows what they need to do to reach another level. The switching style they play is going to pay dividends once the postseason starts. Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler blow up so much of what the opposition wants to do already. It’ll be even better in the homestretch as Jimmy Butler continues being a better Free Saftey than prime Earl Thomas. The defense they’re playing right now will be important for their playoff success more than switching to a drop scheme for a game in the middle of a messy covid protocol-filled season. Good habits are built stronger if you don’t deviate from them, and Miami will make sure that they have those habits now so that they don’t have to do it in the middle of a playoff series.

This definitely doesn’t mean Miami won’t adjust when it comes to the playoffs. Again, Erik Spoelstra is a magician when it comes to in-series adjustments. But they need to have an identity they can rely on to help get them there. Remember when not too long ago, the fans were even questioning what exactly their identity was? They’re already in a much better place than they were not even two and a half months ago. And having a defensive identity isn’t anything new to Miami Heat teams since Erik Spoelstra took over. Since he became the Head Coach, the Heat have been top 10 in defensive rating 9 of his 13 seasons (including this year.) And 3 of those remaining seasons, they were right on edge sitting at 11th. Hell, it’s been that way going back to when Pat Riley arrived in 1995. So those messy nights may happen here and there, yes. It’ll just be up to the team to make sure they don’t happen too frequently. Ironing out the mistakes in the regular season will lead to a smoother time in the playoffs. As always, Trust the Spocess.

Marco Romo can be found at @MarcoRomo_ on Twitter