As Atlanta Hawks coach Nate McMillan appeared forward to Tuesday night time’s Game 5 of his group’s Eastern Conference playoff collection in opposition to the Miami Heat at FTX Arena it was with a determined case of déjà . . . ew.
Been there. Seen it. Lost it.
Having been swept out of the primary spherical by the Heat in the beginning of the 2020 NBA playoffs whereas teaching the Indiana Pacers, the smothering defensive strategy turned a case of what’s outdated is new once more.
The fixed with the Heat and Erik Spoelstra’s scheme, McMillan stated, is procuring the items to make it work.
So whereas Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler stay the anchors, just like how they have been in 2020 in opposition to McMillan’s Pacers within the first spherical, the online forged by the Heat entrance workplace once more has reeled in a defensive supporting forged to place a McMillan group on its heels.
And, as soon as once more, Spoelstra has succeeded as puppet grasp.
“It’s the system, McMillan stated, along with his group in a 3-1 deficit within the best-of-seven collection going into Tuesday night time. “This is a system Miami has performed with for numerous years. Of course, he does a fantastic job with this group.
“But the system they have in place defensively, I faced this same defense in Indiana a couple of years ago when I was in Indiana and we got swept in the playoffs.”
With that, McMillan reeled off names of Heat defenders, from Butler and Adebayo, to P.J. Tucker, Kyle Lowry, Gabe Vincent, and Caleb Martin.
“Bam being at that five position, his ability to switch out to guard guards. You bring in a guy like Tucker. You bring in Lowry. Those guys are defensive-minded players,” McMillan stated. “A number of years in the past, they introduced in [Andre] Iguodala. Those kind of fellows.
“So their defense that they’re playing, they recruit personnel to fit their system.”
In some methods, it was as if McMillan was providing a tribute to the collective Heat strategy, from Pat Riley on down, with Spoelstra in a position to flip to subsequent defensive man up.
“They’re fairly stable with Butler primarily being the primary man defensively, McMillan stated. “His skill to protect one via 5. Bam’s skill to protect one via 5. Tucker’s skill to protect one via 5. You herald a man like Vincent to exchange Lowry. His skill to get into the ball and strain.
“So it’s a system that has been in place for a while with Miami. And they do a good job of recruiting and finding those guys that fit the system they want to play.”
As the collection progressed, McMillan turned to small ball in a bid to alter the momentum. Instead, he discovered an ample Heat counter.
“They put a lot of speed out there,” he stated. “Basically, really, four guards.”
And that got here even with Kyle Lowry out as a consequence of a hamstring pressure, one which once more had him out for Game 5, after sitting out Sunday’s Heat Game 4 win, with Vincent transferring into his place and bringing his personal defensive power.
In the top, McMillian proved prescient, maybe too prescient, when provided his scouting report on the Heat’s protection forward of this collection.
“They force turnovers with their pressure,” he stated every week in the past. “They do a good job of switching, with Bam being able to guard one through five. So we have to make them defend. Get some ball movement. Be ready for their changing defenses. They will go from a press to a zone.”
Ultimately, the Heat have carried out all the above, with all the aforementioned gamers coming in waves in opposition to Young and the Hawks’ scorers.
“You have to give them credit,” Young stated.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com