for years that Miami Heat As part of its defensive arsenal a Zone 2-3which he not only uses during the regular phase, but turns into a Deadly weapon for opponents especially during the postseason, In 2020, the Florida guys reached the Finals with this strategy a central spot in Spoelstra’s proposal, and in 2023 they reached the same stage with an even greater prominence of this type of defense.
then, with players like Derrick Jones Jr. and Jay Crowder Like a nightmare for rivals on the front line; this time with less long arms and athletic bangs, but with names like caleb martin Each time in an important role they lay in the above 2-3.
Area hit boston too hard In the Eastern Finals, then the question arises: Can they repeat that success against an opponent like the Denver Nuggets? It’s worth going over some numbers.
Miami Region: Planning, Statistics and Uses
The first thing to understand is how and why Miami enforces its territory. In this regard, two issues arise: one, need of hide bad keeper like duncan robinson (or, to a lesser extent, Gabe Vincent), preventing rivals from demanding rebrands that left their figures facing those bad markers.
The second reason to use 2-3 is even simpler: how well does it work,
NBA teams don’t often face zone defenses, and when they do appear, they do surprise them, Especially when it is implemented like Miami. For example, the Celtics couldn’t break that strategy throughout the series and saw distracted and erratic Every time the people of Florida used it.
boston is usually a team dependent on three shots, but the field clearly further strengthened the triplet configuration. And at the same time, Miami has a Great job closing down and defending those perimeter shots,
Unlike other zone defenses, Miami has Specially designed to protect yourself from external shots, Since in theory it is a classic 2-3 (two players on the perimeter, three on the baseline), the defenders are usually positioned near the corners. they grow a lot out of the accountpractically except a four man front rowTogether bomb adebayo As the only marker near the basket.
In this action against the Celtics, this idea is fully seen: Vincent and Martin are on the front lines 2-3 drawings, but Lowry and Robinson appear to be practically the same heightWhich allows Miami to always have one or two defenders on top of any 3-pointer (with the exception of corners, which are somewhat more vulnerable).
Miami’s zone defense numbers speak for themselves in these playoffs. When they implement it, they leave rivals in just one 43.9% from the field, including an excellent 27% on three-pointers, barely get 2-3 1.01 points per opponent’s shotopposite of this 1.07 that they score when they score man,
He The percentage dropped 6% in the trio of rivals and also generate high turnover to capture.
caleb martinIn particular, it has been a defensive ace Miami bets on this strategy every time rivals launch 2-19 in trios defended by ex-Charlotte when you’re on that front line 2-3, His proximity to the shooters is quick, aggressive and imperative, taking advantage of his 2.08m arms reach.
Nuggets’ response: Jokic and shooters
Miami’s strength is already apparent. the problem is that Denver is far from being Boston (or Milwaukee, or even less New York) and, if there’s a team against defending in the area is a danger, It’s just nuggets. It is not for nothing that Malone’s men have met that mark in only one match. 3% of assets Throughout the 2022-2023 season: He took only 302 shots against the zone, compared to 8,582 against Man.
And as Miami uses the 2-3 because it works, the reason opponents don’t zone against Denver is simply because, It does absolutely nothing to attack those of Colorado, The difference in their output is really minimal.
| Denver Vs. Area | 1.12 | 38% | 56% |
| Denver Vs. Man | 1.14 | 38% | 57% |
It doesn’t take a genius to understand why the zone doesn’t work against Denver. with Passer with Nikola Jokic’s height, vision, reading and accuracyThe Nuggets have been able to find open shooters without too much trouble and they have been extremely accurate at a consistent level.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope He shot an impressive 58% on 3-pointers against the zone, Jamal Murray an excellent 41% and Michael Porter Jr., a solid 36%. Even Jokic has hit more than half of the 3-pointers he has attempted on that stage.
The Lakers, at their most desperate parts, lay in the zone during portions of the Western Finals. And the result was just what could be imagined.
the only thing that takes away -at least in part- Zone defense is Jokic’s inside game against Denver. Against the men’s record, 36% of Denver’s attempts are 3-pointers. But when they are marked in the zone, this figure rises to 45%.
That is to say, they go from a group that is hurt by any area of the field, to another that takes an outside shot on about half of his pitches, But of course, as long as they keep shooting them at the rate they bring in, Malone has nothing to worry about… at least for now.
Can Miami’s offensive defense on the perimeter reduce Denver’s “triple” power? Will Spoelstra be encouraged to use the tactics that have given him so many results against a team designed to combat, final and trainers setting usually give rise to different scenarios within the same series and this should not surprise anyone if Area defense makes its appearance At some point in the pivotal crossover this season.
