(Lateral) size matters
(Lateral) size matters
It's nice that the Lakers are taller than the Heat. It's more important that they're longer.
The Los Angeles Lakers are a giant basketball team. Their march to the 2020 NBA Finals and Game 1 domination of the shorter, speedier Miami Heat seems like a restoration of basketball’s golden rule that had been threatened in recent years: size always wins.
But though it’s easy to equate that size with bully ball, LA’s Game 1 rout — and indeed its success all season — isn’t really about throwback physicality. The more significant impact of their size comes horizontally, not vertically. They’ve succeeded against the stretch’y offenses of this era by using their length and discipline to close the space they exploit against any other team. The system built on a simple principle: good luck maneuvering around or through Anthony Davis and LeBron James patrolling the back line.
It didn’t take long for the Heat to absorb that monumental challenge. The same whiplash, perimeter-oriented attack that broke two great defensive units in the Bucks and Celtics was brought to its knees by a Lakers team that uses all of its long limbs to shrink the floor. Size still matters in the NBA. It’s just a different kind of size.
Let’s dive deep into Game 1, since it might be the last time we see a healthy Heat roster until 2021.
First quarter
First 8 minutes: Miami jumps out to an early lead using two on-ball tactics that initially confused the Lakers. The Heat clearly expected the Lakers to funnel the ball to the paint. They were right, but the Lakers also made it easy on them with mental mistakes and upright stances on and off the ball. Starting Dwight Howard didn’t help, but I don’t think this was a personnel issue. LA was just sloppy from the jump.
Anyway, the two tactics. One was to have the ball-handler decline the ball screen or hesitate slightly should the Lakers try to go under. Here’s an excellent replay of Jimmy Butler doing the latter. He comes off slowly and then explodes as soon as he sees LeBron James get skinny to duck under the pick.
Butler also caught the Lakers mistiming their coverage with a quick decline of the screen. Either Bron jumped too early or Dwight slid to the baseline too late. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter.
The Heat also milked the Goran Dragic/Bam Adebayo pick-and-roll early on, just as they did against the Celtics. This play best illustrates how. The Heat clear out the right side of the floor and get Dragic going middle. Howard gets burned for dropping too far, but the Lakers’ help defenders aren’t making his life easier. Look at their positioning in this screenshot.
KCP is hugging Duncan Robinson at the three-point line, just as Jaylen Brown so often did in the Boston series. AD and Bron don’t have any feet in the paint, even though they’re defending the Heat’s two worst perimeter shooters. That gives Dragic too much room to toast Dwight and score. LA will fix these errors and then some as the game continues
The Heat go up 13, yet Frank Vogel continues his pattern of resting LeBron midway through the quarter and using Davis-centric lineups. In hindsight, not panicking was a terrific decision. This was also when Spoelstra usually takes out Bam, and he did so again here. That might’ve been a mistake.
3:47: This play shows why Kyle Kuzma had a terrific game. The Lakers successfully get AD a post touch after struggling to do so for the first minute of this lineup. Jae Crowder doubles from the top, thinking he’s helping off Rondo (good!). Rondo instead cuts through, and Kuzma shifts slightly to the top of the key to offer an outlet for AD.
The key is what happens next. Andre Iguodala closes out on Kuzma, hoping to cause a quick pass or contest a shot. Instead, Kuzma pushes off his back foot, drives around Andre to the right, and creates a 3-on-2 situation at the next level of Miami’s defense.
Kuzma reads the situation perfectly, ignoring Tyler Herro and engaging Crowder enough to open the pass to KCP in the corner.
Miami is counting on Kuzma shooting or passing immediately in those situations. Instead, he took the ball to the hoop and further tilted Miami’s defense.
2:46: Notice the separation Robinson gets from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on this dribble handoff. The initial space KCP conceded allows Robinson enough room to survey the floor upon making contact with the screen. He makes an excellent read to look off Kuzma in the air and deliver the pass perfectly to Iguodala in the short roll.
That’s the second time Miami beat LA on this exact play with these exact two players. It’ll also be the last time.
1:39: In early July, I noted how the Lakers weaponized Davis as a rim-runner on the fast break when he played power forward. The same principle applies when he plays center against a one-big team like Miami. Watch AD sprint directly in front of Bam after this defensive rebound. This is the same move Chris Paul made famous, except AD doesn’t have the ball.
Bam eventually relents and passes AD off to Iguodala. Andre can’t handle Davis on the glass and commits a foul.
1:32: Remember the earlier note about the help defenders on Dragic/Bam pick-and-rolls? Look at LeBron’s positioning on this one. He’s pulled way into the paint, and that combines with AD’s length to shrink Dragic’s options.
AD then sprints down the court to pin Solomon Hill under the hoop, leaving Bam stuck on LeBron. Bam does well, but eventually fouls Bron on a tough call around the hoop. That’s his second, and it’s a killer.
34.1: This pick-and-slip play with Dragic and Tyler Herro works perfectly, but the combination of LeBron closing out, AD walling off the rim, and Bron coming back into the play creates a turnover. That’s modern size in action.
4.2: Nifty wrinkle by the Lakers to have Rajon Rondo screen for LeBron and slip into short roll position. Herro jumps out to contain LeBron, but instead of biting, Bron holds his position and turns back to feed Rondo on the other side. Beautiful basketball.
Second quarter
8:40: This shot missed and Miami defended this well, but the low camera angle helps us appreciate LeBron’s vision and intelligence.
First, LeBron holds his roll to force the switch. As he backs down slowly, he’s waiting for the moment when Butler comes to double team and Herro rotates to stop the easy pass out.
Most superstars would think to look off Herro and swing to Rondo, but LeBron is already thinking one chess move ahead of that rotation. He’s not staring at Herro. He’s staring all the way across the court at Bam.
Bron instantly knows that Bam is the guy he must manipulate. Does Bam move toward Rondo or Markieff Morris? What does Bam want LeBron to think? By looking Bam off, Bron buys himself an extra split second to deliver Rondo a more open shot.
OK. The Heat led, 43-41, after Herro banks in a three. The Lakers dominate this game from here, especially once Davis checked back in. What changes?
6:29: Look at Bron’s positioning. Robinson’s coming off a pindown screen on the opposite side and Bron doesn’t give a hoot. He knows that movement’s designed to distract him. So when Herro comes off Bam’s screen, there are three feet (one of Bron’s and two of Morris’) clogging the lane.
There’s no room for Bam to roll or for Herro to kick the ball out, and it leads to a miss. AD again outruns Bam on the break, which forces Butler to switch and Herro to suck way in off Alex Caruso. Look at the attention AD attracts just by running hard.
Caruso is therefore wide open and drives around a bad Herro closeout for a layup.
5:21: Lord have mercy.
AD didn’t stop this play alone. LA does a good job denying the initial guard/guard screen with Herro. Caruso and Rondo are pinched in to deny the roll and kickout passes. But none of that matters if AD isn’t AD.
4:42: Miami attempts to solve the backside length problem by forcing Morris to switch out on Dragic before going to the pick-and-roll. It doesn’t work because … well, look at this LA shell.
That forces Dragic to go one-on-one against AD, which ends badly.
4:16: Morris, Rondo, and KCP are sucked way in off Miami’s shooters. Combine that with the collective length of Green and AD on the ball, and Butler has no chance.
3:39: AD lags slowly up the court when Miami displays its zone, but that’s by design. Not only does that pull Butler out of position, but it also stretches the zone enough to make this swing pass to Green easy.
On the next play, Rondo screens high for Bron at the top of the zone, just as Boston did for its ball-handlers. The difference is that Bron is the guy charging downhill instead of Kemba Walker or Jayson Tatum.
2:04: Wonderful LA defensive sequence. The keys: Kuzma refusing to get switched off Butler the first time, and KCP rotating early the second time to negate Crowder’s slip to the top of the key.
1:16: Another terrific play by Kuzma. Miami expects him to immediately swing the ball and adjusts its defense accordingly. Instead, Kuzma fakes the pass, drives the closeout, and sucks in Miami’s help defense to open up an AD cut and slam.
Those are the checkmate plays against this Miami defensive strategy. You can double the stars and play the percentages with the role players’ shooting, but the Heat have no answer when one of those guys makes a play off the dribble.
Third quarter
10:55: I know Butler kept playing, but he was not the same after that injury scare at the end of the first half. A healthy Butler doesn’t give up the switch this easily.
10:10: Having Herro instead of Dragic in the pick-and-roll with Bam doesn’t work as well.
That said:
Howard is further up on the screen
KCP fights through the pick and holds Bam up to take away his roll to the basket.
AD ignores the decoy action involving Robinson to zone up as the third man in the play.
LeBron pulls in off the corner.
The play ends with Butler and Bam running a side pick-and-roll with no room to make a play. That’s the effect of having LeBron, Dwight, and AD all on one side.
8:23: Jimmy bricks a jumper after failing to drive his legs into Danny Green, then switches far too easily in transition.
He’s not right.
7:33: Two seven-footers blocking Jimmy’s vision. LeBron roaming off Andre on the backside to take away Bam’s roll. The Heat have no chance against committed size like this.
Bam injures himself a few plays later. LA’s up by 32 points. That’s all, folks.
Is there anything the Heat can take away from the final quarter and a half?
Maybe a morsel. Kelly Olynyk played well on both ends and showed why he deserves a role in this series. This was a nice help-and-recover sequence on the backside that the Heat can duplicate in Game 2.
Olynyk also opened the floor on the other end with his movement and rapid trigger from downtown. He missed this layup, but this was an excellent slip to the top of the key and quick drive to confuse Morris.
Without Bam (most likely), Olynyk is the one Heat player who can quickly recycle possession and move on to the next sequence. That was useful in getting Kendrick Nunn some looks from three and attacking downhill. It’s better that Nunn got loose than if he didn’t.
But after rewatching those possessions, I’m inclined to believe the Lakers simply let up in garbage time. Their pressure at the point of attack wasn’t the same and they got sluggish offensively. I also expect them to attack Nunn and Olynyk on defense in future games.
If Bam and Dragic (and Butler) were healthy and Olynyk was just taking the Solomon Hill/Derrick Jones Jr. minutes, I’d have some confidence in Miami bouning back. The Heat’s best path to victory is to spread the Lakers’ defense out even further, negating their size with space. Olynyk’s skill set helps accomplish that goal, as does Nunn’s off-the-dribble scoring if he can keep it up. But they’re supplements to more decisive Dragic downhill drives and better Bam screens, not substitutes.
Sorry, Heat fans. Even if your three best players gut it out, they won’t be close to 100 percent. I don’t see how Miami can make this series competitive. Hope I’m wrong, because otherwise this Finals will be a bummer for non-Lakers fans.