king of defenders

Chapter 452 The Last Preseason Game
On October 10, the Heat came to New Orleans to challenge the Pelicans away.

This is the last game of the Heat's preseason. Starting from October 10 against the Hornets, the Heat played a total of 5 games in 20 days. Except for the loss against the Spurs, all others won , achieved a record of 7 wins and 6 loss.

Although this is only a preseason game, the good results of 6 wins and 1 loss still make the Heat feel good.

Maybe it was because the previous record was so good that they were a little relaxed in the last game. The Heat were a little careless at the beginning of the game against the Pelicans, and soon fell into a disadvantage.

On the other hand, the Pelicans played very seriously, step by step, and did not give the Heat a chance to counterattack. Until the end of the first quarter, the Pelicans always took the lead.

Meng Yun played okay today, but not particularly good. He didn’t feel good. He led the bench team to play for 6 minutes in the first quarter. He only made one three-pointer, got three points, two assists, one rebound.

Entering the second quarter, there is still no improvement for the Heat.

Spoelstra thought for a moment, then sent Meng Yun up, forming a lineup of Whiteside, Bosh, Wade, Dragic, and Meng Yun.

"It may be because the players have won all the previous games, and the players are a little lax in their mentality. It may also be because this is the last preseason game, and the players want to end early. In short, the players are obviously not in a good state today. It's hard to win a game." Coach Spoelstra secretly said: "In this case, then regardless of the outcome of the game, try the 'bombardment' style of play while it is still the preseason."

During this time, coach Spoelstra was thinking about the feasibility of this tactic.

Last time he tried against the Rockets on a whim, and the result turned out to be unexpectedly good, and then Spoelstra was a little obsessed with it, but he didn't really try.

The players are not in good condition today, and there seems to be little hope of winning. In addition, it is the last preseason game. If you miss the regular season, you may not have a chance, so the idea in Spoelstra's mind popped up again, Simply send this small lineup up, just as a test.

For the Heat to send such a lineup, the Pelicans were a little surprised and surprised, but they quickly realized that the Heat would speed up the pace of the game.

The fact is indeed the case, the Heat began to speed up the pace of the game, the outside combination of Meng Yun, Dragic, and Wade made the Pelicans a little overwhelmed, and the Heat hit a wave of shock waves.

But soon the Pelicans adjusted, strengthened the perimeter defense, and at the same time reduced their own offensive speed, suppressing every attack in the half court.

Moments later, the tables turned.

Originally, the Heat had almost caught up with the score, but now they were pulled away again.

"It still doesn't work." Coach Spoelstra frowned, shaking his head and muttering to himself: "Running and bombing requires excellent guards, which we don't lack. Dragic and Meng are both capable. Excellent outside shooting ability is required , We are not lacking in this point, except for Whiteside, Bosh, Wade, Meng, Dragic can all shoot three-pointers, and they all have a certain shooting percentage."

"However, bombardment tactics require speed, and Meng, Dragic, and Wade are not a problem, while Bosh and Whiteside's speed can't keep up, and he is not the kind who can quickly play fast breaks, or empty-handed. Cut players. Whiteside's style is still more suitable for positional warfare, running and bombing is a problem."

If you want speed, you don't have height, and if you want height, you don't have speed. It's just a question.

But what running and bombing needs is speed. The rhythm is fast, the attack is fierce, and the attack is in full swing. The attack is brought to the extreme, and the fast attack is used to control the rhythm, and the score is used to win.

In fact, there are still some problems for the Heat's lineup. For example, Bosh's low-post scoring ability will be wasted when the rhythm is fast; another example is the most important No. 1 position, which is the focus of running and bombing, and is the initiation of offense. The point is the promoter of tactics, but whether Dragic will dominate the ball or Meng Yun will dominate the ball is also a question.

In short, there are many problems.

"When we played the Rockets, how did we play?" Spoelstra recalled that game in his mind, "Yes, our advantage is that the back line is excellent, Dragic, Meng Yun, Wade They can all handle the ball, our outside line can be very flexible and full of changes. Besides Whiteside, the other four can shoot three-pointers and can score independently, so we don't need too much tactical assistance. "

"That's our strength, but at the same time we have our weaknesses."

Coach Spoelstra rubbed his temples and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Actually, we are not running and gunning at all. We are not a running and gunning lineup. Whiteside is too tall and has two point guards. The person who controls the ball is not clear. If you have to play according to the run and gun style of play, how can there be no problems?"

Looking at the field, Coach Spoelstra frowned. He has found the problem, but how to solve it is the headache.

Is it to change the lineup, or change the style of play?

Or, just throw it away?
"Try it first, try more." Spoelstra shook his head, still feeling that there are more ways to try, and he didn't want to just give up.

Swish!
The Pelicans scored.

Coach Spoelstra called a timeout and first made a substitution, replacing Whiteside with Luol Deng and lowering the height.

Bosh, Luol Deng, Wade, Dragic, Meng Yun, this is a bit like a real run and gun.

It's just that Spoelstra had to stop soon. The height of this lineup was reduced, but the speed could not be raised. After all, both Bosh and Luol Deng are already 30 years old.

Moreover, whether it is Bosh or Luol Deng, they are not adapted to the "run and bomb" style of play.

"It seems that we can only change the style of play." Spoelstra was helpless. Luol Deng could be replaced by a substitute player, such as Green, but what about Bosh?
Bosh is irreplaceable.

If you can't change the lineup, you can only change the style of play.

Anyway, this is just a preseason game, Spoelstra gritted his teeth and went all out, let's treat it as a practice game.He spread out the tactical board: "Let me talk about it."

The pause ends soon.

The two sides returned to the court, still with the same lineup as before, but Meng Yun was the one organizing the offense.

The Heat's speed did not drop much. Meng Yun and Dragic played double guards, Wade topped the small forward position, and Bosh and Luol Deng played inside.

Unfortunately, it still doesn't work.

The fans in the auditorium couldn't help shaking their heads, not knowing what the Heat were doing. Such a formation is simply whimsical. Are you sure you're not joking?

(End of this chapter)