Miami Heat staying persistent with their brand of basketball – NBA Feature
Miami Heat won their second ever NBA Championship by defeating Oklahoma City Thunder 4 – 1 in the Finals last season. It was not only a triumph for the team which proved to be the best day in and day out, but also a salvation of masterpiece by Pat Riley, who put together the big three of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade two years back.
The star studded line up did not ensure them success immediately and the grind became painful at times. However the Heat remained persistent, in their quest for a championship and in their style of play no matter how many struggles they had to face.
Having some of the most athletic players on their roster, Miami incorporated defense based small lineups and used that system into develop their team chemistry. Without having any true centre on the roster, Miami relied on the athleticism of their players in transitions, and thrived upon converting their defense into offense.
The final outcome also required having good role players on the roster, and that was something which came as a rude awakening after the Dallas Mavericks snatched the NBA title in 2010-11 season.
During the summer of 2011, the league went into a lockout and despite having no guarantees of NBA basketball, Miami players kept on training. These practices worked in favour of Heat and they came out into the short spanned season as one of the most ready teams.
Heat did have to struggle midway during last season as well and secured the second seed in the Eastern Conference behind the Bulls.
Their problem mainly arose in the middle, and highlighted the lack of a true centre in the outfit.
Miami persisted though, and it became possible because they had James to rely upon. The Chosen One had made his priority number one to secure the NBA title and finished the regular season by winning his third MVP.
Not only did LeBron play as a small forward, but whenever the situation demanded, he covered up the power forward position as well along with being the distributor in chief.
And then there was Dwyane Wade. Together these two can distract even the tightest of defenses and when that happens, the sharp shooters and role players come into play.
The impact was so evident that even Chris Bosh took three pointers late into the season. Bosh also does a good job in the paint, and he is man, who will be required to play as more of a centre in the future as well.
But it was not the individual performances of LeBron, Wade and Bosh, which won Miami their second Championship; it was their persistence to stick with their brand of basketball which was to play small.
And it is the very same reason which gives them a chance to stay competitive for a title in the future. They are apparently not making any major changes to their strategy and their off-season acquisitions of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis are a proof of that.
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