South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Heat prepare for non-contact NBA
Spoelstra reacts to crackdown on ‘tough’ ‘D’: ‘You cannot just hit people out there’
MIAMI — “We’ve already made those adjustments,” Erik Spoelstra says. “We’ve had to.”
The comment on the practice court at Georgetown University is not offered as forlornly as might be expected.
Because if nothing else, the Miami Heat’s coach is a pragmatist.
And now will have to be again.
Even if it cuts to the core for the team with the mantra of “hardest working, best conditioned, most professional, unselfish, toughest, meanest, nastiest team in the NBA.”
This is not about the more publicized rules changes the NBA has adopted for the coming season, such as the shot clock resetting to 14 seconds on an offensive rebound or broader latitude to assess clear-path fouls. This is about rules already in place, or, more to the point, about a crackdown.
When it comes to “freedom of movement,” the NBA is pulling no punches — by making sure that all punches are pulled.
What it means is that all the clutching and grabbing, the bumping of cutters, the “blowing up” of screens — basically all the stuff that Pat Riley had insisted upon since his South Florida arrival more than two decades ago — has reached the point of zero tolerance.
Against that backdrop, Spoelstra has found himself having to run typically aggressive Heat defensive drills despite stricter rules interpretations that leave players with hands tied behind their backs.
“We still want to bring a physicality with great discipline,” Spoelstra said, intent on giving no quarter amid a revised interpretation that insists on doing so. “It’s a disposition. It’s an effort. It’s a presence. But you have to be masters of technique. You cannot just hit people out there.
“Some of the things we have to adjust the way we used to defend it. We don’t bump people through the lane. And pick-and-rolls, we’re not hitting people. We’re just getting to our spots and being disruptive.”
The league has spent recent years cleaning up mayhem in the post. Now, with so many teams playing switching defenses, the focus has turned to the perimeter. Spoelstra said that actually could help teams with muscled big men, such as the Heat, with Hassan Whiteside.
“The biggest adjustment with the league right now is all the switching,” he said. “And so you’re switching. It’s not a post-up league any more. It still can be, but when people talk about grappling and holding, it’s now switch and a hold to get in front of the big, which was happening to Hassan the other night.
“And unless that’s legislated, that’s a very tough thing to execute against. So we made changes to our defensive system based on those rules, and hopefully that’ll be legislated so you can’t hold on to Hassan or our big when you switch a small onto him and you throw to him at the rim.”
The upshot for the Heat potentially could be less physicality on defense, and more on offense, provided officials adhere to the revised interpretations of freedom of movement.
“These are the rules that they said they’re going to emphasize,” Spoelstra said, “so we have to adjust accordingly.”
Including having Whiteside dragging into the lane undersized opponents who dare to switch into the post.
“I think your technique, again, becomes really important,” Spoelstra said, “to get the right leverage points so teams can’t hold you, especially those pick and rolls, where everybody’s switching.”
Spoelstra’s preference remains letting the players play, which is why he finds the final two rounds of the playoff particularly appealing.
“Because it becomes just about the players,” he said. “When less is called, it’s more about the brilliance and greatness of what players can do at the highest level. But I get why you can’t do that all season long.”