Miami Heat not alone in 'position-less' approach

[kinein]

Miami lead the way with change to basketball in the NBA. Good read in case you've noticed the difference with Miami and other teams like OKC; how other teams are also adapting to the changes.


Miami Heat not alone in 'position-less' approach


LAS VEGAS —
The last time Miami Heat team President Pat Riley had oatmeal for breakfast was probably when was leading a team in Los Angeles that went by the nickname "Showtime."

His preferred breakfast choice, just like the NBA, has changed since the 1980s. With the Heat adopting a "position-less" approach to their roster, the days of players specializing in one area are nearing an end. The new NBA is about versatility, and Riley has the Heat ahead of the game with their collection of multi-talented players.

"The game today is different than it was five years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago," Riley said. "…It's sort of a position-less game. We don't talk about point guards anymore, two guards or shooting guards or power forwards. As a matter of fact, when the word power forward comes out, I want to eat some oatmeal."

Riley was referring to oatmeal being a thing of the past. Nowadays, the league is about fruit smoothies to help keep up with a quicker pace. The Heat in the offseason added guard Ray Allen and forward Rashard Lewis more for their versatility than 3-point shooting.

Allen can play shooting guard or small forward while Lewis is capable of playing both forward spots. They join the likes of Mike Miller, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Shane Battier and Chris Bosh, who have all proven they can play multiple positions.

James played everywhere but center during his MVP season, and Battier and Bosh both were effective despite playing from their natural spots.
"It's just recently got like that," Bosh said earlier this week. "I think this past series [the NBA Finals] that was played is going to change basketball. I think a lot of kids out there are seeing how fast the game is. We had some success doing it so I think a lot of other teams will have that position, or attempt to have that position, where everybody is quick enough to guard everybody and everybody can put the ball on the floor and make plays."

The Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Finals in a showcase of two of the league's most versatile teams. The Thunder's core of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and James Harden were used offensive and defensively in multiple ways throughout the series.

The league has slowly shifted from teams featuring the "defensive-stopper" and "3-pointer shooter" to a collection of players who have no designated role.

"I think all the good teams are getting away from having just specialists," Boston Celtics assistant coach Tyronn Lue said. "I'd rather have a guy who can do four out of five things than just do one thing. Give me a guy that can do a little bit of everything and I think that makes your team better."

Riley said the disappearance of centers and power forwards has sped the transition. With dominant 7-footers a rarity — Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum — it has allowed smaller players to handle positions usually reserved for bigger guys. Versatility has replaced size in terms of wants for coaches and general managers.

"There's no more Alonzos or Patricks," said Riley, referring to Alonzo Mourning and Patrick Ewing. "There's two or three centers in the league that you can actually throw in to and create a power offense."

Several teams, including the New York Knicks, have begun to follow the Heat's lead. Assistant coach Herb Williams said it especially benefited Miami because it enabled coach Erik Spoelstra to play James for longer stretches. James averaged a league-high 42.8 minutes during the playoffs.

"You want that as much as you can," Williams said. "Now, you've got a guy who's going to play two, three positions. That makes it a lot easier on the coach … When you've got one of the top forwards in the league, that means he's on the floor for a longer period of time. You don't have to take him out. You can match him up with other people."



srichardson@tribune.com


http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/m...0,406858.story

[redwhiteone]

Nice read but big font is big. I still value the importance of a traditional PG and a good old bruiser C though.

[what]

My opinion to this piece is that the heat, after winning the championship, got their voice back and now all the sudden they have revolutionized basketball with the position-less approach? gmafb

the only thing that's changed in the nba is that lebron got a ring.

[roslolian]

Originally Posted by what My opinion to this piece is that the heat, after winning the championship, got their voice back and now all the sudden they have revolutionized basketball with the position-less approach? gmafb the only thing that's changed in the nba is that lebron got a ring.

Agree with this. LMAO you know why Miami has a revolutionary "positionless approach"? Its because they have Lebron, he leaves the team and see how quickly they become traditional again

And let's be honest here, apart from Lebron, which gimicky team has won a ring? The only one that comes to mind is Nash-Suns with 3 forwards (Amare, Marion, Diaw), but just like Miami that team is powered by a unique NBA player.

[OremLK]

Yeah, I think this is more about the Heat having the best player in the NBA and arguably two of the top 5.

I still think a dominant center beats the Heat/OKC style of play if surrounded with enough perimeter talent. I think we're just in a weird transitional period where there happens to only be one center who is a surefire top 10 player (Howard). But there are a number of young guys coming up who may soon advance themselves to superstar level and we'll be back to a more post oriented style of play.

[charles_zed]

The article clearly misses the point of specialisation.

The purpose of specialisation is to become more efficient.

Of course you'd rather a guy who does 4 out of 5 things good rather than one guy who only does 1 out of 5 things.

But not everybody can do 4 out of 5 things at an elite level.

Not everyone can shoot like Ray Allen, drive like Wade, pass like Nash, be 7'0 tall like Bynum.

That's why you have people like Nash bringing the ball up and distributing. That's why you've got big players like Bynum to defend the rim, that's why you've got players like Ray Allen to score.

Yes the traditional approach to positions is somewhat antiquated but not every team has a Lebron and until that happens, we're still going to have role-players in this league.

[Shaud]

Originally Posted by roslolian And let's be honest here, apart from Lebron, which gimicky team has won a ring? The only one that comes to mind is Nash-Suns with 3 forwards (Amare, Marion, Diaw), but just like Miami that team is powered by a unique NBA player.

[Cannonball]

Originally Posted by roslolian And let's be honest here, apart from Lebron, which gimicky team has won a ring? The only one that comes to mind is Nash-Suns with 3 forwards (Amare, Marion, Diaw), but just like Miami that team is powered by a unique NBA player.

That team never won a ring. The best a Nash, Marion, Diaw, and healthy Amare did was a 2nd round loss to the Spurs. They made it to the conference finals the year before that but Amare was injured. They also made the conference finals the year before that but Diaw wasn't on the team yet.

[roslolian]

Originally Posted by Cannonball That team never won a ring. The best a Nash, Marion, Diaw, and healthy Amare did was a 2nd round loss to the Spurs. They made it to the conference finals the year before that but Amare was injured. They also made the conference finals the year before that but Diaw wasn't on the team yet.

Yeah my bad, I missed out the "almost" bit.

[xcrunner51]

Originally Posted by what My opinion to this piece is that the heat, after winning the championship, got their voice back and now all the sudden they have revolutionized basketball with the position-less approach? gmafb the only thing that's changed in the nba is that lebron got a ring.

Sample size. It'd be like Hakeem coming back before the '95 season and stating "you only need one superstar and a bunch of role players to win".

[wizkid83]

The only reason they can go with "position-less" approach is because they have Lebron, who is a top 3 in any position he plays from the 1 - 4.

[Rocket River]

It is how the game is reffed.
A traditional center can be hacked to hell ... Oops I mean stripped by guards more easily.
No one has a back to the basket game.
They play zone.
And any impedence of a player is an automatic foul.

Rocket River

[emcitymisfit]

Why did clicking on a link from the front page titled "Michael Jordan has a heart attack [critical condition]" bring me here?

[JeffB]

Originally Posted by Rocket River It is how the game is reffed. A traditional center can be hacked to hell ... Oops I mean stripped by guards more easily. No one has a back to the basket game. They play zone. And any impedence of a player is an automatic foul. Rocket River

This. What we see is what the league wants to promote. Years of rule changes and the officiating has changed the game.

[pmac]

The real key here is that the Heat, as well as the Thunder, have players that can actually play multiple positions. They haven't loaded up on a bunch of crappy tweeners and combo guards. They have stars and role players that can legitimately defend multiple positions. Lebron can actually play four positions on the court, he's not 'positionless'. He has amazing strength and quickness which means he can defend Pau Gasol in the post and Derrick Rose on the perimeter. This isn't a game changer because most teams don't have that. Most teams don't have a guard like Wade that can block shots or a big like Bosh that can shoot like a SF but defend most centers. The thunder are just as freaky with a 6'11 kid that can handle and shoot like a guard but has the size to block any big's vision of the basket.

The teams aren't intentionally moving to some positionless scheme, these players are just amazingly gifted for their size and strength. So, if the choice is between playing Lebron or Juan Howard at the 4, then yea, I'd take Lebron. But, I think Pat Riley would have made that same choice in the 80's.

[Vivaelsueno]

Morey is so clueless. We're talking about innovation/evolution to the game here...Morey is still trying to put together an average team.

[RocketRaccoon]

Originally Posted by Vivaelsueno Morey is so clueless. We're talking about innovation/evolution to the game here...Morey is still trying to put together an average team.

is that why our forwards were bringing the ball up court during SL?

[The Drake]

I'm not sure about "positionless," but I've seen a lot of stuff (especially from advanced stat-heads) about the traditional 5 positions melding into 3 "hybrid" positions, being lead guard, wing, and big.

I think that might be what Riley is talking about, moreso than getting 5 guys that can do everything. Bosh is never going to bring the ball up, and Chalmers isn't going to spend much (if any) time backing his man down in the paint.

[caneks]

Pat Riley has that strange concept because Miami heat can take advantage of the unique dominance of the three positions they have with their superstars. No matter how they fill up the other two positions, they still can manage to win the game because of that.

[Pizza_Da_Hut]

Originally Posted by what My opinion to this piece is that the heat, after winning the championship, got their voice back and now all the sudden they have revolutionized basketball with the position-less approach? gmafb the only thing that's changed in the nba is that lebron got a ring.

In an albeit weak year for the NBA. The lockout followed by teams that produced lackluster performances lead to a year of suck. Hell, the Rockets almost made the playoffs with even fewer resources last year than we had in previous years (and still barely missing the playoffs). The Heat didn't revolutionize a damn thing, all they did was capitalize on a league with loose rules and an incompetent commissioner. Woo hoo.