Can the Miami Heat still play small ball with a healthy and happy D12 and the Rockets?

Why couldn't they?

 

My question is why would the rockets react to an opposing team's line up first? Whether it be traditional line ups, fast, bigs etc.

Why not let them react to our line up instead? In playing Miami we could experiment with starting Asik and Dwight. This would minimize Lebron and Wade's preference to cut to the basket, and kick off to open 3 point shooters.

This would clog our paint for our cutters indeed but Coaches could always draw something up like the High-Low game for our bigs.

 

Can you start any decent threads?

 

^^^ Sorry, I had you mixed up with someone else. I still think it's a silly question, but I should not have been so harsh. Carry on.

 

Pipe down hot rod. The Rockets haven't yet earned the right to be mentioned in the same sentence as the Miami Heat. The Heat are probably a little bit more worried about the Spurs, Clippers and Thunder than they are the Rockets at this point.

 

And the New York teams, and their own conference.

Rockets have great contender upside no doubt. But as the lakers showed last year its a "see it when it happens" approach. Even the heat had growing pains their first year together

 

they will put bosh at center and have Dwight on the perimeter away from paint.

 

They actually met in the playoffs in 2008 and Bosh basically played center for Raptors.

5 games
Dwight: 22 pts/18rebounds/4blocks per game on 64% shooting (about 14 shots a game)
Bosh: 24 pts/9 rebounds/0.4 blocks per game on 47% shooting (about 18 shots a game)

Those Raptor teams were basically playing small ball (not sure why people think Miami invented this with Bosh?) and Dwight did not leave the paint.

 

Splitter and Duncan didn't work so well and Pop gave up on playing Splitter pretty quickly. Granted Asik is a lot better defensively than Splitter. It would be interesting. If Dwight and Asik are healthy it's definitely a huge matchup problem for them and one that we need to exploit...no question one of Dwight/Asik should be on the floor at all times against Miami.

 

The good thing about him shooting mostly jumpshots is that we can probably safely have Parsons chase him around.

 

It could work against Memphis in the playoffs. If they are running out Randolph and Gasol, Omer and Dwight would be very effective at stopping them on defense.

 

The Heat are full of talented players but no rebounders

 

I think we can't play Asik and Howard at the same time against the Heat because a small-ball lineup with Lebron James at the 4 would be devestating (of course, I'm one of the ones that thinks keeping Asik is a bad idea). Bosh and James could double-team Howard and Asik on one end, and both could draw the big men out on the other end with their shooting.

Putting in one of our sophomore power forwards might work better, but they haven't shown it yet. Best case scenario, Motie becomes what we hoped and his outside shooting keeps the double-team off of Howard, and he's still big enough and mobile enough to cover James at the other end. But that only works if he's a lot better than he was last season.

Or, we can go small ball with Parsons at the 4 and someone like Garcia at the 3. That will also punish a double-team on Howard. But, it'd mean Parsons has to guard either Bosh or James down low, and I don't think he's got the size to handle either of them.

So, yeah, as long as they have Lebron James they can beat us with small ball. Or otherwise.

 

Lebron can do anything.

 

Wait what? your statement doesn't really make sense.

 

they can, but they are very overrated I doubt that they will be in final this year,indiana with healthy granger and bulls with rose are better then miami

 

You know they beat Indiana, right? You know, Hibbert? Best center in the East?

 

^ Dwight best center in NBA

 

Calm down. I agree with you, but damn dude expect these questions on a Rockets fan forum. I will actually answer why.

This was one of the Heat's popular small ball line ups where they put LeBron at the 4:

Chris Andersen
LeBron James
Mike Miller
Ray Allen
Mario Chalmers

It forces other teams to only play with one big because LeBron can guard fours, but they can't guard him. If they double team him then he knows where to find every shooter. Dwight on Bosh/Anderson does not give you near the advantage in the post as LeBron on Jones/D-Mo does. The Rockets would be forced to counter by putting Parsons at the 4 meaning limited minutes for our PFs and 40 mpg for Garcia, because the Rockets don't have any wings on the bench with playoff experience.

So yes, small ball can be effective against the Rockets, but not as much as it is against teams with two good bigs like the Pacers, Spurs, Clippers, Thunder, and Warriors.