Posts by Sebastian Pruiti
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Why Did the Heat Abandon Their Game Plan on Defense?
At halftime of Game 1 on Tuesday, the Miami Heat led the Oklahoma City Thunder by seven because of a strong defensive showing. The Heat held the Thunder to 22 points in the first quarter, trapping the Oklahoma City ball handlers on pick-and-rolls, forcing turnovers. Late in the second quarter, though, the Thunder began to […]
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NBA Finals Preview: Can the Thunder Beat the Heat?
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s pick-and-roll play is integral to their offense, which you might remember from my Western Conference finals preview. Of the Thunder’s 1,304 half-court possessions in the playoffs, 426 were pick-and-rolls, according to Synergy Sports. When you consider their roster, these statistics make sense: They are a young team with many ball handlers […]
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Miami’s Go-To Fourth Quarter Play
The Oklahoma City Thunder are not the only team with a damaging fourth-quarter play. In Game 7 against the Boston Celtics, the Miami Heat went to their own unstoppable set that could be very problematic for the Thunder. The Heat use LeBron James off the ball to exploit the attention he commands. At the start […]
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Oklahoma City’s Winning Play
As they sought to close out the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder needed to keep scoring in the fourth quarter. To do so, they went to that play that confused the San Antonio defense and allowed Kevin Durant to score 16 straight points in the fourth quarter of Game 4. […]
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What Adjustments Do the Spurs Need to Make?
Everyone expected an exciting Western Conference finals from the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder, and they have not disappointed. The Spurs looked untouchable on the offensive end through Games 1 and 2, executing to perfection and scoring at a shockingly efficient rate. OKC’s Scott Brooks responded in Game 3 with a defensive […]
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If It’s Not Broke, Why Fix It? OKC’s New Approach on Offense
Despite their strong season, the Oklahoma City Thunder have had trouble scoring in the the fourth quarter. Kevin Durant, in particular, has struggled when the defense ramps it up. They tended to stop running whatever had been working in that particular game and started running isolations for Durant and Russell Westbrook. Trailing the Spurs 2-1 […]
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How Did the Heat Botch Their Final Possession?
At the end of overtime in Sunday’s Game 4, the Miami Heat were down by two points with 14 seconds left. With LeBron James on the bench after fouling out, Dwyane Wade took the final shot. Make no mistake though: This was not a designed isolation play. Coach Erik Spoelstra drew up a great misdirection […]
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How Did the Thunder Finally Stop the Spurs?
After giving up 101 points in Game 1 and 120 points in Game 2, the Oklahoma City Thunder needed to change their defense if they were going to beat the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3. They’ve had no trouble scoring — posting 98 and 111 points in Games 1 and 2 — so containing […]
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How the Miami Heat Live and Die With Their Defense
After close games like Wednesday night’s Miami Heat–Boston Celtics Eastern Conference Finals Game 2, analysts usually want to dissect the plays run on offense. But Miami almost lost and ultimately won this one as a result of their defense. Toward the end of regulation, Ray Allen got an open 3 because of Miami’s defensive breakdown, […]
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The San Antonio Offense Clinic
The Oklahoma City Thunder needed to make adjustments going into Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. Adjustments they made, managing 111 points. Yet they still lost, allowing 120 points. The Thunder can’t win the series if they give up that many, but it’s not just their defensive shortcoming. What […]