Draymond Green's Game Winner

After surviving a Shane Battier three pointer miss on one end, the Warriors came back with a chance to win the game.  Golden State had numerous players they could go to to win it.  Jarrett Jack, Klay Thompson, and David Lee had big games.  Stephen Curry is the team's best player.  Draymond Green is...wait...nobody thought the ball was going to go to the rookie second round pick.  It was villain ball, the opposite of hero ball.  While the play wasn't designed for Green, he was an option that the ball actually went to, something you don't usually see late in games.

The play featured Klay Thompson and Steph Curry, the team's two best shooters coming around screens on opposite sides of the floor.  David Lee alluded to this in his post game interview with Sun Sports.  He also talked about the fact that if the Heat over helped (which they had been doing all night) the big man were to slip the screen.

That's exactly what happened on the near side of the court.  Shane Battier helped so as not to let Klay Thompson get the ball for a catch and shoot jumper.  This left Green free to dive to the rim.  Normally in this situation a defender on the weakside will rotate over, but the two weakside defenders are defending the other curl and can't help.

When Jack found Green for the easy layup I may or may not have let out a primal scream.

 
        

The 2012-13 Heat: Pick Your Poison

A lot of what the Heat have been running this year is really simple.  They are so effective because of LeBron James and the multitude of shooters.  Think about it, every player the Heat trot out on a regular basis can hit an 18-footer and the majority can step outside for three.  The Heat have been using the threat of James and the sheer number of shooters to run some nearly unstoppable sets.  Here I break down one of them.

Norris Cole enters the ball to James at the high post and begins to cut to the corner.   Notice the floor spacing.  The lane is almost completely open.  If Jordan Hamilton (in the nearside corner) chooses to help on a potential James drive he's leaving deadeye Mike Miller (not visible) alone in the corner.

This is where the fun begins.  On the far side, Shane Battier begins to take a screen from Norris Cole. If Andre Iguodala goes under the screen, Battier goes over.  If Iggy goes over, Battier goes under.  And if Iguodala overpursues, Battier can just pop right back out for an open three.  Battier knows that if he can free himself, James will find him for an easy basket.  On the other side of the court, Chris Bosh trots over from the elbow to set a little pindown screen for Mike Miller.

Battier goes over the screen, but Iguodala lives up to his moniker as one of the best defenders in the League not letting Battier free himself.  Meanwhile, Mike Miller is coming around on a curl, but is also defended well.

So this is what usually happens when all the options are covered.  The best player on the team ISOs on top usually ends up with a fall-away 20 footer.

But wait!  A simple back screen is here to save the day.  It blows my mind how easy this is to execute.  Most teams expect a simple ISO and are unprepared in this situation.  Wouldn't any team rather have a three point specialist stepping into a wide open shot than their star taking a stare-down jump shot?  Just another reason why the Heat are the unquestioned title favorite and team to beat.   

Ray Allen's Opener

Allen opened up against his former team well, scoring 19 points in 31 minutes.  The most intriguing part of the night was the fact that the Heat ran no plays for him.  Most of us are used to seeing the Celts offense of last year where Allen would go around a number of screens just to get an "open" jumper.  That won't be happening this year in South Beach.  With three clearly entrenched offensive options, Allen will mostly be working off cuts, catch and shoot, and the occasional pick and roll.  This is what we saw tonight and I won't be surprised to see Allen fending for himself on offense most of this year.

NBA Power Rankings: The Three Title Contenders

KD and LBJ start right where they left off

 
Media day has passed, training camp has begun, and the preseason is about to get underway.  With a mere three weeks to go until the regular season, it's time to arbitrarily rank the teams.  The rankings are decided by a combination of outlook, current affairs, and other completely subjective categories.  This first post focuses on the three teams that I think have a real possibility of winning the title.

1. Miami Heat
The best player on the planet, the all time three pointers made leader, the best shooting guard in the league, and a big man who saved them from a playoff collapse.  Who knows what crazy lineups coach Erik Spoelstra will throw out there, but no matter who is on the floor, everything will revolve around LeBron James.  James will be guarding power forwards on one end and running the whole offense on the other.  He has hinted at living in the paint like he did during the Finals, and if that doesn't scare NBA teams I don't know what does.

2. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder did not make any big moves to keep pace with the Lakers, instead opting to let their players natural improvement better the team.  Why are the Thunder ahead of the Lakers you ask?  Guards.  Steve Nash is a shadow on defense and at this point Kobe Bryant is just going on reputation.  There is no doubt that Dwight Howard is the best defensive player in the league, but there is just no way he will be able to stop James Harden and Russel Westbrook every single time they easily slice into the lane.  Also, Kendrick Perkins has always been Superman's kryptonite and OKC still has a far superior bench than Los Angeles.  Either way, I'm looking forward to some fun spring battles.    

3. Los Angeles Lakers
On second thought, I do know what else would scare NBA teams.  This.  I am incredibly excited to see what this team does with its various weapons.   On paper there is no doubt in my mind that this is the best team in the NBA.  On paper.  I remember that being said about a certain team in 2004.  The parallels are stunning.  The injured big man (Karl Malone/Dwight Howard), and veteran point guard (Gary Payton/Steve Nash).  Now I doubt that this team will have some of the work ethic, and ego issues that that team had, but there are still some wrinkles that need to be creased.  Kobe has never had to deal with a ball dominant backcourt mate like Nash before and vice-versa.  To put it kindly, Pau Gasol has not been playing the most inspiring basketball lately and anything can happen with Ron A  Metta World Peace on the floor.  The biggest question of course is Dwight Howard.  If Howard can play at the level he has before for the Magic, and just do not see how this team can be stopped.  Lets go through the options: Nash/Howard pick and roll (quivering on the floor), Nash/Gasol pick and pop, Gasol or Howard post up, Kobe ISO, MWP corner three.  Did I tell you that I can't wait to see this team?

Saturday: The next tier