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Will the Miami Heat feature the zone defense more next year?

By Duncan Smith

BROOKLYN, NY - APRIL 10: Derrick Jones Jr. #5 of the Miami Heat plays defense against the Brooklyn Nets on April 10, 2019 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, NY - APRIL 10: Derrick Jones Jr. #5 of the Miami Heat plays defense against the Brooklyn Nets on April 10, 2019 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Miami Heat featured their 2-3 zone defense heavily this past season. Should they make an effort to increase its usage next season as well?

Given the recent trend of things, it appears the zone defense is back in the NBA whether you like it or not. Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and his team’s roster have played a big part in ushering it back to its surge in league-wide relevance.

After a 2017-18 season in which the entire NBA played just 638 total possessions that qualified as zone defense (per Synergy), 10 teams played 154 or more possessions of zone defense in 2018-19, none more than the 1053 possessions of zone defense that the Miami Heat played.

In the renewed usage of the zone, there may have been something of a shock effect for offenses seeing it in high volume for the first time at the NBA level. That could explain some of the higher defensive efficiency rates across the league, but any way you cut it the zone worked well for the Heat last season.

In their 1053 zone defensive possessions, the Heat allowed just .923 points per possession, fifth-best among the 20 teams who actually used zone last season.

Mind you, while the zone was quite effective, the Miami Heat are just a very good overall defensive basketball team. Their man defense was just slightly worse than their zone defense at .94 points per possession allowed, seventh-best in the NBA.

While keeping the zone fresh and practiced for teams who struggle against it or who don’t have personnel able to execute it has a great deal of merit, we shouldn’t expect to see the zone get a signficant increase in volume next season.

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It’s a good trick to keep in the bag and a team with the positionless versatility that the Miami Heat have throughout the roster, with players like Josh Richardson and Bam Adebayo, should be able to switch seamlessly from zone to man throughout a game as the situation requires, but it’s not likely it will take the place of good old man defense with any kind of regularity.

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