Miami Heat: Erik Spoelstra’s zone may just be a ‘thing’ in Orlando

The Miami Heat have been laughed at and lauded at times this year for playing a zone defense. It may just be the thing to do in Orlando.

The Miami Heat have long been known for a few things. They are always going to outwork their opposition.

They are always going to play harder than the men that line up in front of them. Above all else and even if a single shot manages to fall through the bottom of the twine, they are always going to play hardnosed defense.

Well, that is no different now than it has been for the many, yet handful, of years that the Miami Heat have been apart of the Association. What has changed a bit now though is how they go about deploying that defense, well at least one aspect of it.

Known to be a tough heads up, mano a mano, man to man defense playing team for much of their existence up until this point, Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat have tinkered with what I call a matchup zone for the better part of a few seasons now.

While it is a matchup zone in the most traditional sense, where the defender does man his position or his zone, while simultaneously matching up with the man that’s closest to him or closest to his “zone” to defend, sort of. That isn’t the only reason to call it that though.

You also can use that term to refer to Spoelstra’s version because the type of zone is flexible based on the opponent. While it tends to look the same way, for the most part, Spoelstra tinkers with who he plays in the middle of the “3” and where that “3” lines up. Simply put, this means that sometimes it looks and operates like a “2-3” zone while at times it can actually look and feel like a “3-2” zone.

The Miami Heat have deployed the zone defense regularly over the last few seasons or so. It could turn out to be a major weapon in the Orlando NBA bubble.

Either way, Spoelstra has become pretty adept at deploying it. Not only that, some of the players actually play much better when aligned in a zone defense.

Heck, some fans have even gotten used to seeing Derrick Jones Jr. at the top of zone, putting him the optimal position to force steals, become a one man fastbreak, and subsequently, an airplane mode highlight.

That hasn’t always been the case though, as the zone defense has had many detractors throughout the fanbase. They may just have to be mad at this one though, as the zone defense could be a secret weapon for the Miami Heat in Orlando.

While the term secret weapon usually implies that nobody knows about said weapon, teams have tape of this defense from the Miami Heat. Here though, or there in Orlando to be clear, that doesn’t matter because none of them have played professional NBA basketball in some time now, at least since March.

What this points to is the fact that although the opposing players’ minds may be ready, aware, and sharp enough to still dice the zone up if they face it, will their games and their bodies be up to it? It’s one thing to take or get by your guy, as being more skilled or adept at certain nuances can help you get by one man.

However, it takes real organization, fluidity, trust in your teammates, and most importantly here, trust in your own body and/or skillet to consistently be able to beat a zone. Will teams and players be ready to do that in Orlando after sitting still for almost five months?

I am not sure, but either way, we shall see. You can expect to see quite a hefty dosage of it, at least to start out with as the players definitely won’t be biophysically able to deal with it every time down the floor yet.

Spo should push it to its limits if you ask me. Either way, that’s why I think his zone may just be a ‘thing’ in Orlando.