Thursday, June 9, 2011

What to Watch For in Game 5

It will be very interesting what changes the coaches and players will make going into game 5.  The most obvious thing to watch for is how Lebron rebounds after scoring just 8 points in game 4. 
The other not so obvious changes I am looking forward to seeing is how much playing time Bibby gets, he has been atrocious on both ends of the floor.  He is not hitting open shots, the one thing that is really asked of him, and, as expected, Barea and any other Mav he is guarding is blowing by him easily.  Chalmers has severely outplayed him in every aspect of the game, and the Heat also have no problem having Lebron handle the 1 and have no point on the floor at all.  I think this is actually when they are at their best.  Wade/Lebron/Miller/Haslem/Bosh spreads the floor and provides great defense.

The second change I expect to see is Miami attack the rim and Tyson Chandler much more.  Chandler has been huge for the Mavs on both ends of the floor.  He is eating up offensive boards, averaging 6.6 in the last 3 games, his defensive presence is huge as he makes scoring at the basket in half court sets extremely hard, and he can make the other team pay on offense when his man lags off him.  This was enough reason to get him in foul trouble, something he has always been prone to doing his whole career, but with Haywood out the Heat need to add even more emphasis to this strategy.  The only person Mavs have now to back up Chandler is Mahinmi, who is not close to ready to play at this stage.  Every minute Mahinmi is forced to play is great for the Heat.  In the last 83 minutes Chandler only has 5 total fouls.  This needs to change for the Heats sake.  Lebron, whether he is making the basket or not, needs to be more aggressive and attack the body of Chandler and force the refs to blow the whistle.  

0 comments:

Post a Comment