MIAMI \u2014 Yes, Noah LaRoche is still on Erik Spoelstra\u2019s staff, the Miami Heat have confirmed. So more of the same relentless offensive pace and player movement from the Heat this coming season, even with Giannis Antetokounmpo aboard?<\/p>\n
As in playing at a league-leading pace, as was the case last season? As in fewer than half as many pick-and-roll sequences as the next closest team in the NBA?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a lot of that was overstated,\u201d Spoelstra said in the wake of Antetokounmpo\u2019s introduction<\/a>, of the system the Heat adopted<\/a> last season. \u201cIt was really more about the principles, and the principles were to open up driving lanes for our guys.<\/p>\n \u201cIt worked really well as the guys got comfortable with it. We were top three in all the aggressive driving metrics. And I think that only increases on steroids when you have somebody like Giannis.\u201d<\/p>\n Which brings it back to LaRoche, who previously helped run his \u201cchasing space\u201d offensive system with the Memphis Grizzlies before bringing it to the Heat last season.<\/p>\n Of LaRoche, Spoelstra said last season, \u201cHe\u2019s really an innovative coaching mind. I love to talk hoops. And I\u2019ve really enjoyed, and our staff has really enjoyed, our discussions with him. He\u2019s just been a fun addition to the staff.\u201d<\/p>\n Seemingly out of respect to his assistant coaches, Spoelstra limited his comments on LaRoche and LaRoche\u2019s contributions to last season\u2019s offense, which had the Heat first in scoring in the Eastern Conference and second in the league behind only the Denver Nuggets.<\/p>\n While the Heat declined to make LaRoche available for comment, he did spell out some of his concepts in an interview with the Slapping Glass podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything is about managing space: Chasing space when you have the ball, chase space when you\u2019re off the ball, chase space. That encompasses all these other things that create great offense and create great defense,\u201d LaRoche said.<\/p>\n \u201cElite players, they don\u2019t think about the move they\u2019re going to make. They find space and they get there and then from that the move actually emerges.\u201d<\/p>\n So more of the same?<\/p>\n Spoelstra said at least to a degree.<\/p>\n \u201cThe principles will probably be something we\u2019ll lean into,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cBut the playbook might look a little differently, how we get into those principles. And we\u2019re working on that right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Since, after all, it is only July.<\/p>\n But Spoelstra also bristled at conversation that Bam Adebayo and Antetokounmpo are redundant in their playing styles.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can see why there would be that thought process,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cThey operate in similar spaces. But they both want to make it work. You can do anything when your main objective is to try to win. Then you can figure out all the nuances and the subtle details of spacing and how to open up space for each other.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re both obviously elite talents. So we want to get them to their strength zones. And there probably will be a little bit of an adjustment period. That\u2019s normal. And we\u2019ll work through it and do what we need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n So perhaps some more \u201cchasing space,\u201d but also plenty of catering to Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no space that he hasn\u2019t really conquered,\u201d Spoelstra said of Antetkoumpo\u2019s offensive repertoire. \u201cWe\u2019ll try to find some other ways to maximize his gifts. But he\u2019s pretty much done it all \u2014 pick-and-rolls at the top of the floor with bigs, pick-and-rolls with smalls, same thing on the wings.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I think more than anything it\u2019s been his ability to force not a second defender, a third defender. And that creates a bunch of havoc to someone\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n \u201cWe lived it. One extra defender is not enough. And then you get a third one and his willingness and his improvement with his passing over the years gets you in scramble mode.\u201d<\/p>\n Then there is the flip side, and the Heat\u2019s unique way of leaning into zone defense more than any other team.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always been a change-up for us,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cSome years we end up going to the change-up more like it\u2019s a fastball. But that all depends. I don\u2019t know. The team will let us know if we use it a lot or never use it.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you could put Giannis in any defensive schematic. He\u2019s going to make it work because of his size, agility. He\u2019s smart. You have to game plan against him offensively.\u201d<\/p>\n So, yes, unique talent on both ends, meaning more unique approaches forthcoming.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve faced him three times in the playoffs,\u201d Spoelstra said of those Bucks-Heat playoff series. And that was one of the things that you better be prepared for. You can\u2019t just only prepare for his attacks.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to prepare for what he does defensively. And you have to spend time on that. Otherwise, he\u2019s going to disrupt everything you\u2019re trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI \u2014 Yes, Noah LaRoche is still on Erik Spoelstra\u2019s staff, the Miami Heat have confirmed. So more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":818768,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,4245,8224,459,82],"class_list":["post-818767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-latest-headlines","tag-miami-heat","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=818767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818767\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/818768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=818767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=818767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=818767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}