Erik Spoelstra takes umbrage with questions about the Miami Heat entering the season with only one true point guard, but not for the reason you might expect.
He basically claims they don’t have any. At least that’s the goal in this season’s scheme.
It has nothing to do with what Goran Dragic isn’t. It’s about what Spoelstra’s believes his team can be.
When it comes to advancing the ball, everyone is the point guard. And when Dragic isn’t the one in that role, his coach wants him going deep.
“The more guys that can dribble, pass and shoot, the better that your offense will work,” said Spoelstra, whose team opens the season Wednesday at the Amway Center against the Orlando Magic. “And ‘dribble’ can have a different definition for different players. A big player might be two or three dribbles to get into an action or to dribble up the court to get it to somebody else.”
So instead of having to deal with the dirty work, including younger opposing point guards pressuring him in the backcourt, Dragic was convinced by Spoelstra that running post patterns could further maximize his skills.
“He understands the big picture of a team,” Spoelstra said. “And he understands what the strengths of a team can be and how he can add to that, and he has great emotional stability to be able to evolve. And as he gets into his 30s, he is a dynamic player with the ball and an increasingly dynamic player without the ball.
“I love it when he’s up ahead and we pitch it to him in the open court. I like him on the move. I like him cutting. He’s just a very good offensive player and that’s not exclusive of just being with the ball.”
There was a point during his 11-season NBA career when Dragic might have taken umbrage of his own if he didn’t get the inbounds pass after an opposing basket or the outlet after his team’s offensive rebound.
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At 32, that no longer is the case.
“Our main thing this year is who’s closest to the ball takes it and we’re going to try to pitch ahead, as well,” he said. “That’s why I’m going to run to the corner or some other guys will, and then from there we can play different actions.
“When you’re young, you want the ball all the time. But now the most important thing is winning and how to make your teammates better. Of course I’m going to call actions and lead. But sometimes you just need to take what the defense is giving you.”
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It not only is Dwyane Wade, Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson being asked to take the pace-pushing initiative, but also a green light for big men Hassan Whiteside, Bam Adebayo and Kelly Olynyk to bust out off the dribble.
“We had a lot of turnovers last year when we were throwing that first pass,” Dragic said of the predictable attempts to outlet to the point guard. “Now he wants them to use the dribble, maybe one or two dribbles and maybe pitch ahead. And that’s when I need to be ready, if they’re going to see me.”
Teammates have noticed and noted the sacrifice.
“It’s awesome,” Olynyk said. “Obviously that’s an All-Star point guard. He’s going to want the ball in his hands, everybody does. But for him to make that sacrifice and help the offense flow and our team flow, it says a lot about his character and his personality and who he is.”
As a beneficiary, Winslow is particularly appreciative.
“I think it speaks just the unselfishness of him and the team in general,” he said. “We’re a very deep team and we have a lot of guys who like to have the ball and can actually make plays with the ball in their hands. So it takes some adjusting.
“I had to adjust to being off the ball. I can only imagine being a point guard his whole life and running the team, being the All-Star, and now you’re being told to kind of get off the ball and just go. But the way we’re playing it’s not so much about getting off the ball, because we’re playing so fast and we’re running the ball, we’re sharing the ball. So I think guys are buying into that. Guys are still going to get their shots. So it’s just kind of a new philosophy we have, just trying to push the pace and share the ball and move it.”
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