The knock on the Miami Heat all season is that, instead of joining forces like a dominant Voltron, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade played off of each other to trade long jumpers and occasional drives to the rim. Against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Playoffs, this didn't change a whole lot: the Heat still relied on true long jumpers. Until Game 5, that is.
LeBron James, Miami Heat Aggressive As Ever In Clincher Over Boston Celtics
In the clincher in Miami, the Heat focused on getting to the rim and taking three-pointers, hallmarks of an effective offense. Tom Haberstroh reports that in Game 5, the Heat took fewer long twos -- that’d be shots from 16-23 feet in distance -- than they had in any game since March. Miami took 11 long twos, 19 three-pointers, 22 shots at the rim and 38 free throws.
In the regular season, Miami took more shots from 16-23 feet than anywhere else on the court, some 22.5 per game (vs. 20.5 at the rim and 18 threes). The shift to more shots at the rim -- which also tends to have an avatar in free throws -- versus the long twos is a key sign of aggressiveness, and usually works out for the better, especially when you have athletes like Wade and James.
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