Great Expectations: Heat Need Answers in Game 2

Heat look to make some adjustments going into Game 2



This is the time of year where you have got to deliver. Results mean more now than ever and everything is scrutinized. Pat Riley is not above criticism and by his estimation neither is Dwyane Wade.

"Coach expects the world out of me," Wade said. "He expects more out of me than anybody probably ever expected."

Such is the price of greatness. You cannot rest on your laurels at all and you have to constantly fight to stay on top. And Riley is unapologetic about it.

This is why so few can get to the level that Wade is at. Yet, it also takes something equally as great to fuel such an individual, and Pat Riley is the master motivator.

Putting Dwyane Wade on Luol Deng in game 1 was admirable -- it was simply a strategy to help Wade avoid contact on screens. With the accusations in the past of the Bulls' dirty tactics, notably Hinrich's cheap tug on Wade's wrist, it was a sound idea. Yet, Wade's defense was horrible, to put it mildly, and the Heat suffered as a result.

We could see a shift in the starting lineup. Eddie Jones started Game 1 at SF, a position he became familiar with in his last stint with the Heat during their playoff run of 2004-2005. Something that garnered much criticism, by the way. Yet, EJ did a good job defending Gordon, who finished 7-19 from the field and 0-5 from three point range despite finishing with 24 points.

That shift could come in the form of James Posey, who matches up better with Deng physically and can build on the success he had in only 19 minutes of play in Game 1. Most likely, Posey will have to deal with a more confident player, one who is building on his lack of past success against the Heat. Not an easy task, but Posey will be up for the challenge of defending Deng. Wade noted, "I think because he didn't have a good playoff series last year, he's trying to be more aggressive this year. You just try to be more aware of his aggressiveness."

So, what happens? Riley understands the nuances of the NBA playoffs arguably better than any coach in the game today. He knows his team's psychology and what buttons to push. If Riley opts to start Posey over EJ, it won't be because of EJ's defense but rather because of Wade's tough assignment on Deng in Game 1.

Then there is Shaq. His rant against the officiating in Game 1 is not going to be well-recieved, but it is well deserved. Le Batard wrote about it, as did others. The fact of the matter is the officiating was horrible, not just for the Heat but also for the Bulls who didn't benefit as much with Kirk Hinrich bouncing out with 6 fouls in just 19 minutes. Shaq cannot play tentatively. He has to be allowed to absorb and dish out physical contact while on the court. One of the hardest things to do is call a game with Shaq playing in it. What is a foul and what is not?

Shaq has gone on the record stating he "hates" flopping players. The Bulls, thanks to PJ Brown, admit they flop and are just better at it than Miami is. It would be nice to see such a comment work against the Bulls, with the referees not blowing the whistles on plays where flopping happened - but that is unlikely to occur. What the Heat can do is limit Shaq's situations where he will pick up needless fouls - namely trying to draw charges in the lane. He could always bust out his "finesse" game, but the success of that and its logistics are questionable.

Still, Shaq will have to use his old noodle and his basketball IQ to get around this obstacle. Drawing double teams he can kick out to the open man, the Heat will repost and force the Bulls defenders to hesitate and guess what decision Shaq will make. This will require the Heat getting the ball to Shaq early in the shot clock and often -- they will have to run the offense through Shaq and he will also have to be quick to get into position on each possession.

For this to occur, the Heat have to make one final basic adjustment -- better rebounding. The Heat were outrebounded by 13 (46-33) by the Bulls, which enabled the Bulls to control the tempo of the game more often and get out and run as a result. The Bulls ended up with 25 fast break points while the Heat lagged much further behind, only squeezing out 4. Getting rebounds and forcing the other team to take the ball out of the hoop slows the game down and allows Miami to run their bread and butter -- half court offense. If Miami is to do this, they will need to do a better job of boxing out and being aggressive on the glass.

There are great expectations in place for the Heat. Not just dictated by their coach, but within themselves. After all, the reason why Wade opted to come back over surgery is because he wanted the chance to defend the title with his teammates. The challenge is before them, now they will have to make the first of many adjustments on their way to meeting that challenge.