Game 1 2013 NBA Eastern Conference Finals by John Zall
The 2013 NBA Eastern Conference Finalswas a matchup of the defending champion Miami HEAT against the Indiana Pacers. With the Boston Celtics without Rajon Rondo and the Chicago Bulls without Derrick Rose the Indiana Pacers were Miami’s chief rival in the Eastern Conference. The series ended up going the full 7 games where Miami walloped Indiana in the clincher. No game was more hotly contested; and hotly debated analyzed afterwards than Game 1.
Game 1 was a back-and-forth affair that ended up going into overtime. With 2.2 seconds left on the clock Miami trailed by 1 but had possession of the ball on the sideline in their own end. Shane Battier, playing the 4 and being guarded Indiana’s’ 4 man, was inbounding the ball. Lebrun James, the reigning Triple Crown winner (Regular Season MVP, Finals MVP and Olympic Gold Medalist) was stationed on the strong side elbow. Chris Bosh, the 5 in this particular lineup was at the top of the key. Ray Allen was positioned at the lane line on the weak side and Norris Cole was stationed along the baseline on the strong side.
Ray Allen initiated the action by cutting over the top of Lebrun and heading towards the strong side corner. His defender, the athletic Sam Young, was originally trailing him. As soon as Allen passed Chris Bosh, Bosh dove to the weak side block off of Allen’s back forcing an emergency switch and putting big man Tyler Hansbrough now on Ray Allen. Once Chris Bosh got to the block Norris Cole cut through the paint to the weak side wing. George Hill did a job trailing Cole thus eliminating the switch of him and Young, which would pull another rim protected away from the rim.
With the floor spaced, Battier entered the ball into James right above the left elbow. Paul George, the player guarding LeBron, got caught behind him and didn’t square the ball back up. With limited time on the clock, James attacked the basket and got right to the rim where Indiana had no help positioned.
After the game, Indiana Pacers Head Coach Frank Vogel took an ordinate amount of criticism for not having their defensive anchor Roy Hibbert on the floor for their final defensive possession. Hindsight is always 20/20 and in an ideal world Roy Hibbert would be positioned right at the rim to meet LeBron and alter his layup. However, there were many deterrents to this solution.
For starters, Miami has their “small lineup” on the floor with Shane Battier playing the 4. The lineup is really considered even smaller due to the fact that Chris Bosh is primarily a jump shooter at this point in his career. Indiana, like many basketball teams at all levels, prefer certain defensive lineups at the end of games that give them flexibility to switch in an emergency.
The common refrain after the game was that Hibbert would be guarding Bosh for this possession and could be in help at the rim. The problem with this is that Chris Bosh has become an elite jump-shooter, and someone who has hit many big shots from the corner 3 spot. With LeBron being such a phenomenal and willing passer, it is very unlikely he would see Bosh open in the corner. Second, what no one even mentioned was the fact that Hansbrough, the person originally guarding Bosh, switched on the initial cut with Young and was guarding Allen in the corner. For obvious reasons, you wouldn’t leave Allen in the corner open for 3.
Most important in this sequence was the sheer brilliance of HEAT Head Coach Erik Spoelstra. This play was set up perfectly, the rub cuts were intended to force two switches and take both rim protectors away from the rim. It also spaced the floor exactly how you’d want it spaced with two clutch shooters in the corners and another capable shooter on the wing. The floor positioning also made it impossible for two people to deny LeBron the ball on the inbounds pass. Essentially what Spoelstra did was get LeBron the ball in space one-on-one with 4 knock-down shooters spacing the floor, and we usually know how that ends for the other team.
Coach John Zall just completed his first season as an Assistant Coach at Division II Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, NH. This past season Franklin Pierce University won 20 games and advanced to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. Zall arrived at Franklin Pierce after spending the past 3 seasons as the Associate Head Coach/Head JV Coach at O’Bryant High school in Roxbury, MA. During his tenure at O’Bryant the program improved from 4 wins to 12 wins and qualified for the MIAA State Tournament twice.
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Coach John Zall just completed his first season as an Assistant Coach at Division II Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, NH. This past season Franklin Pierce University won 20 games and advanced to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. Zall arrived at Franklin Pierce after spending the past 3 seasons as the Associate Head Coach/Head JV Coach at O’Bryant High school in Roxbury, MA. During his tenure at O’Bryant the program improved from 4 wins to 12 wins and qualified for the MIAA State Tournament twice.
Coach Zall also has experience as an AAU Head Coach for the Boston Warriors. As Head Coach for the Warriors his team won the 2011 16U State Title and twice competed in AAU Nationals down in Orlando, FL. On top of being a student at Northeastern University, Zall was named Head Coach of the Men’s Club Basketball team for the 2012-13 season. During his lone season as Head Coach, Northeastern finished second in the Northeast Regional Tournament featuring colleges from throughout the East Coast. Coach Zall has also spent time as a Head Coach in the Bay State Games where his team won the Bronze Medal in 2012 and at various camps including: Five Star, Boston Celtics, NIKE, Franklin Pierce University, Hoop Group and The Elite 75.
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