MIAMI—It's not easy to coach the Miami Heat's frenetic style of defense, to harp on the same habits over and over and over again, only to watch as a single error leads to an easy hoop.
As coach Erik Spoelstra told Bleacher Report for our companion piece, "Every single day when I come into the gym, I'm uncomfortable about it. Even knowing that we still feel steadfastly that it's the right system for us."
But what's it like to play?
"It is challenging," said Dallas Mavericks forward Shawn Marion, who played for the Heat from the 2008 All-Star break until the 2009 All-Star break. "You do have to put energy into it, and that's pretty cool. It keeps you engaged, they keep everybody engaged. They gonna show out, and they're going to protect and rotate immediately."
So it was different from what he encountered playing for Phoenix, or later, for Toronto or Dallas?
"It somewhat is," Marion said. "Their defensive principles never really change. They stay consistent with it. They believe in showing. And when they show, they're gonna show. It works, though."
As Spoelstra acknowledged, the syst ...
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Article written by Ethan Skolnick
Playing Defense the Heat Way: High Expectations, Occasional Exhaustion
November 19th, 2013 by Ethan Skolnick Leave a reply »
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