[外電] Heat burn through Wolves' MIA defense
The Miami Heat ran a layup drill on the Timberwolves in the first half Friday
night, raising more questions about where the team stands in its philosophy
to be defense-oriented and whether the roster as it's constructed can take on
that mentality.
The Heat jumped to a 17-point lead in the second quarter by getting to the
basket and never trailed in a 92-77 victory at Target Center over the Wolves,
who have lost 26 of their past 36 games.
"It explains our season right there," guard Randy Foye said of the layups.
"It was too easy."
This is why the 30-42 Wolves sunk to a season-worst 12 games under .500 and
are all but guaranteed to miss the playoffs for a third consecutive season.
Their play has been so inconsistent, they haven't won consecutive games since
before the all-star break six weeks ago.
"If a guy is running like that, you've got to foul him and let him know he
can't go in there, or get back and stop him," Foye said.
It's not a complicated formula. But the Wolves didn't execute it early.
"The energy was not there at the start of the game," coach Randy Wittman
said. "You can't come out lackadaisical."
In four consecutive possessions in the first quarter, the Heat finished with
three fast-break layups and a dunk. The Wolves' deficit grew from 13-10 to
21-10.
"That was just effort," Wittman said. "It wasn't a turnover. I think all four
of them were missed shots. When you turn it over, sometimes that happens, someone breaks out ahead. But these
were missed shots and just effort of running back."
The Wolves' offense stunk, too, as they scored just 35 points in the first
half and trailed by 12 at the break. They shot 36.9 percent on the night,
including 2 for 18 from three-point range.
Still, it was the manner in which Miami scored that was most disturbing.
Half of Miami's 20 field goals in the first half were dunks or layups. They
quickly built a double-digit lead thanks to Minnesota's inability, or
unwillingness, to protect the basket.
When Udonis Haslem dunked early in the second quarter, the Heat lead swelled
to 33-16. When Mark Madsen fouled James Posey on a transition layup attempt
with 50 seconds left in the first half, it seemed to be the first time the
Wolves sent a message.
"We gave them too many layups. I think Dog committed the only hard foul,"
said forward Kevin Garnett, who led all players with 22 points and 20
rebounds. "We've got to get better at that. It was too big of a deficit on a
good team like this."
The Heat outscored Minnesota 26-10 in the paint in the first half. Posey had
12 points by the break, slashing to the basket and getting behind the defense
for easy points.
Wittman said he thought his players' effort on defense improved as the game
progressed. But that didn't make up for the beginning.
Miami's Shaquille O'Neal (15 points, nine rebounds) didn't duplicate the huge
performance he had in the previous meeting this season March 9, a 105-91 Heat
romp. O'Neal scored a season-high 32 points in that game.
The Wolves made adjustments defensively, and, this time, O'Neal had just
seven points through three quarters on 3-of-6 shooting.
Although O'Neal didn't go off like he did a few weeks ago, his teammates more
than made up for it. All four starters scored in double figures before O'Neal
finally reached double digits late in the fourth quarter.
This was a Miami team that played without its leading scorer, all-star Dwyane
Wade, who's out with a shoulder injury, and sharpshooter Jason Kapono, who's
battling a sprained ankle.
The Wolves cut the deficit to four points late in the third quarter and were
within striking distance in the fourth. But Miami never lost control of the
game.
O'Neal had a dunk and then a layup that put Miami ahead 87-75. The Heat shot
48.7 percent on the night.
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