How Erik Spoelstra masterminded a Miami Heat win over Utah Jazz explained in one play

Miami Heat weren’t getting too far against the Utah Jazz by challenging Rudy Gobert at the rim. So Erik Spoelstra tried a tactic opposite one that worked against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 76ers don’t have snipers like Bojan Bogdanovic and Joe Ingles, but the Jazz don’t have defenders such as Ben Simmons and Josh Richardson. That observation left the mid-range game open for none other than Tyler Herro to exploit using his ball handling and shot-making expertise, as shown below.

Would that sequence succeed against the long-limbed defenders on the 76ers or Boston Celtics? Probably not, but the Jazz didn’t have them. They had quality players such as Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Royce O’Neale, and sharpshooters Bogdanovic, Ingles, who excel in other areas of the game. Knowing Mitchell and Bogdanovic are minus DBPM defenders, Spoelstra put the ball in Herro’s hands to work his magic in the paint with the game on the line.

Upcoming games versus the Indiana Pacers, Sixers and Washington Wizards present different obstacles other than what worked in the fourth quarter on Monday evening. Later on to start out 2020 the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic and Portland Trail Blazers have their own strengths and weaknesses for Miami to figure out.

Spoelstra may be the conductor, but he needs an orchestra to play the music. In the upcoming contests he’ll figure out which players to feature on any given night to produce a standing ovation from the audience.

Dwyane Wade may have gone west, but his legacy of winning lives on with the team. The current Heat team has their own tricks in their bag, and we’ll see what gifts they’ll pull out the bag after Christmas for their fans.