The Miami Heat got whatever they want offensively in Game 3 against the Pacers, racing out to put 70 points on the board by halftime in what would end up being an easy 18-point victory that reasserted the team’s dominance.
LeBron James was especially effective early, and got things going in the first half by attacking Indiana’s defense in the post and the paint to score 18 of his team-high 22 points in the game’s first 24 minutes.
Most impressive was the fact that on three of his first seven made shots, as well as on the final one he made in the game with almost 11 minutes still remaining in the fourth quarter, James backed down his defender and scored easily over him in post-up situations.
These weren’t simply cases of James establishing position on the low block, followed by a teammate dumping it in for him to make a power move to the basket. On each of his four possessions where he scored on post-ups, James received the ball and faced up maybe 17 feet away before backing down his defender (Paul George in all four cases) and scoring inside.
Even more impressive, James turned baseline and finished with his left hand off the glass on three of his four post-up scores. That means that rim protector Roy Hibbert had no chance to come over and help from the weak side; it was George by himself on an island, where James is essentially unstoppable.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra wouldn’t say that James attacking in the post was a specific part of his team’s game plan, but he did mention how LeBron forcing the action helped set the overall tone for his team.
“It wasn’t something we saw against a very good defender,” Spoelstra said. “It was something we wanted to get to, just to help settle us and get into a more aggressive attack. Because Paul George and that defense is a very good ‑‑ he’s a very good defender and he can do it in a lot of different ways. But we wanted to be a little more aggressive, a little more committed to getting into the paint and seeing what would happen. And LeBron was very committed and focused to not settle. That aggressiveness set the tone.”
Hibbert knows that by the time James gets to the low block in a one-on-one situation, it’s too late for the defense. He wants to see the activity much earlier on in order to prevent James from getting to that spot.
“You know, he was in the post putting in a lot of work,” Hibbert said. “I think we have to do a better job of helping Paul out. LeBron can’t get five or six dribbles to get a post move. We have to make adjustments. He’s obviously a low‑post threat, but we have to make adjustments.”
The adjustments to make would be to double James when he gets the ball before he makes his move to the post, but that would go against everything the Pacers have done defensively all season long. Indiana is a team built on containing and helping once guys get into the paint, not leaving guys wide open and putting their defense in a scramble situation just to take away one particular player’s strength. But they can bring a second defender to pressure the ball once James puts it on the floor, as opposed to the way they simply watched him go to work in this one.
“I saw I had a one‑on‑one matchup,” James said, in explaining how he was able to score so easily on these plays. “They didn’t come down in the post all game, so I just tried to take advantage of it. My teammates gave me space. I just tried to sit in the post, not get the ball in the wing as much tonight. Tried to anchor myself down on the block and go to work. I was able to do that.”
The good news for the Pacers is that James only scored on these post-ups four times, and on one of those, he got into the paint for a layup while Hibbert was on the bench. This wasn’t a case of LeBron going off for 40 points on the same play over and over again, but it was a reminder of yet another way James can beat you if he’s allowed to go to work against a single defender, and it’s one more cause for concern for Indiana to deal with now that the Heat have reclaimed control of the series.
