One thing I have heard and read countless times is that Miami is a transition team, a fast break team.
Sure enough, two weeks ago they were.
Now, not so much. The Heat rank 23rd in the NBA in John Hollinger’s Pace Factor – the number of possessions a team uses per game.
Sure, Miami is trying to play with defensive mindset. But they haven’t forgotten how to score in transition. They can seemingly blow open a lead during the amount of time it takes me to put clothes in the dryer – which I did not know before last night.
Kyle Lowry is fast. But LeBron’s steal in the midcourt area and subsequent breakaway slam was like a virgin on prom night. Quick. He left Lowry to choke on his exhaust fumes at the starting line.
The Rockets even tried fouling to stop the transition buckets being poured on top of them. Most of the time the Heat, and especially Wade converted the bucket in spite of the fouls. Aaron Brooks had to essentially take a swing at Wade, hitting him across the face and arms with his forearm, to make him miss a layup. Wade actually started bleeding, and after much protestation by Heat coach Eric Spoelstra, Brooks was given a flagrant foul.
If this Heat team can adapt to different styles of play this quickly in the regular season with one third of a season playing together, the playoffs are going to be very interesting.
