Sharpshooter Ray Allen the key to Miami’s NBA repeat dream

12:12 04/12/2013
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  • Milwaukee might be the weakest team to play in the NBA playoffs for some time but at the moment there is nothing anyone can do to stop the Miami Heat.

    Three games up and looking good for a sweep – how Brandon Jennings must rue saying that the Bucks could beat Miami in six games – the Heat are coasting through the first round of the playoffs, hoping to guarantee some rest before taking on the more punishing task of playing either the Bulls or the Nets in the second round.

    LeBron James is the obvious danger man for the Heat while Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are perhaps two of the most over-qualified second and third bananas to play the game, but there is a non-member of the ‘Big Three’ that can be of almost equal importance to Miami.

    A previous member of Boston’s Big Three, Ray Allen has finally made Miami his home and has slotted in beautifully as a sixth man and unstoppable floor spacer.

    Allen made history on Thursday when he hit his 322nd NBA playoff 3-pointer, taking him past Reggie Miller in the all-time rankings. A near-50 percent 3-point shooter, Allen has made Miami almost unbeatable.

    Miami’s five-man perimeter game that Erik Spoelstra pioneered during the playoffs last season en route to the title is a system almost designed for Ray Allen.

    Last season the Heat relied on Shane Battier to hit his 3-point shots, discouraging defenders from double-teaming LeBron James. But Battier is only a good 3-point shooter, Allen is probably the greatest shooter of all time.

    When Allen hits his shots as he did on Thursday in Miami’s 104-91 win over Milwaukee – hitting five of his eight shots from behind the 3-point line – defences simply have no chance.

    Defences are constantly forced to choose between stopping James or Wade, or allowing them to kick the ball to an open Allen who treats 3-pointers like most people treat lay-ups.

    Any player can be stopped if enough defenders mark him. Even LeBron can’t routinely shrug off double teams. The key to any good offence is not just having a great creator like James but having shooters than can punish defences for sending extra men to stop the primary threat.

    If Allen or Battier have an off day behind the arc, defences can leave the perimeter to stop James. But when Allen hits his shots, James and Wade have acres of space to attack.

    The worrying thing for the Heat’s opponents is that Allen almost never has an off day from behind the arc.

     

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