<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"><div align="center">Van Gundy and his veterans will teach the Riley method to Heat newcomers</div> The veteran players, guys who have been on the Heat two years or more, know there is one certainty about their team, and that is that everything will start with hard-nosed, Pat Riley-influenced defense. The challenge facing coach Stan Van Gundy when camp opens Tuesday is that he has only three such players: guard Eddie Jones (four years) and forwards Rasual Butler and Malik Allen (two years apiece). Sure, second-year guard Dwyane Wade and second-year forward Udonis Haslem were with the Heat last season and adapted to the rugged defensive style. But those who played two years ago under Riley, the former Heat coach and current team president, are better versed in the defensive system employed by Van Gundy, Riley's longtime assistant. "I think more so than any other year we've been here our attention early on in training camp will shift to the defense," Van Gundy said of the Heat, which added several shooters in the off-season. "We have guys coming from different defensive philosophies playing for us. We have to get guys on the same page and thinking our way defensively. Defensively we've got a lot of work to do and things we've got to get better at." Miami's defense this year probably won't resemble the gritty unit of past years that was anchored by center Alonzo Mourning and included stoppers such as P.J. Brown, Dan Majerle, Keith Askins and Bruce Bowen. This year's Heat, of course, will be anchored by center Shaquille O'Neal, who is slimmed down and perhaps more agile than he has been in years. But at the forwards, the Heat has some molding to do. Christian Laettner, Michael Doleac (who also will play center) and Wesley Person aren't known for their defense. Even Butler is defensively challenged. "We have some guys who have looked at themselves as offensive players and haven't taken the defensive responsibility we need them to take," Van Gundy said. It's somewhat of a comfort to Van Gundy knowing that last year he taught first-year players such as Wade, Lamar Odom and Rafer Alston the Heat's way of defense. Miami ended the season eighth in points allowed at 89.7 points per game. Odom and Alston are gone, but Jones said even now, as the Heat veterans play pickup games, the holdovers are trying to teach the newcomers. "We go through it every day, telling guys, 'Do this, do that. This is where we've got to get,' " Jones said. "In our defense, if guys learn it it'll be just like last year. The game on offense became easy because we were creating turnovers and we played off that. Once guys really bought into it we started playing good basketball."</div><div align="center">Source</div> Although defense is our number one concern Pat Riley/Van Gundy teams all focus on D and take it seriously. You guys remember how well we played against the Pacers in the playoffs? I remember the only thing ever keeping us in the game was our defense because our offense had like 4 min scoring droughts in every game against the Pacers (thank god those days our over ). C-Shaq - Man, if they force Shaq to play hard defense this year... PF-Haslem - Udonis is always bustin his a$$ and although he's capable of scoring he earns his minutes by rebounding and playing good defense. He's expected to do real good this year. SF-Person - He's probably the weakest link in the starting lineup. Especially considering the East is loaded with SFs. We'll see how he improves after training camp. SG-E Jones - Jones knows how Riley stresses defense. He seems to have lost a step but is still good enough. He's good enough that he might be put to start at SF at times to play against Tayshaun Prince and Ron Artest just so they don't exploit us. PG-Wade - Wade's shown signs of real great D although he's been inconsistant. This years olympics gave us something to really look forward to as far as defense goes: He led the team with 17 Steals. Who was #2? Lamar Odom with 16. Miami's boyz had the best defense outta all the stars. Players also had a tougher time scoring against Wade. He also had 3 blocks and tipped the ball away from the defense outta bounce or to his team that turned into fast breaks.
Defense focal point of Training Camp <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">For the next few days, don't ask Heat coach Stan Van Gundy how his team will find an offensive identity now that Shaquille O'Neal is the focal point. He'll be too busy trying to hammer home defense, the identity that never changes for the Heat. What started with former coach Pat Riley and continued with Van Gundy won't stop now that the NBA's most dominant player is in the middle. Defense was the focus of the informal workouts leading into training camp, and it's the theme as training camp starts today. "We need to get everybody taking defense seriously," Van Gundy said Monday. "It's the attitude, the discipline of it. We have to make sure we are thoroughly prepared. "We have a lot of guys who have probably thought of themselves as offensive players. We have to get them to think like of themselves as defensive players." The Heat opens camp with guard Dwyane Wade and a lot of shooters around O'Neal. That assessment does not address how the Heat will defend, and that's the area Van Gundy intends to get to in camp. "Unselfish with the ball, limit turnovers, defense and rebounding," is how Van Gundy explained his philosophy, and those last two elements are essential to earn time on the floor. The Heat has eight new players on the roster. All of them knew what to expect. First-round pick Dorell Wright has talked about the grueling conditioning sessions under the hot sun at the University of Miami track, work intended to prepare the Heat for the physical intensity that good defense requires. Guard Eddie Jones said the other part of defense is learning to play it as a team, which the Heat figured out at the right time last season. During the 2003-04 regular season, the Heat ranked eighth in scoring defense by holding opponents to 89.7 points per game, and seventh in field-goal percentage defense at 42.5 percent. The Heat improved those numbers to 84.1 points per game and 40.5 percent in the playoffs.</div>Not bad eh. And our D improved in the playoffs. It was also a team with a lot of new faces so it could've improved even more with time. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"What got us into the playoffs was guys bought into our style of defense and worked hard at it," Jones said. "We make you do what you don't want to do, put it that way. "We make every pass tough, every shot tough. "It takes time to learn the defense. That is why it is good everybody came late August, early September, so we can get to work early." The Heat's forward positions are unsettled as camp opens. Van Gundy said he is not focused on lineup right now. When he does evaluate the different combinations, he'll have a large selection of shooters to choose from, but also has to consider defensive matchups. The Heat is looking for some defensive help from the newcomers. Van Gundy said the team lost frontline quickness defensively when it traded Caron Butler and Lamar Odom, along with Brian Grant, to Los Angeles for O'Neal. Of course, Heat also gained size. Guard Keyon Dooling said part of the work during camp would be learning how to play defense with O'Neal patrolling the lane. "See what you can get away with," he said. "With Shaq back there, you can get away with a little more. "When you have a big guy like that, you can take more risks."</div>
Yah shaq will be the leader as usual he always seem to be the man that prolly why he is paid so much he will get down the defense he is a smart guys I hope he does good this season as usual.
<div align="center"><div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> <font size="3">Shaq learns to focus on defense</font></div> <div align="center"></div> <div align="center"><font size="3"></font></div> <div align="left">Before he can catch a lob pass from Dwyane Wade, before he can turn and dunk on an opponent with ease or before he can lead a fast break better than any 7-1 center in the league, Shaquille O'Neal has to learn what it means to play Miami Heat basketball. </div> <div align="left">And in Day One of training camp Tuesday, O'Neal figured it out.</div> <div align="left">''It's a lot of defense,'' O'Neal said after a three-hour-plus opening practice session at AmericanAirlines Arena. ``We spent about an hour and a half on defense. It was a lot of trapping, a lot of blitzing, a lot of guys being aggressive.'' </div> <div align="left">In fact, the team spent only about 15 minutes on any sort of five-on-five, full-court action. That's because Heat coach Stan Van Gundy's top priority is getting his new players accustomed to his style of defense.</div> <div align="left">''In all of August and September, you play pickup games against [slack] defense where every pass is easy and you can do whatever you want,'' Van Gundy said. ``Then, all of a sudden, you step out the first day and you do an hour and 20 minutes of intense defensive drills, then you start to play and the defense is all revved up. Guys have to make some adjustments.'' </div> <div align="left">The adjustment will be significant for O'Neal, who will be asked to play a much more active defensive style than he's used to. Van Gundy's defense involves a lot of trapping and rotating, which former Heat center Brian Grant did especially well. </div> <div align="left">O'Neal, though, has favored anchoring the paint and waiting for the action to come to him. Van Gundy maintains that O'Neal will have to make the adjustment, even if he's not as comfortable in this style as Grant was. </div> <div align="left">''He's a different-size guy with different abilities, and he'll do some things different,'' Van Gundy said. ``I would think he would block more shots than Brian. I would think he'd get even more defensive rebounds. Is he going to be as good blitzing and rotating and things like that? I don't know. But do we expect him to do those things? Yes.'' </div> <div align="left">O'Neal said he welcomes the change in approach. </div> <div align="left">''I'm down for whatever,'' O'Neal said. ``I've done that before and it's nothing new to me. I just look forward to getting out there with the guys and having a good time trying to do something special.'' </div> <div align="left">Based on what they have seen in offseason conditioning and drills, O'Neal's teammates believe he is more than capable of playing the Heat's style of defense. </div> <div align="left">''That's the thing that's amazing about Shaq,'' center Michael Doleac said. ``As big as he is, he's extremely mobile and extremely quick. I expect him to be able to do all of that.'' </div> <div align="left">On the offensive side, O'Neal said he is looking forward to having plays called for him, as opposed to playing in Phil Jackson's triangle offense, which was more of a flowing offensive system. </div> <div align="left">Whether he likes this approach better is undetermined. </div> <div align="left">''I don't know. I just have to get used to having plays called, memorizing plays and stuff like that,'' O'Neal said. ``That'll probably take me a couple weeks. But once I get into Stan Van Gundy's system, I'll be intertwined and know how to freestyle and work a little bit of Shaq inside that.'' </div> <div align="left">NOT THE ENEMY </div> <div align="left">While teaching his team's defensive basics, Van Gundy had to remind his players that they don't need to pay extra attention to O'Neal. </div> <div align="left">''Right now, we're just trying to play our defense, and that's hard because guys automatically want to sag around [O'Neal] and everything else,'' Van Gundy said. ``But as I pointed out to them today, we're not going to play against him anymore, thank God. So we need to learn our defense and we need to play as we would against normal post players.'' </div> </div> <div align="center">Source</div>
This article talks about the Video: Heat Scrim <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">There's almost no way to successfully defend Shaquille O'Neal. "We really don't have a clue on how to stop him in practice," said Udonis Haslem, the Heat's 6-foot-8, 228-pound power forward. O'Neal knows it, too. But he also knows his 7-1, 335-pound body can detract from his own team's efforts to work on defense. So on those occasions, you get Shaq Lite. "When we're concentrating on defense I just try to act like another center," O'Neal said, pausing for effect before adding, "That's hard for me to do, act like another center." O'Neal has a couple of tricks to lessen his huge effect when he's on offense and his teammates are working on defense. "We do a lot of trapping and rotating," he said, "so whenever they trap and rotate on us I try to get in the seams on the other side." Still, no matter how hard he tries to hide himself, it doesn't work. "Right now we're just trying to play our (normal) defense and that's hard because guys automatically want to sag around him," coach Stan Van Gundy said. "But as I pointed out to them, we're not going to play against him anymore, thank God, so we need to learn our defense and we need to play as we would against normal post players." That's the only time the low-post defenders get a break, though. When the Heat is working on offense, or just scrimmaging 5-on-5, all you can do is wish the person guarding O'Neal good luck. "You can't defend him," said Malik Allen, the Heat's 6-10, 255-pound power forward. True, Michael Doleac, Wang Zhi-Zhi, Allen, Haslem and the Heat's other big men are paid handsomely for their troubles. Then Doleac describes what it's like just to prepare to take on O'Neal. "First of all you've got to try to beat him down the floor and be set at the free-throw line when he comes down," Doleac said. "Because if you're running with him and your momentum is going with him, you're done. That's No. 1. If you're not beating him down and you're not set there at the free-throw line when he gets down there, you're in big trouble. "So now once you get there ? and say you do get down and get your work done early ? now you've got to meet him and influence him out and try to get him a step further off the lane." All this happens before O'Neal gets the ball. Once he catches it the Heat defenders have a whole new set of problems. O'Neal is one of the game's best passing big men, able to beat a double-team with a pass to an open shooter. And everyone knows about his legendary power. For years the complaint was that all he does is dunk. Toward the end of Wednesday's practice the Heat was running a 5-on-5 drill and Doleac was defending O'Neal. O'Neal got the ball in the low post on the left side of the basket with his back to the rim. He dipped inside ever so slightly, spun outside, got fouled by Doleac and converted the reverse layup. (And, yes, O'Neal made the free throw.) "I was just leaning too far middle and I just let him spin baseline," Doleac said. "I was just pushing, pushing, pushing, and he got out too quick. I just wasn't ready to react to that. So even if you do most of the stuff right, it's still hard."</div>
