Perhaps more accurately, one does not simply drive into the paint when it is occupied by Roy Hibbert.
That was the case on Tuesday night as Hibbert and the rest of the Pacers kept the Heat from doing what they love most and the Pacers came out with a 90-84 win.
The Heat like to shoot just over 41 percent of their shots within eight feet of the basket making around 65 percentage of them. Only problem Tuesday was that's where Hibbert likes to play. We know that the bigger Miami guys like Chris Bosh, Rashard Lewis, Birdman and Shane Battier have to deal with Hibbert in the post, but how does the rest of the team deal with Indiana's big man. The scheme and personnel of Indiana contribute to the defensive effort, no doubt. But look at the season averages versus what Miami did on Tuesday night, and you might expect Hibbert had something to do with the lack of efficiency by the Heat.
| Player | Drives vs IND | Points on Drives vs IND | Percentage vs IND | Season Average Drive Per Game | Season Average PPG on Drives | Season Average Percentage on Drives |
| LeBron James | 9 | 2 | 11% | 5.9 | 4.1 | 62.7% |
| Dwyane Wade | 6 | 2 | 17% | 5.6 | 3.4 | 54.5% |
| Mario Chalmers | 9 | 4 | 22% | 4.8 | 2.5 | 48.6% |
| Norris Cole | 3 | 4 | 66% | 4 | 1.7 | 48.6% |
| Ray Allen | 1 | 0 | 0% | 2.8 | 1.8 | 70% |
NBA.com defines a drive as any touch that starts at least 20 feet of the hoop and is dribbled within 10 feet of the hoop and excludes fast breaks.
The Heat have three players in the top 50 in drives per a game, and two more in the top 100, but when they tried to go to the basket, it wasn't working against the Pacers. LeBron
tried to take the ball to the rack more than usual, but only got one basket on those drives.
Only Norris Cole shot above his average, but the rest were noticeably below. Considering the fact Roy boasts a league best 39.7 average for opponents field goal percentage at the rim. We all know how good Hibbert is at defending the rim, but when they are driving at him, especially when Roy isn't in foul trouble, that would seem to play right into the Pacers game plan. It should be noted that too that LeBron, Wade, and Chalmers all help create points for their teammates when they drive. Respectively when they drive, they help create 6.4, 7, and 5.3 team points for a game. It wasn't as easy for them or their teammates to get points off their drive like they usually do.
Obviously this is only one game, and we are running it back on Wednesday in Miami, but it will be interesting to see how the Heat approach Hibbert as the season wears on.
The Heat are hoping Greg Oden can maybe change up the Pacers approach when they play, but until we see him play, that's a very big if.
Until then, the Heat better find a way to deal with Roy Hibbert's verticality.
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