Miami Heat to finally shift focus on Danny Green?
San Antonio Spurs small forward Danny Green has nailed 25 three-pointers in the NBA Finals, which is a record for a Finals series already through juts five games. With five more nailed shots from beyond the arc, the UNC product would break the record for the most threes in a postseason series with an even 30. Green’s been getting some wide open looks, and some of the credit goes to Greg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs offense for freeing up shooters like Green and Gary Neal on the outside. However, the Miami Heat need to shoulder some of the blame for giving Danny Green some appallingly wide open looks.
Erik Spoelstra knows that, and the Heat coach told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Shandel Richardson, “That will be something that we have to correct, and we just got to do it better. Got to do it harder, and be more committed. He’s getting some open looks, and he’s making some contested looks. But the open looks are the ones that are killing us.”
Green has always been a sharpshooter, but the Heat are allowing to shoot a 65% clip from downtown. That’s crazy, and the Heat need to put a stop to that. They can’t be allowing 15 points per game to a guy solely counting his three-pointers, and Green has arguably been the Spurs most valuable player in this series. The Heat need to stop giving him so many wide open looks, but I don’t anticipate them going overboard with their defensive coverage on Green. But expect the necessary adjustments from ace tactician Erik Spoelstra, unless if he wants his team to get burned again by “Money Green” and his steady barrage of three-pointers.
Dwyane Wade tossed credit to Spurs star point guard Tony Parker for causing Green’s open looks, because Wade believes that Parker’s driving ability forces the Heat to focus inside on Parker and big man Tim Duncan, thus allowing Green those looks. In my book, that’s not a legitimate excuse. As Parker said himself, Green will make those shots all day if you let him, and the Heat are definitely the enablers in my book.