Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Welcome to Study #5 of The Teams of the Great Centers series.
-- Study #1 may be found here: http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/the-teams-of-the-great-centers-study-1-the-96-spurs.60134/
-- Study #2 may be found here: http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/the-teams-of-the-great-centers-study-2-the-83-sixers.60173/
-- Study #3 may be found here: http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/the-teams-of-the-great-centers-study-3-the-94-knicks.60204/
-- Study #4 may be found here: http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/the-teams-of-the-great-centers-study-4-the-05-heat.60255/
Study #5 stays with the Heat franchise and takes a look at its greatest 90s iteration with Alonzo Mourning as its anchor. Riley was still the coach and had once again built himself a defensive juggernaught that won 61 games despite a middle of the road offense. As has often been the case with these great center teams, their offensive talent was once again nowhere near out of the league of our current roster. Their #2 was Timmy Hardway, but this was post knee surgery .415 shooting Timmy. Their #3 weapons bounced from player to player because everybody kept getting hurt. But that was hardly the point. For them scoring was just something you did enough of to allow their defense to win it.
Study #5 -- The 1996-97 Heat
Team Record: 61-21 (Lost in Eastern Conference Finals)
Coach: Pat Riley
Pace: 25th of 29
Off Rating: 12th of 29
Def Rating: 1st of 29
A) Roster and Roles
C - Alonzo Mourning (#1 option)
PF - PJ Brown (defensive stalwart)
SF - Dan Majerle/Keith Askins/Jamal Mashburn (defense, various)
SG - Sasha Danilovic/Voshon Leonard (shooter)
PG - Tim Hardaway (#2 option)
B) Team Structure
1) The #1/#2 comparisons are Cuz/Gay vs. Alonzo/Timmy:
'97 Mourning: 35.2min 19.8pts (.578TS%) 9.9reb 1.6ast 0.8stl 2.9blk 3.4TO
'97 Hardaway: 38.7min 20.3pts (.532TS%) 3.4reb 8.6ast 1.9stl 0.1blk 2.8TO
'15 Cousins: 33.9min 23.7pts (.551TS%) 12.3reb 3.2ast 1.4stl 1.6blk 4.2TO
'15 RudGay: 35.5min 20.7pts (.552TS%) 5.9reb 3.7ast 1.0stl 0.6blk 2.7TO
There will of course be complaints raised per usual because Zo was such an exceptional defender, but fact of the matter is that Cuz is a far superior rebounder and offensive player, and has become no slouch on defense. The style of player differs, but the overall package is at least equal. In his youth Timmy of course was one of the league's best, but this was Tim Hardaway post knee surgery, sans some of his quickness. It was also Tim Hardaway now being told by his coach to walk it up and play halfcourt rather than the Nellieball run n gun of his youth. The end result was a formerly great player, still quite good, but no longer highly efficient, and on a great defensive team, he was the one weakpoint. One note btw: somebody might have had to tell Timmy he was the #2 to Zo's #1 in those first years. He hoisted up 17.1FGA/gm to Zo's 13.4. He just didn't hit many of them,
2) Frontcourt: Zo as frontcourt goto guy of course is a familiar look. But this was a true Riley great big man frontcourt. That meant Zo as goto guy...and then absolutely as many defensive forwards as Riley could get his hands on. PF was manned by another iteration of the Oakley stout defender model, in PJ Brown. SF was a season long source of instability as Dan Majerle (defense) could not stay healthy, Keith Askins (defense) was mediocre, and finally Jamaal Mashburn was brought in to add a little talent. While Mash wasn't as good a defender to start, Riley rode him, and the point of the position was definitely 3&D, with a little bit of 3rd weapon once Mash arrived (SF was always a Riles blackhole -- never knew what to do with a position traditional filled by pretty boy scorers out for their own).
3) Backcourt Despite the difference in having Timmy as the #2, this is actually a fairly classic backcourt arrangement. Tim gunned too much, but he was also the big assist guy/creater, and first Sasha Danilovic, and then after he was traded for Mashburn, Voshon Leonard, were there as shooters (in fact, those Heat, nearly 20 years ago, had far more good deep shooters than we do).
C) Main Rotation Roster Comparison
C Alonzo Mourning (Age: 26 Exp: 4yrs) = DeMarcus Cousins (Age: 24 Exp: 4yrs)
PF P.J. Brown (Age: 27 Exp: 1yrs) = Jason Thompson (Age: 28 Exp: 6yrs)
SF Jamal Mashburn (Age: 24 Exp: 3yrs) = Rudy Gay (Age: 28 Exp: 8yrs)
SG Voshon Lenard (Age: 23 Exp: 1yr) = Ben McLemore (Age: 21 Exp: 1yr)
PG Tim Hardaway (Age: 30 Exp: 6yrs) = Darren Collison (Age: 27 Exp: 5yrs)
SF/SG Keith Askins (Age: 29 Exp: 6yrs) = Derrick Williams (Age: 23 Exp: 3yrs)
PG John Crotty (Age: 27 Exp: 4yrs) = Sessions (Age:28) McCallum(Age:23) Miller (Age:38)
SG/SF Dan Majerle (Age: 31 Exp: 8yrs) = Nik Stauskas (Age: 21 Exp: R)
PF/C Ike Austin (Age: 27 Exp: 3yrs) = Omri Casspi (Age: 26 Exp: 5yrs)
D) 1996-97 Heat Main Rotation Stats
Hardaway 81gms 38.7min 20.3pts (.415 .344 .799) 3.4reb 8.6ast 1.9stl 0.1blk 2.8TO
Mourning 66gms 35.2min 19.8pts (.534 .--- .642) 9.9reb 1.6ast 0.8stl 2.9blk 3.4TO
Mashburn 32gms 37.2min 13.8pts (.398 .329 .752) 5.6reb 3.5ast 1.3stl 0.2blk 1.8TO
VoLenard 73gms 28.9min 12.3pts (.459 .414 .819) 3.0reb 2.2ast 0.7stl 0.2blk 1.5TO
DaMajerle 36gms 35.1min 10.8pts (.406 .338 .678) 4.5reb 3.2ast 1.5stl 0.4blk 1.4TO
IkeAustin 82gms 22.9min 9.7pts (.502 --- .664) 5.8reb 1.2ast 0.5stl 0.5blk 2.0TO
PJ.Brown 80gms 32.4min 9.5pts (.457 .--- .732) 8.4reb 1.2ast 1.1stl 1.2blk 1.4TO
KeiAskins 78gms 22.7min 4.9pts (.433 .401 .672) 3.5reb 1.0ast 0.7stl 0.2blk 0.8TO
JhnCrotty 48gms 13.7min 4.8pts (.513 .408 .844) 1.0reb 2.1ast 0.4stl 0.0blk 0.9TO
Probably the youngest team in any of these studies. There were old vets out of the rotation as usual for Riley -- ed Pinckney, Gary Grant, Willie Anderson, Majerle -- but the only real experience on the team was at a critical position (PG) and then of course Riley himself as the taskmaster with a fistful of rings and unlimited cachet.
Conclusion: So How Did They Win 61 While We'll Win Sub-30?
1) DEFENSE. DEFENSE! Do you hear me Vivek? D-E-F-E-N-S-E!!! Hey...what do you know? Pat Riley, greatest big man coach in history, and one more time, here is one of his teams absolutely dedicated to the defensive process. To give you some idea of the unwavering focus, even the young scrubs at the edge of the roster on the team had names like Kurt Thomas and Bruce Bowen
2) You Can Rest When You're Dead. Another real charqacteristic of Riley teams were the short rotations. There was some chaos on this Heat team on the wings, where injuries and trades had 5 different guys starting 25 or more games (Mashburn, Danilovic, Majerle, Askins, Lenard), but whoever did start at the moment joined the rest of the starters in clocking 35+ a night of tough, gritty starter centric basketball. Riles found 5 guys and rode them, and they knew each other's games intimately.
3) Paceliness...sucks. Part and parcel of Riles defensive focus was taking the air out of the ball. You can approach getting the most easy shots by trying to outrun everybody and hoping you get more fastbreaks than they do, or you can approach it by walking the ball up, slamming it inside, and attempting to never let the opponent get any fastbreaks at all. These Heat just strangled teams.
4) Big guys play big, Little guys provide space. Riles' coaching success was largely centered around his acquisition of and featuring of great centers, but it didn't mean he was hostile to 3pt shooting. Now if one of his bigs had started shooting threes he would have kicked him square in the nuts and made him wear a pink lace thong the rest of practice, but Riles understood that while his big men beasted inside, he still by rule had to play a bunch weak little things called guards, and those guards offensive jobs involved a) passing the ball to the big man; and b) shooting threes to provide space for the big man. End stop. That Heat team played nearly 20 years ago, and yet they still shot more, and hit more, threes than this current Kings team is going to do by a fair margin (shot .364 as a team, took 1865 threes; Kings are at .338 as a team and 1173 threes).
So now we have yet another great center team where the star power is absolutely not out of our range, but where the roleplayers and defensive focus are the separators. In fact this team wasn't even that much older/more experienced than our own. Riles had some talented guys on that squad, but most of them were post prime. Majerle after his back injuries. Timmy after his knee. Mashburn was more talented than his numbers showed, but had to be ridden to realize it. In any case, that team won 61 games with a Big 2 not out of the league of our Big 2 at all. And they did it by surrounding them with the right support players (defenders, shooters) and by having a great coach to drive them. This should be a point of hope for us, not despair.
-- Study #1 may be found here: http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/the-teams-of-the-great-centers-study-1-the-96-spurs.60134/
-- Study #2 may be found here: http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/the-teams-of-the-great-centers-study-2-the-83-sixers.60173/
-- Study #3 may be found here: http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/the-teams-of-the-great-centers-study-3-the-94-knicks.60204/
-- Study #4 may be found here: http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/the-teams-of-the-great-centers-study-4-the-05-heat.60255/
Study #5 stays with the Heat franchise and takes a look at its greatest 90s iteration with Alonzo Mourning as its anchor. Riley was still the coach and had once again built himself a defensive juggernaught that won 61 games despite a middle of the road offense. As has often been the case with these great center teams, their offensive talent was once again nowhere near out of the league of our current roster. Their #2 was Timmy Hardway, but this was post knee surgery .415 shooting Timmy. Their #3 weapons bounced from player to player because everybody kept getting hurt. But that was hardly the point. For them scoring was just something you did enough of to allow their defense to win it.
Study #5 -- The 1996-97 Heat
Team Record: 61-21 (Lost in Eastern Conference Finals)
Coach: Pat Riley
Pace: 25th of 29
Off Rating: 12th of 29
Def Rating: 1st of 29
A) Roster and Roles
C - Alonzo Mourning (#1 option)
PF - PJ Brown (defensive stalwart)
SF - Dan Majerle/Keith Askins/Jamal Mashburn (defense, various)
SG - Sasha Danilovic/Voshon Leonard (shooter)
PG - Tim Hardaway (#2 option)
B) Team Structure
1) The #1/#2 comparisons are Cuz/Gay vs. Alonzo/Timmy:
'97 Mourning: 35.2min 19.8pts (.578TS%) 9.9reb 1.6ast 0.8stl 2.9blk 3.4TO
'97 Hardaway: 38.7min 20.3pts (.532TS%) 3.4reb 8.6ast 1.9stl 0.1blk 2.8TO
'15 Cousins: 33.9min 23.7pts (.551TS%) 12.3reb 3.2ast 1.4stl 1.6blk 4.2TO
'15 RudGay: 35.5min 20.7pts (.552TS%) 5.9reb 3.7ast 1.0stl 0.6blk 2.7TO
There will of course be complaints raised per usual because Zo was such an exceptional defender, but fact of the matter is that Cuz is a far superior rebounder and offensive player, and has become no slouch on defense. The style of player differs, but the overall package is at least equal. In his youth Timmy of course was one of the league's best, but this was Tim Hardaway post knee surgery, sans some of his quickness. It was also Tim Hardaway now being told by his coach to walk it up and play halfcourt rather than the Nellieball run n gun of his youth. The end result was a formerly great player, still quite good, but no longer highly efficient, and on a great defensive team, he was the one weakpoint. One note btw: somebody might have had to tell Timmy he was the #2 to Zo's #1 in those first years. He hoisted up 17.1FGA/gm to Zo's 13.4. He just didn't hit many of them,
2) Frontcourt: Zo as frontcourt goto guy of course is a familiar look. But this was a true Riley great big man frontcourt. That meant Zo as goto guy...and then absolutely as many defensive forwards as Riley could get his hands on. PF was manned by another iteration of the Oakley stout defender model, in PJ Brown. SF was a season long source of instability as Dan Majerle (defense) could not stay healthy, Keith Askins (defense) was mediocre, and finally Jamaal Mashburn was brought in to add a little talent. While Mash wasn't as good a defender to start, Riley rode him, and the point of the position was definitely 3&D, with a little bit of 3rd weapon once Mash arrived (SF was always a Riles blackhole -- never knew what to do with a position traditional filled by pretty boy scorers out for their own).
3) Backcourt Despite the difference in having Timmy as the #2, this is actually a fairly classic backcourt arrangement. Tim gunned too much, but he was also the big assist guy/creater, and first Sasha Danilovic, and then after he was traded for Mashburn, Voshon Leonard, were there as shooters (in fact, those Heat, nearly 20 years ago, had far more good deep shooters than we do).
C) Main Rotation Roster Comparison
C Alonzo Mourning (Age: 26 Exp: 4yrs) = DeMarcus Cousins (Age: 24 Exp: 4yrs)
PF P.J. Brown (Age: 27 Exp: 1yrs) = Jason Thompson (Age: 28 Exp: 6yrs)
SF Jamal Mashburn (Age: 24 Exp: 3yrs) = Rudy Gay (Age: 28 Exp: 8yrs)
SG Voshon Lenard (Age: 23 Exp: 1yr) = Ben McLemore (Age: 21 Exp: 1yr)
PG Tim Hardaway (Age: 30 Exp: 6yrs) = Darren Collison (Age: 27 Exp: 5yrs)
SF/SG Keith Askins (Age: 29 Exp: 6yrs) = Derrick Williams (Age: 23 Exp: 3yrs)
PG John Crotty (Age: 27 Exp: 4yrs) = Sessions (Age:28) McCallum(Age:23) Miller (Age:38)
SG/SF Dan Majerle (Age: 31 Exp: 8yrs) = Nik Stauskas (Age: 21 Exp: R)
PF/C Ike Austin (Age: 27 Exp: 3yrs) = Omri Casspi (Age: 26 Exp: 5yrs)
D) 1996-97 Heat Main Rotation Stats
Hardaway 81gms 38.7min 20.3pts (.415 .344 .799) 3.4reb 8.6ast 1.9stl 0.1blk 2.8TO
Mourning 66gms 35.2min 19.8pts (.534 .--- .642) 9.9reb 1.6ast 0.8stl 2.9blk 3.4TO
Mashburn 32gms 37.2min 13.8pts (.398 .329 .752) 5.6reb 3.5ast 1.3stl 0.2blk 1.8TO
VoLenard 73gms 28.9min 12.3pts (.459 .414 .819) 3.0reb 2.2ast 0.7stl 0.2blk 1.5TO
DaMajerle 36gms 35.1min 10.8pts (.406 .338 .678) 4.5reb 3.2ast 1.5stl 0.4blk 1.4TO
IkeAustin 82gms 22.9min 9.7pts (.502 --- .664) 5.8reb 1.2ast 0.5stl 0.5blk 2.0TO
PJ.Brown 80gms 32.4min 9.5pts (.457 .--- .732) 8.4reb 1.2ast 1.1stl 1.2blk 1.4TO
KeiAskins 78gms 22.7min 4.9pts (.433 .401 .672) 3.5reb 1.0ast 0.7stl 0.2blk 0.8TO
JhnCrotty 48gms 13.7min 4.8pts (.513 .408 .844) 1.0reb 2.1ast 0.4stl 0.0blk 0.9TO
Probably the youngest team in any of these studies. There were old vets out of the rotation as usual for Riley -- ed Pinckney, Gary Grant, Willie Anderson, Majerle -- but the only real experience on the team was at a critical position (PG) and then of course Riley himself as the taskmaster with a fistful of rings and unlimited cachet.
Conclusion: So How Did They Win 61 While We'll Win Sub-30?
1) DEFENSE. DEFENSE! Do you hear me Vivek? D-E-F-E-N-S-E!!! Hey...what do you know? Pat Riley, greatest big man coach in history, and one more time, here is one of his teams absolutely dedicated to the defensive process. To give you some idea of the unwavering focus, even the young scrubs at the edge of the roster on the team had names like Kurt Thomas and Bruce Bowen
2) You Can Rest When You're Dead. Another real charqacteristic of Riley teams were the short rotations. There was some chaos on this Heat team on the wings, where injuries and trades had 5 different guys starting 25 or more games (Mashburn, Danilovic, Majerle, Askins, Lenard), but whoever did start at the moment joined the rest of the starters in clocking 35+ a night of tough, gritty starter centric basketball. Riles found 5 guys and rode them, and they knew each other's games intimately.
3) Paceliness...sucks. Part and parcel of Riles defensive focus was taking the air out of the ball. You can approach getting the most easy shots by trying to outrun everybody and hoping you get more fastbreaks than they do, or you can approach it by walking the ball up, slamming it inside, and attempting to never let the opponent get any fastbreaks at all. These Heat just strangled teams.
4) Big guys play big, Little guys provide space. Riles' coaching success was largely centered around his acquisition of and featuring of great centers, but it didn't mean he was hostile to 3pt shooting. Now if one of his bigs had started shooting threes he would have kicked him square in the nuts and made him wear a pink lace thong the rest of practice, but Riles understood that while his big men beasted inside, he still by rule had to play a bunch weak little things called guards, and those guards offensive jobs involved a) passing the ball to the big man; and b) shooting threes to provide space for the big man. End stop. That Heat team played nearly 20 years ago, and yet they still shot more, and hit more, threes than this current Kings team is going to do by a fair margin (shot .364 as a team, took 1865 threes; Kings are at .338 as a team and 1173 threes).
So now we have yet another great center team where the star power is absolutely not out of our range, but where the roleplayers and defensive focus are the separators. In fact this team wasn't even that much older/more experienced than our own. Riles had some talented guys on that squad, but most of them were post prime. Majerle after his back injuries. Timmy after his knee. Mashburn was more talented than his numbers showed, but had to be ridden to realize it. In any case, that team won 61 games with a Big 2 not out of the league of our Big 2 at all. And they did it by surrounding them with the right support players (defenders, shooters) and by having a great coach to drive them. This should be a point of hope for us, not despair.
