Zone defense remains effective weapon, but not always a good sign for the Heat

The Miami Heat’s zone defense has been effective this season, but it’s usually not the best sign.

The Heat typically breaks out its 2-3 zone look when it’s man-to-man scheme isn’t producing positive results. Coach Erik Spoelstra will also turn to zone if one or multiple of the Heat’s top defenders are unavailable in a game.

“The zone is part of our system, but it just depends on what the game calls for,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat set to close its four-game trip on Saturday against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center (8 p.m., Bally Sports Sun).

Lately, games have called for Miami to play zone for sustained stretches.

Miami turned to zone for an extended stretch for the first time this season in a Nov. 11 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on the second night of a back-to-back set with Jimmy Butler out because of a sprained ankle. The Heat had only used zone for three possessions this season before that game, according to Synergy Sports.

Since then, the Heat has used zone relatively consistently. Miami entered Friday with the third-most zone defensive possessions in the NBA this season with 108 behind only the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets, according to Synergy Sports.

“That’s something that we’re getting a little bit more confidence in,” Spoelstra said of the zone. “But our base defense, our foundational defense is our man-to-man. When we’re at our best, our man is really doing its job.”

The Heat’s man-to-man defense has been inconsistent recently, though. Miami owns the NBA’s fifth-best defensive rating for the season (allowing 104.3 points per 100 possessions) but has been average in this area with the 15th-best defensive rating during the last 10 games (allowing 107 points per 100 possessions).

The Heat has allowed about 1.07 points per possession during this 10-game stretch despite its zone limiting opponents to only 0.72 points per possession this season. Nearly all of Miami’s zone possessions have come during this span of games, which means its man-to-man scheme is largely responsible for its recent mediocre defensive numbers.

It’s worth noting that the Heat was without Bam Adebayo for two games because of a knee bruise, Butler for three games because of a sprained ankle and Kyle Lowry for one game because of rest purposes during its last 10 games. Those absences didn’t help Miami’s defensive metrics.

During Tuesday’s comeback road win over the Detroit Pistons, the Heat turned to zone in the second half to slow a Pistons offense that totaled 53 points on 46.3 percent shooting from the field and 9-of-24 shooting on threes in the first half. Detroit scored just 39 points while shooting 37.2 percent from the field and 1 of 14 on threes in the final two quarters.

“We had to go to it,” Spoelstra said of the zone after the Heat’s win in Detroit. “In the second quarter and the beginning of the third, they were chewing us up in our man. At that point, we got down double digits and we went to it to just try to change the tempo of the game.”

Heat center Dewayne Dedmon added: “We hopped in the zone for a reason. To disrupt their offense and kind of get us more possessions, so it worked out for us.”

Caleb Martin is in his first season with the Heat, but he played a lot of zone with the Charlotte Hornets in recent seasons. He has noticed a difference in the way Spoelstra runs his zone scheme.

“I feel like we can be a little more risky up top, go for steals,” said Martin, who has been effective working at the top of the Heat’s 2-3 zone. “I think in Charlotte we were a little bit more conservative. Here we want to push the tempo and be disruptive. Just try to speed them up.”

The goal of the Heat’s zone is simple.

“Take away driving lanes and kind of force some teams to shoot the ball and see how comfortable they are shooting the three,” Martin said. “It makes it easier on us definitely to rebound, too, because most of our guys are in the paint.”

The zone has become a consistent part of the Heat’s defensive system in recent seasons. But man-to-man remains the staple.

“We still have a lot of defensive lapses,” Adebayo said. “I feel like we recover because we have a lot of intelligent players and some of us are very athletic. We just always rotate and cover for each other, so that’s why it looks like we are playing intense defense. But a lot of the time, we’re out there figuring it out.”

▪ Markieff Morris (whiplash), Marcus Garrett (G League) and Victor Oladipo (right knee injury recovery) remain out for the Heat on Saturday against the Bulls. Garrett was sent back to the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, as part of his two-way contract.

No other Heat players are on the injury report for Saturday’s game.