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<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Glenn Rogers<br>
Web Posted : 11/10/2002 12:00 AM</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> <br>
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Now, here's an anomaly.<br>
The league thus far is struggling to put points on the board, so which coach's team suddenly allowed a couple of games around the century mark?<br>
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Why noted defensive guru Pat Riley's Heat.<br>
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Miami, a team destined to inhabit the nether regions this season, allowed more than 100 points during its first two games.<br>
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In fact, the team that also is noted for its slow-down efforts even managed to score 95 points in one of them.<br>
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Riley apparently didn't take too kindly to, or was simply bemused by, the media's noting the 100-point showings by Heat opponents.<br>
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"What do you want? You want to get it back to 70? I can get it back to 70." he said. "I'll get it back to 70 quick. It's easy to have a good defense in this league — just don't shoot the ball and don't dribble it very much."<br>
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Riley knows whereof he speaks.<br>
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In his next game, he smothered the injury-marred Kings 88-78. Then he lost to Indiana 83-79.<br>
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Right back to those 70s and 80s, kind of like winter in Miami. <br>
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Riley also displayed some tactile defense against the Kings, the kind that has resulted in some battles royal with the Knicks.<br>
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Said Sacramento's Bobby Jackson: "The way they were holding and grabbing, it was hard to cut. But that's the way they play."<br>
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But then, that's the way the Kings tend to complain whenever their offense is jammed. <br>
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We really didn't expect firecracker offenses at the Heat's American Airlines Arena. But neither did we foresee the dampened offensive showing around the league.<br>
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We should be able to expect the opposite, considering the unending tampering with the defensive rules to permit an offense unbound. It's truly very early, but we see the league averaging a paltry 91.9 points on an execrable 42.5 percent shooting.<br>
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Last year after about the same nu,ber of games, teams were scoring more than 95 points per game and hitting 43.7 percent.<br>
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True, some star players have been waylaid by injury but not enough to so darken the offensive skies.<br>
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The league well may be suffering from an ever-growing base of players dependent on raw athleticism without an accompanying dependable mid- or short-range jumper.<br>
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Or, probably more to the point, coaches still may be entrenched in diehard defensive philosophies and are seriously intent on reducing the number of possessions.<br>
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It's called controlling the tempo and is spiced with such euphemisms as a "motion" offense that includes a minimum number of passes. It can look sharp, but it also will run down that clock.<br>
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At any rate, we may be in for a season of low scores, which could set off another round of high-level committee meetings designed to speed up the game.<br>
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But what could they think of next?<br>
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Coaches today are armed with too many tools with which to iron out any new offensive wrinkle.<br>
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Head coaches and their legions of assistants and scouts, equipped with high-tech video systems, can throttle the life out of the most sophisticated offensive formations.<br>
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What may be needed is simply an overall coaching philosophy that embraces the notion that relentless activity on the offensive end means a reduced voltage on defense.<br>
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Right now, coaches figure they will accumulate more wins by letting their players take that bit of a breather on offense — intermittently walking the ball up the court and easing into those set plays.<br>
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The Dallas Mavericks spent the bulk of their training camp working on developing a tenacious defensive mindset.<br>
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Well, at least develop awareness of the need for an occasional defensive stand.<br>
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The result: They've increased their offense these early games and kept the defense about the same.<br>
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Two years ago, Dallas allowed 94.5 points while scoring 93 points. Last season, the Mavs held foes to about 95.9 points while scoring 97.9.<br>
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This season: Scoring is at a whopping 107.3, defense 95.8<br>
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Go figure.<br>
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grogers@express-news.net<br>
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11/10/2002 <br>
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