Every superhero has a nemesis and a weakness. The villain takes advantage of that weakness and what makes that hero “super” is the ability to overcome his weakness to defeat the villain. The Miami Heat have defined their kryptonite. He stands 7-foot-2, defends the rim with reckless abandon and wears fur-lined slippers to shootarounds.
Although the photo evidence is as scarce as pictures of a sasquatch, I can personally confirm the fur-lined slippers claim.
Still, Roy Hibbert is as menacing as they come once he laces up his basketball shoes. The Heat have struggled to keep him off the glass and his offense has been terrific. Check out these game logs from the Eastern Conference Finals and remember that Hibbert made more than 10 field goals in a game just twice in 2011-12 and just four times in 91 games in 2012-13.
| Rk | Date | Opp | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 2013-05-22 | @ | MIA | L (-1) | 40:57 | 9 | 18 | .500 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 19 |
| 14 | 2013-05-24 | @ | MIA | W (+4) | 39:28 | 10 | 15 | .667 | 9 | 10 | .900 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 29 |
| 15 | 2013-05-26 | MIA | L (-18) | 36:50 | 4 | 12 | .333 | 12 | 15 | .800 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 20 | |
| 16 | 2013-05-28 | MIA | W (+7) | 40:03 | 10 | 16 | .625 | 3 | 4 | .750 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/30/2013.
Strangely, the Pacers have been successful on the back of Hibbert offensively. In their two wins, Hibbert has zero blocks. Sure, he’s still defending the rim and changing shots, but it’s his offensive output that is enabling the Pacers to give the Heat a run for their money.
The Heat discovered their best defense of Hibbert back in the 2011-12 Eastern Conference semifinals. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade got him in foul trouble and off the court. When Hibbert was on the court during the 2011-12 playoffs, Pacers opponents had an effective field-goal percentage of 45.4 percent. When he came off, that figure skyrocketed to 49.8 percent.
In 2012-13, the difference is just as drastic. Check out this table and note how much better the Pacers are both offensively and defensively with Hibbert out there:
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/30/2013.
So what can the Heat do? It’s obvious that the trio of Chris Bosh, Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem aren’t getting the job done. Bringing a double-team has become necessary, as none of those guys can match up with Hibbert in the post. Forcing Hibbert to become a passer would alleviate some of the problem, as he hasn’t shown the ability to control the game by passing out of the post.
The biggest change–one that worked a year ago–is to go at Hibbert time and time again on the offensive end. Late in Game 4, the Heat relied on too many jump shots and it came back to haunt them. In fact, in the last five minutes of the game, the Heat took ZERO shots in the lane.
Zero shots in the lane over the last five minutes of Game 4. Photo Credit: NBA.com
Attacking Hibbert over and over will do a couple of things. First, there’s the potential to get him into foul trouble and off the court. Second, it will force him to use more energy defensively. Lastly, the constant grind of taking hits really affects players late in games.
If the Heat want to win Game 5, they need to figure out how to render Hibbert useless. The only way that can truly happen is to get him off the court. Go to the basket Miami, if you know what’s best for you.