Due to the impact of the team's injuries and lack of roster depth, the Heat did not start the season well enough, which even triggered fans' dissatisfaction with the team's overall performance. The good news is that even if they lost their opponents in their last game against the Pistons, the Heat have a record of 4 wins and 2 losses in their last 6 games.
Simply put, the Heat can still overcome the difficulties and have a clear recovery, you know, the Heat have not had jimmy Butler, Taylor Hiro and Bam Adebayo in the past 6 games, and can only sacrifice Dwayne Dedmond, Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson, PJ Tucker and Gabb Vincent's starting lineup.
That said, the Heat have almost relied on these role players to win four of their last six games, and these players have contributed enough to the team after getting more playing time.
Among them, KZ Okpala can also get enough opportunities to play double-digit times in the last 6 games, including 32 minutes and 28 minutes against the Bucks and Bulls. Compared to the playing time of only a few minutes in the early part of the season, it is indeed a very big change.
Ever since the Heat picked KZ Okpala with the 32nd pick in the second round, the team has taken such a second-round pick talent very seriously, and the Heat have reportedly been reluctant to even send KZ Okpala in a potential deal involving PJ Tak.
Now, KZ Okpala has done a good job of cashing in on his talent and allowing the Heat to gain something, especially since he has become a defensive player with more efficient performances. Playing around Jimmy Butler and absorbing defensive experience, coupled with KZ Okpala's own physical talent, KZ Okpala has been able to become a defensive fighter with a higher level of performance.
Although KZ Okpala still has many flaws to overcome on the offensive end, as a defensive player who can change positions, such characteristics and advantages have allowed KZ Oak Parra to play more time in this Heat team, and he has even become a very important all-rounder in the rotation of Heat coach Eric Spoorella. Of course, Coach will also arrange KZ Okpala's role and playing time according to the opponent's lineup, but in the absence of Bam Adebayo, Coach also has to rely more on KZ Okpala's play on the defensive end.
All-around defense is the value of Okpala
KZ Okpala is 2.03 meters tall and 2.18 meters with an arm span, which is arguably the perfect striker figure, which is why the physical qualities he possesses can make him an important role player in this Heat team.
If a player can already show any player on the pitch who can defend any position, which is obviously the advantage in the game, then how does KZ Okpala play on the all-around defensive end of the field? The key to this is that the physical talent that KZ Oak Parra possesses really fills the Heat's frontcourt defense very well.
Judging from the game screen, in the defensive round of the Heat game against the 76ers, when the Heat veteran Dwyane Dwayne Dedmond has been competing with the 76ers inside Joel Embiid, but the 76ers guard still found the ball to Embiid. Just as Embiid was getting away from Dedmond's defense and making an easy layup, KZ Okpala, who was on the bottom line, quickly made up the defense and completed the block against Joel Embiid.
At present, the offensive end of the 76ers is almost the dominant performance around Joel Embiid on the inside, and because the 76ers rotation lineup does not have a particularly good ability to open up space, it also leads to the 76ers' half-court offense often being contracted by opponents to defend the interior, especially in playoff games.
In fact, for other teams, one of the best solutions to defending an interior player of Joel Embiid's level is to make an offer before Embiid receives the ball, and the higher the height of the defender, of course, the player must also have enough top-level athletic ability.
For the Heat, they're a team that's very good at using area defense, and when the Heat have a top athletic player on the floor, they can play at a higher level of defensive performance. In recent weeks, KZ Oak Parra has been the defensive player in the Heat rotation lineup who can change any player, which is the advantage of KZ Okpala's height and athleticism.
Defense makes KZ Okpala a better player
In terms of defensive data, KZ Okpala 108's defensive efficiency, 0.2 defensive victory contribution value and -0.3 defensive statistics table plus and minus values are certainly not particularly ideal performances, but it also means that KZ Okpala definitely has room to grow on the defensive end.
Looking back at the round where KZ Oakpala blocked Joel Embiid, in fact, if Joel Embiid did not choose to make a layup immediately, KZ Oakpala could still complete the defense, and according to the Heat's defensive rotation arrangement, Kyle Lowry could make up for Tobias Harris at the bottom line, and Duncan Robinson would also switch to Teres Maxi.
So in the Heat's defensive round, whether KZ Oakpala blocks Joel Embiid or the latter makes other choices, the Heat can complete the defensive round very well, and this is undoubtedly due to KZ Okpala's athleticism.
KZ Okpala's greater role in the Heat is obviously that even in the small-ball lineup, he has the ability to complete a wide range of coverage and all-around single defense.
We have already mentioned that KZ Okpala's task of getting more playing time is to fill the gap in the team's core interior line-up Bam Adebayo as an all-around defender, at least in the absence of Bam Adebayo, the Heat have seen a good enough temporary solution in KZ Okpala. Because KZ Oak Parra not only excelled in the defensive, he could also help the Heat gain an advantage in one-on-one defense.
In the Heat's defensive system, there are not only regional joint defenses, but also the more targeted human-focused defense against certain teams. For example, in a defensive round against defending champion Bucks, the Heat had players like Kyle Lowry, Taylor Hiro, Caleb Martin, Max Strus and KZ Oak Parra on the field.
The Bucks initially executed the ball by core scorer Chris Middleton and Bobby Portis in this round, in middleton and Portis's first blocking kyle Lowry can still keep up with Middleton, when Portis tried to block Middleton for the second time but suddenly chose to cut into the basket and get Middleton's timely pass, it was surprising that KZ Oak Parra, who was already a little out of place, was able to complete the cap on Portis:
Usually, most defenders try to steal Chris Middleton's pass, after all, KZ Okpala's position really should have made this choice. However, KZ Okpala refused a gambling steal and easily returned to Portis and completed the block.
The above is just an example of KZ Okpala's excellent awareness and athleticism as a defensive player, but it is enough to make him a good defensive player in the Heat, especially as a small-ball player in the No. 5 position.
So far this season, KZ Okpala has played 42% of the time in the No. 5 position, and another 56% of the playing time has been in the big forward position:
In the past six games, KZ Okpala has averaged 20.4 minutes per game and averaged 5.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 5.7 shots per game, in addition to KZ Okpala can also perform outside the three-point line with 5 of 12 shots in these 6 games.
In terms of defensive efficiency, KZ Oak Parra has a defensive efficiency of 102.8 in the past 6 games, which is second only to Caleb Martin (101.9) and Omer Jurt Cevennes (102.4) in the last 6 games of the Heat.
As for heat coach Eric Spollstra's rotation list, if KZ Okpala can continue to get enough playing time, he may become a more important part of the Heat in the next few years with the all-round strength and athletic talent he has shown on the court.
For KZ Okpala, the first thing he has to do well is to play well enough on the defensive end, because this is the premise for KZ Okpala to get more opportunities in the Heat.