The Crimson Quarry · May 30, 2023
THE TOM CREAN NBA FINALS
Mark Cornelison/Lexington Herald-Leader/Tribune News Service via Getty ImagesWe are mere days away from tipoff of the first game of the NBA Finals featuring the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets.
At that time, three former Indiana Hoosiers will be at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado: Cody Zeller, Victor Oladipo and Thomas Bryant. All three were coached by Tom Crean, with the first two being taken in the same year in the NBA Lottery.
It was rather poetic that Zeller’s Heat were able to bamboozle Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla by employing a zone defense. A type of defense that Mazzulla definitely should have seen coming given that the Heat run it more than any other NBA team in quite some time.
Anyway.