One Way to Exploit Each 2013 NBA Playoff Contender

With the 2013 NBA playoff picture becoming clearer by the day, it's time to break down the key methods to exploit these contending franchises.

Believe it or not, there's a way to beat the Miami Heat.

But what about Western Conference machines like the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets? How can foes best James Harden and the Houston Rockets, or Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks?

Some squads are well-balanced and strong on both ends of the floor, but none of them are perfect.

For each playoff-bound club, there's a blueprint for defeat.

Denver Nuggets: Slow Tempo, Make Them Work

When the Denver Nuggets are on the run in the open floor, they're an elite club that looks primed for a conference-finals run.

In the half-court setting, they're much more ordinary.

This video shows that the New Orleans Hornets upended the Nuggets by slowing things down when possible, making Denver work harder for its buckets.

Vytis Lasaitis of KingJamesGospel.com breaks down the blueprint for stopping George Karl's bunch: 

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Collectively, Denver is one of the worst shooting teams in the league, ranking 26th in three-point percentage. If a good defensive team can slow the game down and shut the Nuggets out of the paint, their offense does not have much else to offer. Despite Andre Iguodala’s great defense, they are not an elite defensive team.

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If you can keep the Nuggets' aerial attack grounded, they're quite beatable.

Houston Rockets: Force Harden Turnovers

Kevin McHale's Houston Rockets are an exceedingly aggressive offensive squad, and sometimes it works against them.

With the right personnel and the right approach, defenses can use the Rockets' freewheeling style against them.

James Harden is a sensational playmaker, but one of his worst side effects is turnovers. On several occasions, those giveaways have been a key reason for Houston losses.

In victories, Harden averages 3.1 turnovers, but in losses, he posts 4.5. When opposing guards match his aggressiveness and anticipate his drives, the Rockets are much more vulnerable.

Los Angeles Clippers: Play Physical, Selectively Foul

Squads that play physical on both ends of the floor have a great chance to top the Los Angeles Clippers.

Vinny Del Negro's group is a below-average rebounding crew that doesn't protect the rim particularly well. Assertive drives and persistent low-post aggressiveness will pay off.

Defensively, physical play is important against any team, but it's particularly advantageous against Los Angeles.

The Clippers are rhythm-based, and they're much less dangerous when they get banged around a little. Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups are the only ones who can play through it.

Even fouling can be a good thing against Lob City. Blake Griffin shoots 66 percent from the foul line, Lamar Odom shoots 47 percent and DeAndre Jordan shoots 40 percent.

Atlanta Hawks: Make Josh Smith a Jump-Shooter

One of the main reasons the Atlanta Hawks have a balanced attack is Josh Smith's ability to drive and dish.

If you give him room, he'll create plays for himself and his teammates off the dribble and from the high post.

Discouraging him from driving and encouraging him to shoot from the outside is the key to weakening Atlanta's most dynamic weapon.

This shot chart shows Smith's shooting performance in a 104-93 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on March 22, 2013. He settled for 10 shots outside the paint and made just two of them.

Foes also enjoy success when they turn him into a three-point shooter. In Hawks victories, Smith attempts 2.1 triples, making 31 percent of them. In losses, he shoots 3.3 and makes 30 percent of them.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Win the Bench Battle

Unless your name is LeBron James or Dwyane Wade, it's highly unlikely you'll thrive against Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

The more probable way to hurt the 2012-13 Oklahoma City Thunder is to expose the rest of their personnel.

OKC has a good supporting cast, but the bench is much weaker without James Harden. With Harden in the fold, the Thunder always had at least two offense generators on the floor. Nowadays, they're not as fortunate.

Durantula and Westbrook are megastars, and there's not much you can do about it. But locking down the likes of Kevin Martin, Reggie Jackson and Nick Collison is quite doable.

Miami Heat: Expose Perimeter Defense

How do you score on the Miami Heat at a high rate for 48 minutes?

In order to keep pace with them and have a chance of winning, opponents must exploit their inconsistent perimeter defense.

Drive-and-kick plays are effective at freeing spot-up shooters for open triples. Teams like the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic have successfully found long-distance opportunities against Miami recently. Those perimeter shots will help open up driving lanes and passing lanes throughout the rest of the game.

Despite their 27-game winning-streak, the Heat won't be handed the Larry O'Brien Trophy. The team that can make strong drives and hit outside shots for four quarters can beat them.

Memphis Grizzlies: Speed It Up

Over the past couple of years, Lionel Hollins has turned the Memphis Grizzlies into one of the league's toughest, most fundamentally sound clubs.

The best way to beat this grind-it-out defensive group is to speed things up and not allow it to dig in its heels for battle.

No one exemplified this more recently than John Wall and the Washington Wizards, who put up 107 points on Memphis on March 25, 2013.

Wall was uncontainable in transition, and even in the half court, he picked up the pace and kept the Grizzlies scrambling. His 47 points and eight assists spearheaded a convincing victory over a team that's usually in control.

Chicago Bulls: Tempt Them to Shoot It from Deep

Although the Chicago Bulls are a playoff-bound group and arguably a top-10 squad, they own the fifth-worst three-point percentage in the NBA.

Tom Thibodeau has just two players shooting better than 37 percent from distance (as a point of reference, the Miami Heat have five shooters better than 37 percent). The Bulls' highest-scoring guy, Luol Deng, is hitting just 30 percent of his triples.

Besting a well-trained Chicago squad is all about making it perimeter-based.

Deny Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah any momentum. The Bulls would much rather beat you with layups than three-pointers, so it's top priority to spoil that plan.

Golden State Warriors: Make Stephen Curry Work on Both Ends

Every Golden State Warriors opponent is aware of Stephen Curry's ankle woes, yet most teams don't take full advantage of it.

I'm not talking about roughing him up or purposely injuring him. The plan is to make him exert himself more than usual, especially as a defender. This will slow him down overall.

He's a mediocre defender when 100-percent healthy, and even more unimpressive when injured. As recent as the March 25 game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Curry struggled to properly defend Steve Nash and Steve Blake off the ball.

If L.A. and the rest of the league worked him a little harder, he would have less explosiveness remaining for offense, and it would be tougher on his ankle.

Brooklyn Nets: Let Them Fall in Love with Iso

The Brooklyn Nets are right in letting Deron Williams and Joe Johnson operate with freedom. They are talented guards who can create and jump-start the offense.

However, they frequently fall into the trap of relying too much on isolation plays, whether in the post or on the wing.

Williams and Johnson are skilled, but it isn't 2007 anymore. They won't win a series playing hero ball, so that's exactly what their adversaries should tempt them into doing. Playing solid defense against the passing lanes will entice the Nets to run clear-out plays for their superstars.

D-Will got a little greedy on this isolation play, and it worked in the Los Angeles Clippers' favor.

Los Angeles Lakers: Look for Early Offense

From day one, the Los Angeles Lakers haven't consistently defended. Those struggles continue into late March, as Mike D'Antoni's crew is often a step behind.

Pushing the ball up the floor is the absolute best way to exploit L.A.'s personnel problems.

The first priority is to attack toward the rim because the Lakers frequently fail to stop the ball. If they do stop the ball, then a quick swing pass or two should do the trick.

Clubs that are aggressive within the first six-to-eight seconds of the shot clock have the most success against Kobe and company.

Boston Celtics: Pound the Paint

Doc Rivers' Boston Celtics are a threat to anyone in the league, but at the same time, almost any team can beat them if it takes advantage in the paint.

With or without Kevin Garnett, the ballers from Beantown lack depth and power in the post, and their recent losing streak is prime evidence.

During the four-game skid, Boston has been outscored in the paint, 196-164, and has been out-rebounded, 176-136. It's incredibly difficult to win when the numbers stack up like that.

Avery Bradley, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry are formidable wings that can carry the team for stretches. However, it's a moot point if opponents pummel the Celtics enough on the interior.

Milwaukee Bucks: Make Brandon Jennings One-Dimensional

Let him pass or let him shoot. Just don't let him do both.

When Milwaukee guard Brandon Jennings is dishing as well as scoring, the Bucks are a tough test. When he's limited to one task, they're containable.

Ideally, opponents should steer him more toward scoring, as he shoots less than 40 percent in 2012-13. When he's posting 20-plus, defenses should aim to keep him under five assists. If he's in pass-first mode, defenses should try to hold him under a dozen points.

In this video, we see Atlanta doing a good job of staying home and not overcommitting to help on Jennings. Consequently, the guard tallied a modest 21 points and five assists in a 98-90 Hawks victory on March 20, 2013.

San Antonio Spurs: Disciplined Help on Parker Drives

In this video, the Brooklyn Nets show you what not to do when defending San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker.

Brook Lopez overcommits to help on a play where Deron Williams still had decent position on Parker. Then, the rotation was late to pick up Tiago Splitter, and the result is an easy pick-and-roll bucket for San Antonio.

Opposing defenses must be disciplined enough not to panic and throw three guys at Parker. Yes, sometimes he foils double-teams with incredible shots, but you have to live with it. The game plan is to deny him the shot or the easy pass and present the skip pass as his best option.

Positional integrity is crucial in basketball, and no one is better at exposing rotational flaws than the Spurs. The bottom line: Force the skip pass off the pick-and-roll.

Indiana Pacers: Aggressive Low-Post Offense

Strong defense and peerless rebounding have buoyed the Indiana Pacers to the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference. They play sound inside-out hoops and present a balanced lineup.

The best approach is to match their intensity and capitalize on their below-average athleticism in the post.

Roy Hibbert, Tyler Hansbrough and David West are a relatively nonathletic trio, and this video demonstrates that a skilled big like Carlos Boozer can expose them.

It doesn't have to be fancy. A couple of quick, powerful moves right at the chest of the Pacers will do. Getting Hibbert and West in foul trouble is a desirable byproduct.

New York Knicks: Put Carmelo Anthony on an Island

In most cases, when Carmelo Anthony puts up eye-popping numbers, it's a good sign for the New York Knicks' opponents.

If you space the defense properly and avoid double-teaming at all costs, 'Melo's 40-plus points are harmless.

He can have a big night, but if the Knickerbockers don't get into a collective groove, his isolation scores are for naught.

The Los Angeles Clippers exhibit terrific spacing as a unit against New York here, back on Feb. 10, 2013. The result was a 42-point night for Anthony, but a 102-88 road win for the Clips.

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