A Thought to loosen up our sets

[STEVEHOLT]

Just wondering if you guys think there is any merit to this at all. I fully realize we have a HOF coach and all that, but nobody can deny our offense goes stagnant at times.

One thing I believe we should do more of is isolation sets for MG.

We do so much pick and roll, and one of the consequences of that is the screener bringing his defender to the ball handler. This basically crowds the area and makes it that much more difficult to drive to the basket.

It was quite frustrating to watch early in the Dayton game as basically we kept running pick and roll for 30 seconds, getting nowhere, and then taking bad shots.

I believe we might be well served to give Mike a bit more opportunity for clear outs / isos without screens, keeping the driving lane a little less crowded.

It seems the only time we run iso's now is when plays break down or we are in desperation "late and behind" mode.

 

[jdubs30]

Have you just noticed this? lol. We have to run more screens (and nothing much comes of them) than anyone in the nation.

The problem is, unless Lydon is setting the screen, it's hard to turn the ball screener into an offensive weapon. The defense hedges out on Mike almost every time because they aren't worried about DC/Robey getting the ball in a scoring position. Every time we drive, the paint always has several defenders because TRob and DC can't drag their defenders away from the basket, the only way thtey can do that is if they are setting a screen up top.

Our offense is what it is, when we make shots it looks great, but when we miss shots it looks awful, nothing else really changes. The ball moves a lot better with Frank in the game, but teams aren't playing him to shoot. I was impressed with TC in the 2nd half of the Dayton game -- he hit a few 3's, didn't take ttoo many bad shots, and drove to the rim and finished strong.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Mike was bottled up pretty good by Dayton. They put their best defender on him, one of the reasons Mal and Cooney were able to capitalize. I think G will play better today, but asking us to change our offense in game 34, that just isn't going to happen. You are who you are at this point.

 

[JoeSU]

Two comments:
1. I can't tell you how many times the guy rolling off the pick has been wide open, if only the player with the ball would look for him with a bounce pass. This seems like a pretty simple concept to work on in practice.

2. Given Richardson's hot hand, and Cooney's cold one, I wonder if JB is calling for more sets designed for the 3, like we used to employ for Fair, Addison, Johnson, etc.

 

[Flacusian]

I'd like to see Mal get a few more shots and I also think that when he and Cooney are successful driving to the hoop it opens things up for us considerably. The downside to that is that they both have a propensity to dribble directly into the collapsing defense or try to unsuccessfully split 2 defenders. The upside is that if there are 2 defenders collapsing on them there is an open shooter somewhere... dish it to him.

 

[upperdeck]

you can do the pick and roll all you want but the roller needs to catch he ball coleman/roberson struggle catching passes all the time. we lost 2-3 chippy baskets against dayton because the bobble everything.

 

[kuethstheman]

Thought I'd be the first to answer your question: Yes. They should considering iso for G. Especially if he's got a quickness advantage over his man. If he's got a size advantage, maybe post him up a few times.

 

[HarrisonJBounel]

you can do the pick and roll all you want but the roller needs to catch he ball coleman/roberson struggle catching passes all the time. we lost 2-3 chippy baskets against dayton because the bobble everything.

Add that Coleman/Roberson can't shoot the midrange jumper nor put the ball on the floor and go to the basket. No one can confuse them with Karl Malone. Pick and roll is a great concept, but if the picker is not an offensive threat, the pick and roll is ineffective.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Two comments:
1. I can't tell you how many times the guy rolling off the pick has been wide open, if only the player with the ball would look for him with a bounce pass. This seems like a pretty simple concept to work on in practice.

2. Given Richardson's hot hand, and Cooney's cold one, I wonder if JB is calling for more sets designed for the 3, like we used to employ for Fair, Addison, Johnson, etc.

Cooney has shot the ball pretty well the last couple, I know people were up in arms the last play against Pitt, but he's been much better since tanking against FSU.

 

[HarrisonJBounel]

Mike was bottled up pretty good by Dayton. They put their best defender on him, one of the reasons Mal and Cooney were able to capitalize. I think G will play better today, but asking us to change our offense in game 34, that just isn't going to happen. You are who you are at this point.

I thought in the second half we did a decent job of letting G take his smaller defender into the paint. Easier said than done, if the guy is a tough defender and good help arrives, cutting down G's options. But G did take his guy into the paint a few times, and it seemed to work.

Keep in mind that, especially for a second game in the week, you have little time to prepare for subtleties. It's easier to go with your strengths rather than change your offense to try to exploit your opponent's weaknesses.

 

[SWC75]

We're not going to see anything different at this point of the season. But one virtue of a high post center, (which Lydon would be perfect for), is that it leaves the lane open for drives to the basket, (just not right down the middle).