Teams blitzing our ball screens

[SoBeCuse]

Phew. We'll take it. Props to G, Mali, and Roberson.

Maybe this was an abberation but man we couldn't do anything with them blitzing those ball screens. Our guards really weren't able to turn the corner to the lane or when passing to the roller, Roberson/Coleman couldn't do much with it or they caught it too far away from the basket. I would think better defensive teams will do similar. Thoughts? Fortunately we made some big shots, albeit forces, during some really bad possessions. LGO!

 

[pearl31]

Good post, agreed. Gets really frustrating when our O constantly gets thrown into shambles by those hard hedges - our guards end up dribbling WAY out wide and we essentially start the possession over again, usually with minimal time on the SC

 

[SoBeCuse]

Good post, agreed. Gets really frustrating when our O constantly gets thrown into shambles by those hard hedges - our guards end up dribbling WAY out wide and we essentially start the possession over again, usually with minimal time on the SC

Way out wide is right. "Shambles." Ha. Totally.

 

[OttoMets]

With that important part of the offense denied, our off-ball movement was purposeless and everything bogged down. Didn't seem like we had a Plan B. Thought Howard was able to unfreeze things, but Roberson dropped his pass and then he got overwhelmed and disappeared. Credit to Buzz and his kids (they've got size and switched well), but we're going to see a couple more teams that make us wish for a point guard.

Great that we've got shooters who can mask that problem. Would be nice if Roberson were used as a complementary piece; he looks gun-shy every time he fields a pass farther out than the block.

 

[SUFan44]

Phew. We'll take it. Props to G, Mali, and Roberson.

Maybe this was an abberation but man we couldn't do anything with them blitzing those ball screens. Our guards really weren't able to turn the corner to the lane or when passing to the roller, Roberson/Coleman couldn't do much with it or they caught it too far away from the basket. I would think better defensive teams will do similar. Thoughts? Fortunately we made some big shots, albeit forces, during some really bad possessions. LGO!

This is where we miss having a true point guard. Most PG's that have used ball screens or run pick-and-rolls throughout their careers are taught to split the hedge up the middle if there's a gap.

There has been an enormous opportunity for Gbinije to split the middle on a number of screens, but his handle isn't good enough and he's not used to doing it, so he doesn't try it and instead "settles" for going wide around the hedge. He's also not quick enough to accelerate around the hedge, therefore his defender has enough time to recover and get in front.

If G doesn't split, then Roberson needs to provide more when he flashes opposite on the screens. He needs to be more aggressive from start to finish. He has shown capable. He really is an enigma sometimes...

 

[Cusefan0307]

Running the screen and roll with Roberson or Coleman as the screener is painful. I said it was pointless earlier this year, but JB doesn't think so. Coleman and Roberson can only roll to the rim. At least with Lydon, opponents have to respect his shot and ability to pass. We're so much better offensively when he's in the game.

 

[Ajflood12]

It's the one thing that is scary about Louisville. Not having a pure pg against the press/pressure defense. Cuse seems to love to take time off the clock and use multi ball screens and tonight it seemed by the time they got down the court and set up the clock was at 7-8 seconds. Louisville is gonna press the hell out of us and cuse obviously won't be in the bonus wth 9 min left like This game.

 

[SUFan44]

It's the one thing that is scary about Louisville. Not having a pure pg against the press/pressure defense. Cuse seems to love to take time off the clock and use multi ball screens and tonight it seemed by the time they got down the court and set up the clock was at 7-8 seconds. Louisville is gonna press the hell out of us and cuse obviously won't be in the bonus wth 9 min left like This game.

Louisville game is a gravy game if we can get the next two. We'd be 18-8 at that point, 8-5 in ACC and in my estimation in based on the weak bubble. Nobody would be expecting us to go down to L'Ville and win. If we did, we would be in without a doubt.

If we can win next two games, all we would really need to do in my estimation is to win 2 of the Pitt/NCSU/@FSU games to be in. Plus one at the ACC Tournament just to be on the safe side.

 

[orangefan13]

Running the screen and roll with Roberson or Coleman as the screener is painful. I said it was pointless earlier this year, but JB doesn't think so. Coleman and Roberson can only roll to the rim. At least with Lydon, opponents have to respect his shot and ability to pass. We're so much better offensively when he's in the game.

Not disagreeing, but I think Coleman adds one dimension that others don't a wide body for screening. This can be a problem when using it around the three point line, but if we can get inside first it opens things up. Lydon Roberson and Malachi leave nobody for the defense to bounce off of. Late in the game today Mali drove on one play and gave the quick assist to lydon as he took over late. Thankfully the defender wasn't there for the charge that time.

 

[retro44]

What I noticed on ball screens was the Va. Tech defender mainly no.32 was riding the backs of our screener's trying to force them into an offensive foul. I give the refs credit for not calling fouls on us,but they should have called No 32 for that driving forearm in the back of the Syracuse Screener's driving them up top.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Phew. We'll take it. Props to G, Mali, and Roberson.

Maybe this was an abberation but man we couldn't do anything with them blitzing those ball screens. Our guards really weren't able to turn the corner to the lane or when passing to the roller, Roberson/Coleman couldn't do much with it or they caught it too far away from the basket. I would think better defensive teams will do similar. Thoughts? Fortunately we made some big shots, albeit forces, during some really bad possessions. LGO!

I think when you are allowed to push the screener out of position and into the man with the ball, that helps the defense.

 

[iommi]

There are a bunch of great posts in this thread. Great stuff.

 

[Orangeblue2]

Not having a post threat continues to throw the O off. We don't, or can't, make an entry pass to DC that creates space and options. So we end up with three guys throwing it around on the perimeter, Cooney's trigger finger itching feverishly on the right wing. Then MG starting a drive 30 ft from the rim with 6 seconds to go on shot clock. When he goes to the spin move at the FT line, an offensive foul is almost inevitable against better teams.

 

[pfister1]

Seemed to me like every time we were able to get the ball to an interior player in the lane early last night they got stripped. It was almost like we stopped trying as a result.

 

[weedsportwarriors]

They have blitz the ball screens but there were several occasions when the guy guarding the guy that was setting the screen was pushing/fouling the screener before he even got to the point to set the screen.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I wasn't seeing any of those VTech guys "pushing/fouling" the screener at all, frankly. In fact, most of the time the screener was being ignored. They would blitz/double-team almost the ball handler (usually G) and just force him wide. As noted above, he had opportunities to split those. Our offense does go into total "shambles" when the guards can't get around that hedge or when the roller can't do anything with it (as Boeheim mentioned in his presser).

 

[realorange]

With that important part of the offense denied, our off-ball movement was purposeless and everything bogged down. Didn't seem like we had a Plan B. Thought Howard was able to unfreeze things, but Roberson dropped his pass and then he got overwhelmed and disappeared. Credit to Buzz and his kids (they've got size and switched well), but we're going to see a couple more teams that make us wish for a point guard.

Great that we've got shooters who can mask that problem. Would be nice if Roberson were used as a complementary piece; he looks gun-shy every time he fields a pass farther out than the block.

JB called that in his presser. Wasn't really upset, but said when you are unguarded 12 feet from the basket you have to take it to the hoop.
And saying Roberson should be complimentary; where do you find 10+ rebounds per game? He's the guy on the team with the most double/doubles.

 

[OttoMets]

JB called that in his presser. Wasn't really upset, but said when you are unguarded 12 feet from the basket you have to take it to the hoop.
And saying Roberson should be complimentary; where do you find 10+ rebounds per game? He's the guy on the team with the most double/doubles.

He should complement the scorers on offense, not just by taking it to the rim (though he's not the best finisher) but also by taking the unguarded 12-footer that we've seen him make.

Forcing him to the rim just packs in the defense and makes it harder for him to score.

 

[Ghost]

Thought Mal did a nice thing on his last three - guy hedged out hard, but Mal crossed him up off the dribble by cutting in front of him, drifting back out, and nailing the three. I think he caught the defense off guard a bit by not retreating.

 

[Coach Orange]

Running the screen and roll with Roberson or Coleman as the screener is painful. I said it was pointless earlier this year, but JB doesn't think so. Coleman and Roberson can only roll to the rim. At least with Lydon, opponents have to respect his shot and ability to pass. We're so much better offensively when he's in the game.

Agreed, but this is also a function of the fact that our players can space the floor for spread pick-and-rolls without the lane being clogged by the opposite post and his defender. Syracuse can run pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop with Lydon as the screener, but we can also spread Lydon to the three-point arc and set the ball screen with Roberson (or Coleman if Roberson is on the bench). Roberson has finished on several rolls to the basket thanks to the stress this spacing causes defenses.

This spacing also opens up isolation dribble-drive opportunities for G and Mal.

 

[Coach Orange]

This is where we miss having a true point guard. Most PG's that have used ball screens or run pick-and-rolls throughout their careers are taught to split the hedge up the middle if there's a gap.

There has been an enormous opportunity for Gbinije to split the middle on a number of screens, but his handle isn't good enough and he's not used to doing it, so he doesn't try it and instead "settles" for going wide around the hedge. He's also not quick enough to accelerate around the hedge, therefore his defender has enough time to recover and get in front.

If G doesn't split, then Roberson needs to provide more when he flashes opposite on the screens. He needs to be more aggressive from start to finish. He has shown capable. He really is an enigma sometimes...

Splitting is one way to beat the hard hedge, but most good defensive teams take that away. Another option is to take two back dribbles away from the hedge defender and find your teammate rolling to the hoop. The screener has to recognize the hard hedge and slip the screen, making himself a target for the pass (hand up, eyes on the ball handler). If the defense covers the roll man with a help defender, a shooter should be wide open for three. Find him.

 

[SUFan44]

Splitting is one way to beat the hard hedge, but most good defensive teams take that away. Another option is to take two back dribbles away from the hedge defender and find your teammate rolling to the hoop. The screener has to recognize the hard hedge and slip the screen, making himself a target for the pass (hand up, eyes on the ball handler). If the defense covers the roll man with a help defender, a shooter should be wide open for three. Find him.

Agreed. That's another way for sure.

Prolonging the pick and roll and going straight into the hedge (which is what Gbinije & Cooney do 98% of the time) will only work if the guard is quick enough to get around that guy before the primary defender recovers. That's why our offense stalls so much when we play against competent defenses.

The more the season wears on, the more it's clear that Gbinije is much more comfortable off the ball. And why Howard's development and progression is so key for this team down the stretch. He has a few abilities that none of the other guards have.