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Dallas& #39; offense is especially pick & roll heavy, and you& #39;ll rarely ever see a game that has such a stark difference between what the team can be on defense in their best moments, but also their worst.
This will be a slow thread of our pick & roll defense over the next day.
This will be a slow thread of our pick & roll defense over the next day.
Dennis is leaning on Luka’s hip and Andre is showing high, which indicates that the plan is to let Luka use this screen and then trap him. But Dennis doesn& #39;t have enough of his body between Luka & the basket, giving him an open lane. AD picks up on this though, and rotates over..
So Luka kicks it out rather than forcing the shot over AD. McLemore makes his closeout, and Dennis is a beat slow on his closeout, but enough of a threat to get DFS to decide that he& #39;s gonna attack the closeout. Powell probably makes a spacing mistake here & should be in the...
...dunker& #39;s spot or corner, and he gunks up the spacing enough to where that + Drummond being in the right spot forces DFS into a stepback jumper, which he hits. You live with giving up that shot, but that was in part because of Powell& #39;s mistake.
This is a variation of a Spread pick & roll, where the players who aren& #39;t involved in the ball screen are in each corner and on one wing. Luka has the ball at the top of the key, and drives toward the side both the wing and corner are filled. This is a counter to the blitzing...
That the Lakers are doing with Drummond. The intention is never to have Luka drive to the basket with all that congestion there, it& #39;s to create the best spacing possible on the weak side. Luka knows it& #39;s the roll man who& #39;s gonna be open, so he& #39;s trying to pull as much gravity...
...in the other direction before he makes that pass. AD correctly reads that this is his rotation, and is in good position after Luka throws the jump pass over the top. I actually don& #39;t think we& #39;d blitz him that much if we faced them in the playoffs because he& #39;s uniquely equipped
to beat Lakers blitzes, since he has access to that pass over the top. Smaller players won& #39;t have that passing angle available to them with AD or Drummond on the ball. And even Luka struggled with that in the first half. There are other ball-handlers Luka& #39;s size, but he& #39;s the...
...best passer of the bigger ball-handlers outside of LeBron. So the fact that the Lakers blitzed so relentlessly in this game suggested to me that they were specifically working on it.
Anyway, so we have AD in good position vs Dwight Powell in a 1-on-1 situation, which under normal circumstances is a big advantage for the Lakers. But AD bites on a simple pump fake, and Powell gets an easy layup because of it.
When AD& #39;s right, not only does he have...
When AD& #39;s right, not only does he have...
...incredible physical attributes, his timing and anticipation are tremendous as well. That& #39;s what& #39;s been especially noticeable from watching him these last two games. He& #39;s a full step behind the action from a recognition standpoint. That& #39;s part of getting back up to speed too.
This is a more conventional spread pick & roll, where Luka drives toward the gap between him and the corner shooter.
Drummond stabs at the ball and misses, and gets beat to his outside leg. I believe that the team wants him to wreak havoc on the perimeter defensively, and...
Drummond stabs at the ball and misses, and gets beat to his outside leg. I believe that the team wants him to wreak havoc on the perimeter defensively, and...
...an aggressive defensive approach like that will always lead to possessions where a defender takes a gamble and gets beat. That& #39;s why this possession is so encouraging. McLemore stunts, Kuz is right there on his rotation, and Drummond turns & runs to provide some back pressure
Meanwhile, AD is dropping to the level of the ball w/o overcommitting in that direction, & gets the deflection. Usually when you get beat on a blitz, the possession ends with an open shot, especially vs Luka. If we make the right rotations, we& #39;ll be able to cover up some mistakes
I& #39;m gonna call it a night and pick this back up tomorrow
