The Nuggets Backbreaking Lob
Despite the final score of the Nuggets-Warriors game (127-112), the game was actually pretty close. In fact, after a Stephon Curry to Ronny Turiaf pick and roll, the Warriors actually cut the lead to 8. This would be the closest they get though, because right after that play the Nuggets ran a beautiful lob (the Warriors poor defense helped here) to J.R. Smith effectively taking the wind out of the Warriors sails (This play was a catalyst for a 13-0 run):
As Chauncey brings up the basketball, Carmelo gets to one of his favorite spots on the court. As this happens, the two Nuggets bigs clear out to the other side. Carmelo Anthony is going to be setting a “screen” for J.R. Smith. I put the word screen in quotes, because Carmelo isn’t going to be headhunting or anything like that. He is just going to stand there, and Smith is going to run around him.
What is really impressive about this play is that the Nuggets isolate Devin George here and force him in a tough decision. He is the man covering Carmelo and he is denying him. As they run J.R. Smith off of Carmelo, George can do one of two things. He can drop back and help on Smith’s backdoor cut , or he can stay attached to Carmelo’s hip.
This is great design by the Nuggets, because any decision Devin George makes is the wrong one. If George drops back to help defend the lob, this lets Carmelo make the catch in his sweet spot and it turns into an ISO play for him (as J.R. Smith continues his cut to the other corner). If George sticks with Carmelo, the lob opens up.
And that is exactly what happens. George decides to deny Carmelo the whole way through the play, leaving the backdoor cut wide open. The Warriors bigs don’t help matters. As you can see here, as the pass goes up, neither of them are in proper position to help out.
Plus, as the pass is in the air, neither of them move, and Smith is able to make an uncontested catch and dunk. As I said in the intro, this was a pretty big play. The Warriors crowd was starting to get going, but this play sucked the air out of them and sparked the 13-0 run that gave the Nuggets the win. Here it is in real time:
great post – very informative.
Interesting, so what is the correct way to defend this play? Is it the sort of thing that has to be defended by just being read, or should the big men have been more aware? Chauncey is so far out that it’s hard can’t knock the D for not getting up on him and making it tougher to see cutters…
On another note, if I could make a suggestion, a series on some fundamentals would be extremely helpful for turning a serious but uninformed NBA fan into a hardcore one. For example, I’m always hearing about pnr defense on blogs, but I find it hard to recognize when somebody in a game (either the man being picked or the big man) is doing the right/wrong thing, as opposed to when they’re doing the right thing and the offense still scores…I want to be able to appreciate the defense and say “that play was well defended regardless of whether the shot fell or not” as opposed to judging it by the outcome.