Sebastian doin’ work!

Sebastian Doin’ Work!

Sebastian doin' work!

Sebastian Doin' Work!

Usually it takes post players and slashers to get their shooters such wide-open looks. Amazing to see someone do the same thing by being such a ridiculous threat from mid-range, the least efficient area on the floor… for everybody not named Dirk.

I’m a Heat fan, but if we fall short this year I’m rooting for Dirk to win a ring. Few people deserve one as much as he does (that’s not a comment one way or the other about ’06, it’s about his career), and few people deserve a rep for elevating their game when it matters most more than he does.

Usually it takes post players and slashers to get their shooters such wide-open looks. Amazing to see someone do the same thing by being such a ridiculous threat from mid-range, the least efficient area on the floor… for everybody not named Dirk.

I'm a Heat fan, but if we fall short this year I'm rooting for Dirk to win a ring. Few people deserve one as much as he does (that's not a comment one way or the other about '06, it's about his career), and few people deserve a rep for elevating their game when it matters most more than he does.

great analysis, very insightful, so so so much better than usual postgame garbage. ironically, a bunch of the stories i read after this last game wrote that dirk’s role was reduced that of a bystander, because he point total was below his average.

great analysis, very insightful, so so so much better than usual postgame garbage. ironically, a bunch of the stories i read after this last game wrote that dirk's role was reduced that of a bystander, because he point total was below his average.

In “Attention 6″, it’s not just Dirk who’s drawing attention. Blake actually rotated correctly here to an open Dirk running to the right block. Why is Dirk open? This play happens shortly after Terry hits his record tying 3. You can see 2 purple jerseys following Terry’s movements as Terry brings up the ball, and one of the purple jerseys is supposed to be covering Dirk. That’s why Blake has to rotate over and leave a trailing Peja for an open 3.

So in a way, it’s still a Dirk-related assist. If Dirk wasn’t such a threat, then Terry wouldn’t have gotten so many open looks to knock down those 3s. And then Terry wouldn’t have drawn double teams towards the end of the game.

Of course, the real problem here isn’t so much the attention that Dirk was drawing, but that the Lakers played just abysmal transition and half-court defense. I mean, look at “Pass 3″ – Pau’s jogging half-heartedly up the court, letting Dirk (who’s not the fastest runner) get some favorable matchups.

This was just amazing to watch, and in realtime was difficult to understand what was causing the Lakers to fail so bad at defending the 3. Great break down and thanks for the work!

In “Attention 6″, it's not just Dirk who's drawing attention. Blake actually rotated correctly here to an open Dirk running to the right block. Why is Dirk open? This play happens shortly after Terry hits his record tying 3. You can see 2 purple jerseys following Terry's movements as Terry brings up the ball, and one of the purple jerseys is supposed to be covering Dirk. That's why Blake has to rotate over and leave a trailing Peja for an open 3.

So in a way, it's still a Dirk-related assist. If Dirk wasn't such a threat, then Terry wouldn't have gotten so many open looks to knock down those 3s. And then Terry wouldn't have drawn double teams towards the end of the game.

Of course, the real problem here isn't so much the attention that Dirk was drawing, but that the Lakers played just abysmal transition and half-court defense. I mean, look at “Pass 3″ – Pau's jogging half-heartedly up the court, letting Dirk (who's not the fastest runner) get some favorable matchups.

This was just amazing to watch, and in realtime was difficult to understand what was causing the Lakers to fail so bad at defending the 3. Great break down and thanks for the work!

Great analysis, but I wonder if you’re making things a bit too complicated by attributing credit to Dirk. As great as he is, a lot of these plays come down to inexcusable errors and a total lack of effort on the part of the Lakers. Look at “Pass4″ — Derek Fisher just stops watching Jason Terry and sits in the lane to serve as, what, a shot blocker? The same thing happens with Fisher on “Pass5″ and “Attention3″. Fisher looks like he has simply given up or is too tired to follow Terry.

The clips are full of this kind of lack of effort. On “Pass1″ — Pau Gasol switches onto Shannon Brown’s man and then inadvertently picks Brown as he sprints to recover on Pau’s man. On “Attention4″, Artest starts guarding Terry, then just stops following him and hangs out in the paint instead. I think Occam’s razor applies here: the simplest explanation is that the Lakers quit trying, mentally and physically. That’s not to take credit away from the Mavs, who did everything right in games 1-3 to convince the Lakers that resistance was futile, but just to point out that the Lakers played sub-YMCA defense yesterday.

What I’d like to know is: what was the difference between the Mavs offense this series, and the offense in the regular season and years past? Did Dirk get better at reading the double teams?

Great analysis, but I wonder if you're making things a bit too complicated by attributing credit to Dirk. As great as he is, a lot of these plays come down to inexcusable errors and a total lack of effort on the part of the Lakers. Look at “Pass4″ — Derek Fisher just stops watching Jason Terry and sits in the lane to serve as, what, a shot blocker? The same thing happens with Fisher on “Pass5″ and “Attention3″. Fisher looks like he has simply given up or is too tired to follow Terry.

The clips are full of this kind of lack of effort. On “Pass1″ — Pau Gasol switches onto Shannon Brown's man and then inadvertently picks Brown as he sprints to recover on Pau's man. On “Attention4″, Artest starts guarding Terry, then just stops following him and hangs out in the paint instead. I think Occam's razor applies here: the simplest explanation is that the Lakers quit trying, mentally and physically. That's not to take credit away from the Mavs, who did everything right in games 1-3 to convince the Lakers that resistance was futile, but just to point out that the Lakers played sub-YMCA defense yesterday.

Definitely Dirk’s basketball IQ has increased every year as has abilty to “drive” the lane. And what everyone has to understand is that this year the Mavs are just deeper. #1 Dirk no longer has to ever worry about the paint. Bigs can be boxed out which can lead to more drible penatration and/or rebounds. #2 Though there is no true “robin” on this team, JET doesn’t have to stress scoring. Peja is a straight up threat at the the 3. So is Kidd. With Dirk now the Mavs can play inside out or outside in. #3 And this is the most important of all…The MAVS bought into Carlisle system of spacing the court and work through Dirk.

What I'd like to know is: what was the difference between the Mavs offense this series, and the offense in the regular season and years past? Did Dirk get better at reading the double teams?

I also think that the writer seems to be missing the real problems with the Laker defense. In Pass 1, Brown somehow gets picked off by a screen way out by the half court line. Gasol then completely blows the play by switching to Barrea but doing nothing to slow him down or keep him out of the paint. Odom has to leave Nowitski to cut off Barrea, who makes the easy pass to an open Nowitski. Odom makes a nice close out on Dirk, while Gasol follows Barrea to the corner. Brown follows after Gasol, but is in no man’s land when Dirk begins his drive. Yes, Brown steps out towards Novitski to double. But the real breakdown here is that Gasol is in the corner with Barrea and no one marked Chandler – Brown never picked him up. Fisher then has to step in to prevent the pass to Chandler, leaving Terry wide open. Certainly, Dirk makes a nice play with his pass to Terry, but the real problem here was the Brown/Gasol action near midcourt, and especially Gasol’s complete inability to influence Barrea’s drive to the paint.

In Pass 2, the real problem is that Blake unnecessarily leaves Terry to pick up Barea. It looks to me like Odom was able to recover onto Barea, and probably had the angle and the length to prevent Barea from scoring. Not to mention that Bynum is waiting in the paint. Blake’s decision to leave Terry wide open in the corner for an easy pass from Barea is what really makes this shot possible, not so much the Brown/Odom switch and double on Nowitski.

In Attention 2, the problem is not that Gasol sprints to cover Nowitski, it is that Blake allows Barea to blow completely past him for a wide open layup attempt. Bryant challenges the layup, leaving no weak side Laker to collect the rebound. Gasol’s real mistake here is that he does not go after the rebound with any meaningful effort, allowing Haywood to swoop in and collect the ball. Bryant is out of position off of Terry due to contesting Barea’s drive. The issue here is not Dirk, but Blake’s inability to defend the perimeter and Gasol’s inability to secure the rebound. Don’t get me wrong, Nowitski was amazing in this series. But the writer is choosing the wrong examples to make his point, and the fact that the writer makes no mention of the obvious defensive breakdowns that lead to the open shots detracts from his intended message.

Definitely Dirk's basketball IQ has increased every year as has abilty to “drive” the lane. And what everyone has to understand is that this year the Mavs are just deeper. #1 Dirk no longer has to ever worry about the paint. Bigs can be boxed out which can lead to more drible penatration and/or rebounds. #2 Though there is no true “robin” on this team, JET doesn't have to stress scoring. Peja is a straight up threat at the the 3. So is Kidd. With Dirk now the Mavs can play inside out or outside in. #3 And this is the most important of all…The MAVS bought into Carlisle system of spacing the court and work through Dirk.

I think the author completely misreads Attention 4. The double on Nowitski comes from Bryant, who leaves Kidd. Kidd makes no impact on the play after the pass to Terry. When the pass reaches Nowitski, the only 3-point shooter is Stojakovic, and Fisher makes the correct close out. The real problem is Artest, who bites on Terry’s pump fake and let’s Terry blow by him to the rim. Terry makes the pass to Nowitski, and Artest compounds the problem by losing Terry, who runs to the opposite corner for the wide open look. Artest belatedly tries to close out on Terry, but it is way too late. Bryant’s double team on Nowitsky has absolutely nothing to do with this play. I have no idea why the writer has selected it to make his point.

I also think that the writer seems to be missing the real problems with the Laker defense. In Pass 1, Brown somehow gets picked off by a screen way out by the half court line. Gasol then completely blows the play by switching to Barrea but doing nothing to slow him down or keep him out of the paint. Odom has to leave Nowitski to cut off Barrea, who makes the easy pass to an open Nowitski. Odom makes a nice close out on Dirk, while Gasol follows Barrea to the corner. Brown follows after Gasol, but is in no man's land when Dirk begins his drive. Yes, Brown steps out towards Novitski to double. But the real breakdown here is that Gasol is in the corner with Barrea and no one marked Chandler – Brown never picked him up. Fisher then has to step in to prevent the pass to Chandler, leaving Terry wide open. Certainly, Dirk makes a nice play with his pass to Terry, but the real problem here was the Brown/Gasol action near midcourt, and especially Gasol's complete inability to influence Barrea's drive to the paint.

@036102a893a2c486ede5cb43886b58e0:disqus Most importantly, others are stepping up. Look at the below post on Mavs MoneyBall, that compares the help Dirk got in round 1 vs. the help he got in the years 2007 – 2010. You will clearly see the difference.

http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2011/4/30/2145275/dirk-finally-gets-help-in-series-win-over-portland

Had Terry and Peja not made those shots in the first few attempts, Dirk would have been forced to attempt some other strategy. Shooting over double teams etc. would have resulted in a poor game and eventually a Mavs loss.

Of course, TC’s presence inside makes things a lot easier because the second man stepping up cannot be another big. Compare that with Dampier. This being a guard lets Dirk make the pass after the double team.

In Pass 2, the real problem is that Blake unnecessarily leaves Terry to pick up Barea. It looks to me like Odom was able to recover onto Barea, and probably had the angle and the length to prevent Barea from scoring. Not to mention that Bynum is waiting in the paint. Blake's decision to leave Terry wide open in the corner for an easy pass from Barea is what really makes this shot possible, not so much the Brown/Odom switch and double on Nowitski.

In Attention 2, the problem is not that Gasol sprints to cover Nowitski, it is that Blake allows Barea to blow completely past him for a wide open layup attempt. Bryant challenges the layup, leaving no weak side Laker to collect the rebound. Gasol's real mistake here is that he does not go after the rebound with any meaningful effort, allowing Haywood to swoop in and collect the ball. Bryant is out of position off of Terry due to contesting Barea's drive. The issue here is not Dirk, but Blake's inability to defend the perimeter and Gasol's inability to secure the rebound. Don't get me wrong, Nowitski was amazing in this series. But the writer is choosing the wrong examples to make his point, and the fact that the writer makes no mention of the obvious defensive breakdowns that lead to the open shots detracts from his intended message.

I think the author completely misreads Attention 4. The double on Nowitski comes from Bryant, who leaves Kidd. Kidd makes no impact on the play after the pass to Terry. When the pass reaches Nowitski, the only 3-point shooter is Stojakovic, and Fisher makes the correct close out. The real problem is Artest, who bites on Terry's pump fake and let's Terry blow by him to the rim. Terry makes the pass to Nowitski, and Artest compounds the problem by losing Terry, who runs to the opposite corner for the wide open look. Artest belatedly tries to close out on Terry, but it is way too late. Bryant's double team on Nowitsky has absolutely nothing to do with this play. I have no idea why the writer has selected it to make his point.

No one is claiming it hasn´t to do with the Lakers inability to close out, what Sebastian is doing is highlighting sth that isn´t picked up much. It´s called making a point.

Everybody can see that the Lakers were late to rotate and/or simply blew rotations alltogether and everyone could see the perimeter guys for Dallas were getting into the paint at will and then moved the ball masterfully. But what most people didn´t recognize (Hubie Brown did of course, guy is awesome) is what is pointed out here : Everything started with Nowitzki, the whole defensive rotation was built around stopping Nowitzki who then proceeded to play the role of decoy tonight which certainly confused the hell out of the Lakers.

Nowitzki also was a team high +37 for the game, his +- numbers all year have been amazing and downright ridiculous in the playoffs (Mavs are + 14 per 48 minutes with him, -11 when he sits down, the team shoos 28% from deep when he´s on the bennch and remember that he sits usually when the shooters are on the court)

Everything they do and everything the oposing defense does is built around Nowitzki, i think it´s important to point that out.

@036102a893a2c486ede5cb43886b58e0:disqus Most importantly, others are stepping up. Look at the below post on Mavs MoneyBall, that compares the help Dirk got in round 1 vs. the help he got in the years 2007 – 2010. You will clearly see the difference.

http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2…

Had Terry and Peja not made those shots in the first few attempts, Dirk would have been forced to attempt some other strategy. Shooting over double teams etc. would have resulted in a poor game and eventually a Mavs loss.

Of course, TC's presence inside makes things a lot easier because the second man stepping up cannot be another big. Compare that with Dampier. This being a guard lets Dirk make the pass after the double team.

No one is claiming it hasn´t to do with the Lakers inability to close out, what Sebastian is doing is highlighting sth that isn´t picked up much. It´s called making a point.

Everybody can see that the Lakers were late to rotate and/or simply blew rotations alltogether and everyone could see the perimeter guys for Dallas were getting into the paint at will and then moved the ball masterfully. But what most people didn´t recognize (Hubie Brown did of course, guy is awesome) is what is pointed out here : Everything started with Nowitzki, the whole defensive rotation was built around stopping Nowitzki who then proceeded to play the role of decoy tonight which certainly confused the hell out of the Lakers.

Nowitzki also was a team high +37 for the game, his +- numbers all year have been amazing and downright ridiculous in the playoffs (Mavs are + 14 per 48 minutes with him, -11 when he sits down, the team shoos 28% from deep when he´s on the bennch and remember that he sits usually when the shooters are on the court)

Everything they do and everything the oposing defense does is built around Nowitzki, i think it´s important to point that out.

I do not doubt or dispute that Nowitski’s skill and excellent play had a huge impact on the Laker’s defensive woes. I am saying that in my opinion Sebastian chose the wrong clips to make his point. In my mind, at least half of the clips clearly demonstrate that the open shot was the direct result of a defensive lapse that had little or nothing to do with the Lakers’ focus on Nowitski. I think Pass 1, Attention 2 and Attention 4 are perfect examples of my point. In Attention 2 the play is made because dribble penetration pulls both Bryant and Gasol off of good 3-point shooters, and then Bynum completely fails to box out Haywood. The play is already 95% broken before Gasol moves to cover Nowitski. In Attention 4 Bryant’s double of Nowitski is irrelevant to the play, and Sebastian’s analysis of what happens from there is simply inconsistent with the video. Similarly, in Pass 1 the play isn’t made by Brown doubling off of Chandler to help with Dirk. The play is made because Brown was out of position on the switch and never picked up Chandler in the first place, which means that Fisher is forced to leave Terry to prevent a potential Chandler dunk. I don’t dispute the point Sebastian is trying to make, but I am saying that much of his analysis here doesn’t actually demonstrate that point.

I do not doubt or dispute that Nowitski's skill and excellent play had a huge impact on the Laker's defensive woes. I am saying that in my opinion Sebastian chose the wrong clips to make his point. In my mind, at least half of the clips clearly demonstrate that the open shot was the direct result of a defensive lapse that had little or nothing to do with the Lakers' focus on Nowitski. I think Pass 1, Attention 2 and Attention 4 are perfect examples of my point. In Attention 2 the play is made because dribble penetration pulls both Bryant and Gasol off of good 3-point shooters, and then Bynum completely fails to box out Haywood. The play is already 95% broken before Gasol moves to cover Nowitski. In Attention 4 Bryant's double of Nowitski is irrelevant to the play, and Sebastian's analysis of what happens from there is simply inconsistent with the video. Similarly, in Pass 1 the play isn't made by Brown doubling off of Chandler to help with Dirk. The play is made because Brown was out of position on the switch and never picked up Chandler in the first place, which means that Fisher is forced to leave Terry to prevent a potential Chandler dunk. I don't dispute the point Sebastian is trying to make, but I am saying that much of his analysis here doesn't actually demonstrate that point.

i noticed the exact same thing while i was watching. gasol got screwed by fisher just giving up on the play by staying by the post when terry ran back to the three point line. that’s just plain laziness. at best, he could say he expected kidd to put up a 3, but his complete lack of reaction to terry getting the ball back is embarrassing.

i noticed the exact same thing while i was watching. gasol got screwed by fisher just giving up on the play by staying by the post when terry ran back to the three point line. that's just plain laziness. at best, he could say he expected kidd to put up a 3, but his complete lack of reaction to terry getting the ball back is embarrassing.

Ooh, good analysis! and the team is doing amazing work!

Ooh, good analysis! and the team is doing amazing work!

Disagree about two of the plays where you blamed Fisher.

On “Pass4″ Bynum has to rotate to double team Dirk because Kobe screwed up and overplayed the entry pass, giving Dirk a free path to the bucket.  Fisher did the right thing by helping the helper, i.e. rotating onto Bynum’s man in the paint since Bynum himself had to rotate on to Dirk.  I would blame “Pass4″ on Kobe and Gasol for the poor initial defense when they switched on the Barea/Dirk pick and roll.

“Pass5″ is similar.  Fisher has to sag into the paint to rotate onto Marion, since the first priority of any defense is not to give up easy buckets at the rim.

But on “Attention3,” you are absolutely right.  Fisher just decides to hang out in the paint guarding no one in particular LOL.

Disagree about two of the plays where you blamed Fisher.

On “Pass4″ Bynum has to rotate to double team Dirk because Kobe screwed up and overplayed the entry pass, giving Dirk a free path to the bucket.  Fisher did the right thing by helping the helper, i.e. rotating onto Bynum's man in the paint since Bynum himself had to rotate on to Dirk.  I would blame “Pass4″ on Kobe and Gasol for the poor initial defense when they switched on the Barea/Dirk pick and roll.

“Pass5″ is similar.  Fisher has to sag into the paint to rotate onto Marion, since the first priority of any defense is not to give up easy buckets at the rim.

But on “Attention3,” you are absolutely right.  Fisher just decides to hang out in the paint guarding no one in particular LOL.

 i havent seen them all, nice work. But attention 6 is complete BS. It doesn’t matter if its Nowitzki or anyone else, if the defender doesn’t stick to that player it’s an easy layup and score, you don’t have to be good to be a threath there, the defender must cover that one no matter which backup or Nowitzki st is running down the floor. That play had nothing to do with Dirk. I’m sure you completely overinterpret much of this. Sure he helps them alot to get open and get hot early on , but far from on every single play. It’s 2 of the best 3 point shooters ever in the history and one also close in the mix. 

The point is very valid, that he makes them better – and vice verca, but not on every given play.  

i havent seen them all, nice work. But attention 6 is complete BS. It doesn't matter if its Nowitzki or anyone else, if the defender doesn't stick to that player it's an easy layup and score, you don't have to be good to be a threath there, the defender must cover that one no matter which backup or Nowitzki st is running down the floor. That play had nothing to do with Dirk. I'm sure you completely overinterpret much of this. Sure he helps them alot to get open and get hot early on , but far from on every single play. It's 2 of the best 3 point shooters ever in the history and one also close in the mix. 

The point is very valid, that he makes them better – and vice verca, but not on every given play.