Throughout of the offseason, I will take a look at teams that most people will think are contenders and look at an area where they struggle. I will then offer up my opinion on how their weakness can be improved on so they can take the next step…today, we are going to look at the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Charlotte Bobcats surprised a lot of people by making it into the playoffs last year winning 44 games and earning the 7th spot in the East.  Despite being swept by the Orlando Magic in the first round, it was a successful season especially considering this was the first playoff appearance in team history.

The Bobcats got to the playoffs on the strength of their defense.  According to both Hoopdata.com‘s defensive efficiency and Synergy Sports’ points per possession, the Bobcats were the top defense in the league last year.  According to Synergy, the Bobcats gave up just .87 points per possession.

It was the offensive end where the Bobcats struggled.  According to Synergy, their offense was ranked 22nd in the league with just .92 points per possession.  If Charlotte wants see their offense to improve, they really need to try and get out in transition more, where the Bobcats really excel.  The Bobcats were ranked 1st in terms of points per possession scoring 1.23 points per every possession the Bobcats got out and ran.  However, they didn’t run much.  According to Synergy, transition plays account for just 12.1% of their offense.  The Bobcats also had the sixth worst pace in the league, creating just 92.9 possessions per game (average is 95.1).

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The pick and roll plays an important part of the Utah Jazz’s offense.  According to Synergy Sports, they run it about 10.6% of the time on offense, and are pretty successful at it, especially when it came to finding the roll man in positions to score.  The Jazz ranked 3rd in the NBA in Synergy’s “Pick and Roll – Roll Man” category with 1.15 points per possession, however that was with Carlos Boozer as the screener (Carlos Boozer was fantastic working with Deron Williams on the pick and roll, ranking 11th individually in the NBA in Synergy’s “Pick and Roll – Roll Man” category with 1.27 points per possession).

The problem is that Carlos Boozer is now in Chicago, and there is a void in Utah’s pick and roll game.  In my opinion, Boozer’s replacement comes down to two guys, Paul Millsap and their newest acquisition Al Jefferson.  The answer should be pretty simple right?  Just look at who runs the pick and roll better, and use them to replace Boozer.  The problem with that is that both Millsap and Jefferson run the pick and roll with the same efficiency:

Jefferson and Millsap’s numbers are so similar that it is basically a toss up when trying to figure out who is better at running the pick and roll.  So when deciding who will replace Carlos Boozer as the main screener, the Jazz are going to have to look at some outside factors.

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Throughout of the offseason, I will take a look at teams that most people will think are contenders and look at an area where they struggle.  I will then offer up my opinion on how their weakness can be improved on so they can take the next step…today, we are going to look at the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Last year, the Thunder were the NBA’s surprise team.  Their front office did a fantastic job of gathering young talent, but they weren’t expected to seriously compete for a playoff spot.  The Thunder were able to sneak up on a lot of people.  This year is going to be different, because teams are going to taking the Thunder seriously from the start.

To get where they want to be, the Thunder are going to need to improve on the offensive end.  Using SynergySports you see that the Thunder’s weakest offensive option is the pick and roll.  According to Synergy, the Thunder only had .80 points per possession on possession considered “Pick and Roll Ball – Handler,” which was good for 22nd in the league.  As for possession considered “Pick and Roll – Roll Man,” the Thunder only scored .97 points per possession, ranking them 24th in the NBA.

Why Wasn’t It Successful?

Poor Shooting Ball Handler

Russell Westbrook is a fantastic point guard when he is getting to the rim, however he isn’t the best shooter.  From 10-15 feet Westbrook shot just 33.9%, and from 16-23 feet Westbrook shot 37%.  Those areas on the court are important during this discussion because that is where most point guards get their shots in the pick and roll, and Westbrook was the Thunder’s primary ball handler in the pick and roll (he had 513 of team’s 1049 PNR ball handler possessions).

During the season, teams got smart when defending Westbrook and the pick and roll:

Teams would just go under the screen when Westbrook was handling the ball, preventing the drive to the lane and basically begging him to shoot.  More often than not Westbrook would comply, and miss.

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