For the past two offseasons, we have been looking at players coming to the NBA after playing at least as season overseas. With the lockout, we are going to have plenty of time on our hands. With that being said, I plan on doing scouting reports for each of the 30 first round picks from this past draft.
There is no question that Jimmer Fredette was in that group of elite shooters among the players available in the 2011 draft. Right along with him was Klay Thompson, who the Golden State Warriors drafted one spot behind him.
Strengths
Shooting
There is no question that Thompson’s biggest strength is his shooting ability. Thompson has a very smooth, yet quick, repeatable shooting stroke with a release point that is higher than most. Thompson feasted on the perimeter last year with Washington State, knocking down 40.3% of all the jump shots he took (64.3% of all shots he took last year), while posting a PPP 1.094 on those shots (placing him among the top 15% of all NCAA players last year).
The area where Thompson is most impressive is in catch and shoot situations. This past season, Thompson shot 50% in catch and shoot situations where he was considered “unguarded” by Synergy sports, posting an eFG% of 71.4%:
Thompson’s shooting form is very repeatable and very easy. Anytime he is open in a catch and shoot situation, it is a pretty good bet that he is going to be able to knock down the shot. What helps him get open is his ability to work off of the basketball and use screens. Despite not being the most athletic guy, Thompson is smart enough and good enough to get a little bit of separation working off of the ball and at his height (6’7″) and with his high release, that little bit of separation is all he needs to be able to get a shot off:
In the fourth quarter of their game against the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers turned a large deficit into a winable game. With 1:39 left in the game, the Lakers had the ball on the baseline, looking to cut into the Warriors nine point lead. The Golden State Warriors were able to make a great defensive stand on a curious SLOB ran by the Lakers, that essentially sealed the win:
As the trigger man Matt Barnes gets the basketball, Kobe Bryant uses a screen set by Andrew Bynum on the block, comes off of it, and gets to the corner of the court where he gets the basketball.
Once Bryant gets the basketball, the Warriors are smart enough to send two defenders at him, David Lee and Dorell Wright, getting the trap set.
When you think of Dwight Howard on the defensive end, you think of those fear inducing blocks that send the ball back where it came from. While these blocks do a lot of good on the defensive end, preventing baskets and maybe even dissuading players from taking shots, Howard selling out for blocks can lead to trouble for the Orlando Magic on the defensive end. We saw two separate examples of this problem in the final minute of the overtime period in their game against the Golden State Warriors, giving up five points and helping the Warriors get the win:
Here, the ball eventually works its way to David Lee at the elbow. Lee makes the catch and executes a perfect pump fake, getting Howard to leave his feet. Once Howard leaves his feet, Lee takes one penetrating dribble towards the basket. This penetrating dribble forces Quentin Richardson to sink in and help. As soon as Richardson dives in to help, Lee kicks it out to Dorell Wright who knocks down the three. Richardson actually does a good job of helping and recovering, but he just can’t close out quickly enough.
Trailing the Golden State Warriors by two points with around 40 seconds left, the Oklahoma City Thunder found themselves in a position where they needed to get a stop if they wanted a chance to tie/win the game. After a pick and roll (and a switch by the defense), there was a drive to the lane. A poor decision to help on this drive allowed a basket and cost the Thunder the game.
After Steph Curry dribbles the shot clock down to 10 seconds, he uses a screen set by Dorell Wright. Because of the situation and Thunder not wanting either Curry or Wright to get a wide open three, the Thunder switch the pick, which in my opinion is the right move here.
Because of the switch, Kevin Durant is now forced to try and defend Steph Cury one on one as Curry maintains his dribble.
A team’s performance after a timeout may be the best way to judge a coach’s Xs & Os knowledge, and his ability to draw up plays. That is why I am introducing The Clipboard Awards* today. The Clipboard Awards is a competition where I choose the top three post-timeout plays each night, adding up the scores over the course of the season.
Play #3 (1 point)- Keith Smart/Golden State Warriors
In this set coming out of a timeout in the fourth quarter, Keith Smart drew up a nice play to get Lou Amundson an easy opportunity in the paint:
As Acie Law brings the basketball up, Ekpe Udoh comes from the low block and flashes to the elbow, getting the pass from Law.
Once Udoh gets the pass, Law comes cutting off of him as if he is receiving a dribble handoff. As that happens, we have a double backscreen getting set on the weakside. The backscreens are being set for Lou Amundson, who makes a cut coming off them along the baseline.
Trailing by four points with 26.0 seconds left and the ball on the baseline, the Golden State Warriors knew they were going to have to foul on the next Kings’ possession. Because of this, they were looking to get a quick three pointer to hopefully cut the Kings’ lead to just one point. With the ball getting inbounded for the baseline, the Warriors were able to get Monta Ellis open behind the three point line, using Steph Curry as a decoy:
The play starts with David Lee setting a screen for Steph Curry. Curry takes that screen and uses it to get to the ball-side corner.
Immediately after Curry uses Lee’s screen, Lee gets in position to set a screen for Monta Ellis. Lee’s screen isn’t the only screen being set as Vladimir Radmanovic gets over to set a second screen. As this happens, Curry goes from the corner and cuts along to the baseline.
Last night against the Indiana Pacers, the Golden State Warriors had a 1 point lead with 0.6 seconds left after a Monta Ellis jumper. The Pacers obviously wanted to try and get a lob to tie the game, but the Warriors did a good job of protecting the rim:
Here, Brandon Rush makes a backcut to the rim, but Monta Ellis does a good job of standing between Rush and the rim. He is able to get in that position because he isn’t really worried about a three point shot. The Warriors also switch the Hansboro screen for Danny Granger, meaning that Granger’s cut to the rim is well defended. The Pacers can’t get anyone open and are forced to call a timeout.
This week, we are going to take a look at a heads-up play that Tyreke Evans made, leading up to his incredible buzzer beater. On the other end of the spectrum, David Lee made a boneheaded play against the Miami Heat, allowing them to hit the game-clinching three with about four minutes left.
Savvy: Tyreke Evans’ Trap
After the Kings went for the quick two when trailing by three points, Sacramento found themselves down by one point with 22.2 seconds left. Since there are under 24 seconds left, the Kings either have to force a turnover or foul to get the basketball back. Sacramento decided that they wanted to try and get a quick steal, and if they were unable to get it, they would foul. This is where Tyreke Evans made one of the smartest plays that I have seen this year.
A lot has been made of Miami’s pick and roll defense, and rightfully so since it has been suffocating teams as of late. The hard shows from Miami’s bigs really have given opponent ball handlers trouble coming off of screens, preventing them from getting to the lane or finding the roll man. Over the course of the season, the Heat have only allowed 0.86 PPP from the pick and roll according to Synergy (both Ball Handler and Roll Man categories combined). Against the Warriors yesterday, the Heat allowed 1.05 PPP. Over the course of the game, the Warriors showed other teams a way to beat the Heat’s PNR defense, and it is something other teams can easily replicate, and that is the skip pass to a three point shooter:
Down by three points, and after DeMarcus Cousins bobbled a rebound out of bounds, the Golden State Warriors found themselves in need of a three with about two seconds left and with the ball coming in on the baseline. Now, teams rarely need to draw up plays late from the baseline, but that is what Keith Smart had to do last night, and he came up with a great play call.
The play starts with all four Warriors on the court spread across the free throw line in a straight line. As the ball goes to the inbounder, Reggie Williams cuts in front of David Lee and Vlad Radmanovic.
