The Assists

In my opinion, assists are the toughest stat to compile when a player is going for a triple-double.  This is because it is all dependent on your teammates.  You can throw some great passes, but if your teammates don’t finish they don’t count.  However, if you teammates are stroking it, you can have your assist count rise really quickly, and that’s what happened last night.  Out of Evans’ 10 assists, only 4 of them were inside 10 feet, and the three that were at the rim were in transition:

The remaining 6 assists for Tyreke Evans lead to baskets outside 16 feet.  Some of them (including his final assist) were simple passes in the flow of the offense where his teammates caught it and hit the jumper:

The 6 assists doesn’t mean Evans was just standing on the perimeter throwing passes.  He was also attacking the basket strong, causing defenders to collapse on him, and then spotting teammates on the outside:

Watch that video again.  Evans strong drive forces 4 defenders to crowd up on him, and as that happens Evans finds Beno Udrih spotting up in the corner.

The Points

If Tyreke Evans assists were perimeter oriented, you can say his scoring was the exact opposite.  If you look at the advanced box score (from the great HoopData.com) you will notice that all of Evans’ baskets (that he made) were inside 10 feet.  He was 7-11 from that distance, including an amazing 5-7 at the rim.  While Evans’ shot is still coming along, the one thing that is for certain is his body.  Even as a rookie, Tyreke Evans is bigger than most point guards, and he knows how to use that size effectively:

He basically just bullied DeMar DeRozan there and then flexes after.

The Rebounds

Another benefit of Tyreke Evans size is that he is able to go up with the big man and pull down rebounds:

Now I know this is a simple rebound, but I want to talk about what happens after.  As he grabs the rebound, he pushes it ahead and starts a one man fast break.  Now he turns the ball over later in the play, but to be able to have a point guard grab a rebound and start a fast break without needing an outlet pass is rare.

Running The Floor

What makes Andrew Bogut so dangerous is that despite being a big guy, he is very mobile and athletic.  This means that he is always looking to run the court to give himself easy opportunities in transition.

Once the rebound gets secured in the open court, Andrew Bogut puts his head down and starts sprinting down the court.  Right down the middle.  You are taught this as a big man, but few are mobile enough to do this effectively.  Look at Erick Dampier, he crashed the offensive boards, and that instantly puts him in incorrect position to defend Bogut’s run.

As the ball gets passed to Brandon Jennings, Bogut is still running down the court, extending the gap between he and Andrew Bogut.

Brandon Jenning is able to penetrate and he hits Bogut in the paint.  All Dampier can do is foul Bogut.  The beauty of this is that Dampier is still chasing Bogut, so he has no idea where the basketball is, and that leaves him unable to defend the pass.

Ability To Put The Ball On The Floor

Bogut’s mobility also helps him in the half court.  This is because now that Andrew Bogut has presented himself as a post threat, teams tend to load up on him.

Like here, Bogut wants the ball in the post, but Dampier defends him well and pushes him outside.

Bogut makes the catch just one step inside the three point line.  Most centers are pretty much useless out there, but not Bogut.  He is able to put the ball on the floor and blow past Erick Dampier.

He then is able to finish with the lay-up.

Position Inside

So what do the Bucks do when they want to get Bogut a touch down low?  Well, they run some offense around him and then hit him quickly in the post.

When this play starts, it looks like Bogut is just going to be a screener as they look for an outside jumper.  The ball gets swung around as the Bucks run some players off Bogut’s screens.

But as the ball gets swung around back to Brandon Jennings, Bogut quickly turns and seals off Dampier.  Since Dampier is helping on the screens and not really focused on defending Bogut in the post, he allows for Bogut to get position in the lane.

Jennings hits Bogut with a pass, and he makes the catch in the mid-post.

Since he is in such good position, Bogut is able to take 1 dribble and comfortably drill a turnaround hook shot.

He basically talks about what I was going to talk about…and it’s in video.  So go over there and check it out.  He does it a lot better than I could have done (a ringing endorsement for the site huh?).

Against the Rockets, Stephen Jackson really went to work.  He scored 43 points on only 22 shots.  The key to Jackson’s efficiency last night (and for most of the year – as a matter of fact) is cutting down the three point attempts while attacking the lane.

Smart Three Point Shots

Jackson was 3-5 from three.  He was so good from deep because he was taking smart shots.  Shots that he got when he was open:

After bringing the ball up, Jackson swings it to the Bobcats big man to get the offense started.  After the post, Jackson does a nice job of floating to the open area.

As the play gets swung around to D.J. Augustine, there is a backscreen set in the lane by two Bobcats.

The backscreen action draws Jackson’s defender, Trevor Ariza, into the middle of the lane.  Stephen Jackson spots up and D.J. Augustine makes the pass.

Jackson makes the catch and steps into a wide open three pointer.  Trevor Ariza doesn’t even get his hands up here, and Jackson knocks it down.

Getting In The Lane

Jackson also did a fantastic job scoring in the paint.  Jackson was 9-12 inside of 10 feet, most of it was his willingness to attack the basket, but some of it was great play design by the Bobcats’ coaching staff.

The Bobcats run a stack play off of an inbounds here.  The play is designed to be a quick-hitter, getting the ball to Stephen Jackson in the paint for an easy bucket.  He starts at the back of the stack formation and swings around the front, uses the stack of guys as a screen.

As Jackson swings around, you can see Luis Scola trying to help.  His ability to help is limited because his man, Boris Diaw, is poping out.  Scola needs to go out on Diaw because he has proven to be a capable shooter.

As Scola steps up, the lane is now clear for a lob pass to be thrown.

Jackson makes the catch, throws a pump-fake, and then finishes the lay-up.

Getting To The Line

The third and final part to Stephen Jackson’s efficient night was the fact that he got to the foul line.  Jackson got to the line 11 times, hitting on 10 of them.  The reason he got to the line so many times was that he showed a willingness to attack the basket.

Here, the Bobcats starts the possession by getting the ball to Stephen Jackson on the wing.  He has a very good defender in Shane Battier covering him.

So the Bobcats run a screen for him on the wing.  Scola comes out to hedge, but he comes out too soft (because he wants to keep Jackson from going baseline), giving a big lane for Jackson to get through in the middle.

Jackson splits the trap, and he could have settled for a jumper right here.  He doesn’t though.

He takes another dribble and goes in for a lay-up even though Chuck Hayes is there defending.  Jackson gives up the body, draws the contact, and gets himself to the foul line.

Rajon Rondo’s Triple Double

Today we are going to look at Rondo’s triple double from Sunday afternoon.

The Points

As per usual, Rondo was able to get most of his points (and his shots in the paint).  He was 1-1 from 3 (he banked that one in), and was 1-2 on long jumpers.  This is where the Raptors’ defense failed.  You want Rondo to shoot from the outside.  He is a better shooter this year than previous years, but you would still rather him taking jumpers instead of getting in the lane for most of his shots:

Here Paul Pierce gets the ball, and as this happens, Rondo starts to sneak around the defense, cutting backdoor almost unseen.

Pierce gets a screen as Rondo continues his cut.  Paul Pierce is such a threat with the basketball that everyone on the Raptors have to focus on him.

Pierce finds Rondo down low, and this is where the Celtics want to get him the ball.

This is because Rondo is a very good finisher down low, and the more baskets he gets down there, the better he plays.

The Assists

Another way Rondo benefits from having quality teammates around him is in terms of assists.  He has quality scorers all around him.  That isn’t to take anything away from Rondo’s passing ability though:

Here, Rondo gets a kick-out and he starts to attack the basket.  Here is where the Raptors defense makes a mistake.  Rondo does a hesitation dribble, faking a shot.  If Rondo wants to shoot it from here, let him.  There is no need to challenge the shot, and when Bargnani does, it gives Rondo an opening to attack the basket.

Rondo gets Bargnani on his hip, and he gets into the lane.  This is where he creates the most problems for his opponents.  Teams need to rotate to help him out and that leaves openings for his teammates.

As Rondo rises up, Turkoglu is on the wrong side of Rasheed Wallace.  Rondo notices this…

…and he floats a nice easy pass for Wallace.  Wallace makes the catch and finishes at the basket.

The Rebounds

This is the facet of Rondo’s game that most impresses me.  He isn’t a big PG (like Mark Jackson, Baron Davis, or Jason Kidd) that you equate with getting rebounds, but somehow he is always getting a ton of them:

Here, Rondo drives to the basket, forcing Chris Bosh to help out.

As Bosh helps out, Rondo kicks it out to Rasheed Wallace, who attempts a three pointer.  Another reason that Rondo gets a lot of rebounds is that he usually isn’t the man responsible to drop back on defense.  This is because most of his scoring plays and passes have him end up in the lane, so everyone there are other Celtics responsible to get back on defense.

Because PGs aren’t really used to boxing out, there is no real technique here, and Rondo is allowed to stand untouched as the ball approaches the rim.

The ball comes off the rim and bounces right to Rondo.  A little lucky?  Sure, but if there is someone boxing him out, that rebound doesn’t go to him.