When you think of the Suns’ pick and roll during Amar’e Stoudemire’s time in Phoenix, you think of plays like the one above. Nash coming off an Amar’e screen, Amar’e rolling strong, and Nash throwing a pinpoint pass for an easy dunk. This type of play may have become embedded in fans’ minds because the Suns were so effective running it (2nd in the NBA when it came to plays labeled PNR – Roll Man with a PPP of 1.18 on 56.5% shooting).
However, it wasn’t because they ran it a ton. The Suns actually used the ball handler on the Pick and Roll far more often. The Suns ran a play labeled pick and roll by MySynergy 19.6% of the time on the offensive end (2034 possessions total), with only 34% of those PNRs getting to the roll man (the remaining 66% were labeled ball handler – meaning that the PG finished the play with a shot, foul, or turnover – where they were ranked 1st). Even though Amar’e wasn’t getting the basketball, he played a very important role, mainly because defenses had to worry about him rolling to the basket:
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).
Against Angola, Team USA scored 121 points nearly doubling up their opponent. There were a lot fast break opportunities and a lot of dunks, but that isn’t what impressed me about their performance. What did was the ball movement and patient that Team USA showed in the half-court. This is something that Team USA hasn’t been doing throughout the tournament, so it leads me to think that Team USA is finally starting to “get it” on the offensive end. That’s a good thing, considering the road to the World Championship gets much tougher from here on out. A perfect example of Team USA’s newfound offensive efficiency is this possession late in the 2nd quarter.
Watch this possession and you will see all the things that work against the zone combined into one play. You have a screen against the top of the zone, a nice drive and kick, quick passes around the perimeter (forcing the zone to rotate), and an open three point shot. 12 seconds come off the clock as Derrick Rose knocks down the three. So how is this play different than some of the stuff Team USA did earlier (and struggled)? The passing. In previous games, you would see one pass and a shot (and the offense staying on one side of the court). On this possession, you see five passes going from side to side, using the whole court. This forces the defense to rotate and opens up a ton of lanes and shooting opportunities.
Here is another solid possession from Team USA, this one coming against man to man defense:
Previous problems Team USA had was a lack of movement, with everyone waiting for the man with the basketball to make a move and do it all on their own. On the above possession, you see a lot of off the ball movement, a pick and roll, and a pump fake that sucks the defense in. The result is a wide open three pointer. Those are the kind of shots Billups can knock down.
Every team in the NBA runs the pick and roll a few times a game. This is because, when run correctly, it is a pretty hard play to stop. First we are going to look at what teams run it well, and break it down step by step.
Types Of Pick And Rolls
In the NBA, there are two different ways that the pick and roll can be run. The first is the standard pick and roll, and the second is a variation of the pick and roll called the pick and pop.
Standard Pick And Roll
The pick and roll is the standard play that everyone knows and loves. You have a big man setting the screen for your point guard. After the screen is set, the big man rolls straight to the rim, giving the guard three options. He could pass to the big man:
With three of the top ten players in the NBA, the Miami Heat might end up seeing a lot of zone defense this year. This seems logical because teams have trouble defending guys like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh when they were the lone All-Stars on their team, and now they are playing together. Few teams (if any) have three high quality individual defenders good enough to stop these guys one on one, so the zone is the next best option. So how will the 2-3 zone work against a team like the Heat next year?
Since the Heat haven’t played any games yet, I figured we could look at Team USA’s performance in the 2008 Olympics. Now I know that the two players that are going to be playing with James, Wade, and Bosh on the Heat won’t be Olympic quality, I know that the teams playing against them are better than Australia, Greece, and Argentina, and I know that the Heat’s coaching staff won’t have two Hall of Fame college coaches to help break down the zone for NBA guys. However, this is the closest we can get to seeing how a high-quality team operates against a zone defense, and what I took away from watching Team USA’s Olympic performance is that the zone will work against the Heat, but only in stretches.
Why It Will Work
When the zone worked against Team USA in the Olympics, it was because it got them to stand around and just pass the ball around the perimeter. Here, Team USA is just going through the motions on offense, making pass after pass after pass, just allowing for the Spanish zone to rotate and stay in front of their man. There are no penetrating or attacking dribbles, and that is exactly what Spain wants. They want to see the ball being passed around like this rather than having a LeBron James or a Dwyane Wade taking their man to the basket and either finishing or kicking it out to an open teammate.
One big factor in Pacer demise against a 3-man Heat team? Tyler Hansbrough. Three terrible first half shots & two huge second half travels 15 hours ago
James and Battier came over to remind Wade that Battier wide open from the corner is a better option than Anthony finish at the rim. 15 hours ago
