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.

Past Editions: Kyrie Irving (#1) | Derrick Williams (#2) | Tristan Thompson (#4) | Jonas Valanciunas (#5) | Jan Vesely (#6)| Bismack Biyombo (#7) | Brandon Knight (#8) | Kemba Walker (#9) | Jimmer Fredette (#10) | Klay Thompson (#11) | Alec Burks (#12)

With the 13th pick, the Phoenix Suns drafted forward and twin, Markieff Morris.  For the past couple of seasons, it seemed that the Suns have employed the worst brother of a NBA tandem, but with the selection of Markieff Morris, the Suns might have finally got the better brother on their team.

Strengths

Post Play

This past season with the Kansas Jayhawks, Markieff Morris really showed that he knows how to play with his back to the basket.  34.1% of his touches on offense were post touches, and he was able to uses those possessions very efficiently.  Out of the 157 post possessions that Morris had this past season, he scored 152 points, posting a PPP of 0.968, which put him in the top 16% among all college players while shooting 50.9%.  Counting foul shots, Morris scored on 51% of his post possessions.  One of the things that makes Morris so effective in the post is that he knows how to use his body to work for position allowing him to get exactly where he wants before he makes the catch on the block:

What I like about Morris and his post game is that he is a smart player.  In the above clip, Morris wants the basketball right on the block, however his defender fronts him.  Instead of trying to get in front and making more work for himself, he simply puts his arm into his defender’s back and pins him, providing a passing lane for his teammate at the top of the key.  Once he makes the catch, he recognizes that he needs to go up quickly to avoid the help coming on the weakside.

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Trailing the Chicago Bulls by two points, the Phoenix Suns were forced to foul Kyle Korver with 13.1 seconds left.  Korver opened the door for the Suns by missing his first of two foul shots.  However, when the Suns got the basketball back down by three points, they didn’t get a three point shot off:

What makes it even worse is that the Suns, specifically Steve Nash, weren’t even looking for a three point shot.  Nash gets the basketball and crosses halfcourt with 10 seconds left.  He gets a screen from Channing Frye, forcing the Bulls to switch Joakim Noah onto him.  To me, it looks like Nash saw the mismatch and wanted to go for the quick two.  However, that two didn’t come quickly, or at all, as Nash makes his decision to penetrate with six seconds left.  Even if he scores here, there isn’t enough time to foul, get the ball back, and get a clean look.  Nash needed to look to use the mismatch to his advantage, get Noah going back on his heels, and then using that space to hit a three (something that we have seen Nash do plenty of times).

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During the first quarter of their game against the Dallas Mavericks, the Suns were able to jump out to a 26-17 lead.  Powering this lead was the Suns’ pick and roll offense, whose 10 possessions resulted in 14 of the Suns’ 26 first quarter points (good for a PPP of 1.4).  What makes the Suns’ pick and roll offense so hard to stop is that it puts pressure on the defense to rotate perfectly.  If not, it will lead to baskets.  That is exactly what happened in the first quarter of their game against the Mavericks.  The Mavericks were a bit sluggish with their rotations, and it lead to easy baskets for the Suns:

Here, the Suns run a pick and roll with Marcin Gortat setting the screen and Steve Nash coming off of it.  Gortat rolls straight to the rim, forcing Jason Kidd to sink in the paint, which he correctly does.  Nash makes the correct pass, sending it to Kidd’s man in the corner.  Despite proper rotation initially, this is where the mistake is made.  Kidd closes out on Dudley way too hard, allowing Dudley to drive by him, forcing more help and leading to an easy basket.

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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. 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) – Alvin Gentry/Phoenix Suns

As Steve Nash brings the basketball up, he hits Jared Dudley on the elbow with the pass. As that happens, Vince Carter gets a staggered pindown set for him, and he curls off of it, turning it into a cut through the lane. After Carter completes his cut, Channing Frye (who was the front man on the staggered screen) comes off of the pindown from Marcin Gortat (the second screener in the staggered).

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Down by two points, the Phoenix Suns were able to get a pretty good look for Vince Carter behind the three point line.  Carter missed, and Ron Artest grabbed the rebound and quickly got the basketball in the hands of Kobe Bryant.  Despite the shot clock and the game clock being in sync, the Suns didn’t foul right away, opting to try and get the steal.  They were unsuccessful, but before the Suns could foul Bryant he forced up a tough shot.  Luckily enough for the Lakers, he knocked it down, clinching the game for the Lakers.  Still, it was a strange decision, one that is worth looking at a little bit closer:

I have defended Kobe Bryant in the past when he has made some strange decisions regarding shot selection.  I don’t think I can here, except for the fact that he made it.  There are just so many things that can go wrong if Bryant misses this shot.  Especially considering that the Suns still had timeouts left.  If Bryant misses, the Suns now have a chance to tie/win the game, and they are coming off of a possession where they got a really good look (and they have been known to knock down game winning/tying three pointers from time to time). It isn’t like it was just a lay-up either (which you can understand taking), that’s a contested jumper with three defenders around him.  Furthermore, with the rest of the team standing around expecting Bryant to run out the clock, there is no chance for an offensive rebound.

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In the first half against the Orlando Magic, the Phoenix Suns had success running the pick and roll with Aaron Brooks as the ball handler.  In the 14 possessions where Brooks was the ball handler in the 1st half, the Suns scored 25 points, good for a PPP of 1.78.  The Suns’ success was due to a creative pick and roll strategy and the Magic’s defensive strategy when it came to defending straight ball screens.  After halftime, the Magic came out and made some key adjustments and really shut down the Suns’ pick and roll offense.  In the 7 possessions in the third quarter (Brooks didn’t play in the 4th) where Aaron Brooks ran the pick and roll, the Suns only scored 3 points, good for a PPP of 0.43.

First, we are going to look at the Suns’ PNR offense in the first half, where the Suns were running an interesting set to get in their pick and roll sets.  What they were doing was screening the man defending the big setting the ball screen:

Here, as Aaron Brooks brings the basketball down the court, Grant Hill comes over and sets an off ball screen on Dwight Howard, who is covering Robin Lopez.

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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. 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) – Doug Collins/Philadelphia 76ers

This set starts with Evan Turner bringing up the basketball as the sharp-shooting Jodie Meeks comes off of a set of staggered pindown screens.

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For this week’s Savvy/Shabby at The Basketball JonesI take a look at two team’s strategies in late game situations:

For Savvy/Shabby this week, we are going to look at final possession play-calling. Specifically, teams that faced late game situations (with the basketball, game tied/trailing by 2 or 3 points) twice this week. The Phoenix Suns were successful both times they faced the situation this week, while the Heat failed both times they faced these late game situations.

As always, head on over and check it out!

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. 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) – Flip Saunders/Washington Wizards

This play starts with John Wall bringing the basketball up along the sideline.  As that happens, Josh Howard sets a backscreen for Nick Young.

Young curls the screen at the block and sets a backscreen for Trevor Booker, who uses it to flash to the block.

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Against the New Jersey Nets, the Phoenix Suns trailed by two points with 9.0 seconds left in overtime.  On the road, coach Alvin Gentry decided to go for the win by setting up a three point play, and it was a solid play, but a mistake by Kris Humphries on top of the solid play is what really lead to the open shot for Channing Frye.

As soon as the ball goes to the trigger man, Grant Hill, Aaron Brooks dives to the corner.  As soon as Brooks clears the area, Steve Nash comes off of a screen set by Channing Frye.

As Nash continues towards the basketball, Marcin Gortat sneaks in and sets a screen for Frye, who pops out behind the three point line.

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