Portland struggles without Aldridge
Fatigue factors into the Blazer’s poor offensive performance last night.
Portland Still Struggling Defending Dallas’ Pick And Roll
In their series against the Dallas Mavericks, the Portland Trailblazers got absolutely destroyed by Dallas’ pick and roll. Case in point, according to Synergy Sports Technology, Dirk Nowitzki had the highest points per possession of any roll man with at least 10 possessions. Nowitzki 1.32 points per possession when he was the roll man on screens, shooting 68.8%. Now, normally Nowitzki hurt Portland when he was popping (something he did 77% this series), but in game six, he hurt Portland by rolling to the rim after his man hedged out on him:
On this play, Jason Terry gets the basketball and Dirk Nowitzki comes over and sets a ballscreen for him. Earlier in the series (and this game even), the Blazers were switching this screen and struggling to stop it. So here, the Blazers are going to try and hedge the screen. LaMarcus Aldridge takes a big step out as Nicolas Batum (the man defending Terry) works over the screen.
Mavericks Beat The Zone With Their Movement
Before the Mavericks-Blazers series started I thought that we wouldn’t see much zone in this match-up considering the fact that these two teams play the most zone in the NBA (Dallas plays the most, Portland plays second most). My guess was that both teams have seen the zone so much in practice that it wouldn’t be a surprise to either team’s offense.
So far, that has held true as there was zero zone possessions in game 1, and just one zone possession in game two (run by Portland). With the way that the Mavericks’ ran their zone offense on that possession, you can pretty much guarantee that the Blazers won’t be running anymore zone the rest of the series:
The Mavericks don’t have a “set” zone offense, rather it is just a concept that they execute very well. They like to stick their big, in this case Tyson Chandler, at the top of the key in the middle of the zone and then just pass the ball around the perimeter and cut off of him in a wheel action. Here, Jason Kidd passes the basketball to Shawn Marion on the wing and then cuts through with Dirk replacing him at the top of the key to get the basketball.
Quick Hitter: Pick And Pop Into A Backdoor Cut
With the Dallas Mavericks leading by one point late in the 4th quarter, Dirk Nowitzki was starting to take over. The Mavericks were able to use the threat of Nowitzki getting the basketball in position to score to get Dirk an even better look.
The play starts with Jason Kidd bringing the basketball down the court along the sideline. Once Kidd gets the ball to the wing, Nowitzki sets up at the top of the key to set a ballscreen.
Round 1 Preview: Dallas vs. Portland – Recap
At the end of each day, I am just going to put a recap thread up where you can find all of the day’s posts to make it a bit easier.
Here is what we looked at for the upcoming Mavericks-Blazers series:
The playoffs start today! Predictions coming next!
Round 1 Preview: Dallas vs. Portland – Offensive Breakdown
Dallas Mavericks – The Numbers*
- Pace: 93.1 (20th)
- Offensive Efficiency: 107.6 (8th)
- True Shooting Percentage: 56.5% (4th)
- Assist Rate: 23.20 (2nd)
- Turnover Rate: 13.60 (21st)
- Offensive Rebound Rate: 24.08 (26th)
- Free Throw Rate: 28.6 (21st)
- Three Point Rate: 27.4 (3rd)
Dallas Mavericks - Strengths
Zone Offense
With the Portland Trailblazers playing zone defense the second most in the NBA (behind the Mavericks), zone offense is going to be an important aspect in this series. Over the course of the season, the Dallas Mavericks have shown that they can beat the zone just as well as they can play it. The Mavericks have scored 135 points in 123 zone possessions for a PPP of 1.098, ranking them second in the NBA. The key to the Mavericks’ zone is sharp ball and player movement around the perimeter (with a big at the high post) until eventually they are able to get an open look. The beauty of this offense is the fact there is no set “rules.” Everyone has a responsibility, but they can do a few different things.
What you have here is four players on the outside with a big at the high post. The player at the high post looks for a soft spot in the zone to sit and get the pass, but he can also screen the top of the zone (either with a ball or off ball screen). The four perimeter players basically wheel around as if they are on a string. Once a pass gets made, the passer cuts through, and the rest of the offense rotates off of that. This movement and spacing combined with quick ball movement makes it tough for the defense, and in this case Jason Terry is able to get the open jumper on the baseline.
The Clipboard Awards: March 30th – Rockets, Blazers, Raptors
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) – Jay Triano/Toronto Raptors
Coming out of a SLOB set, the Raptors get the ball into Jerryd Bayless. Bayless gets the ball into Andrea Bargnani, and it looks like the Raptors are working a two man game (in fact they ran this play to start the game). However, this is not the case as Sonny Weems cuts through the middle and Leandro Barbosa comes off of a pindown screen open behind the three point line.
The Clipboard Awards: March 27th – Spurs, Heat, Blazers
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) – Nate McMillan/Portland Trailblazers
This play by Portland is a perfect example of a quick hitter. Andre Miller brings the basketball down along the sideline and gets it to Gerald Wallace at the top of the key. Wallace then hands it off to Rudy Fernandez, and this handoff basically turns into a ballscreen with Wallace rolling to the rim. Fernandez hits the rolling Wallace for the easy finish.
Thunder Beat The Zone With A Lob
The Portland Trailblazers love switching things up on the defensive end, hoping to slow down opposing offense by confusing them, forcing them to think about what kind of defense the Blazers are playing. In fact, only one team plays zone defense more than the Blazers, and they are the Dallas Mavericks.
So when the Thunder saw the Blazers’ zone late in the first quarter, they were prepared for it. They quickly recognized the zone, got into their zone offense, and ran a nice set to get Kevin Durant a lob at the rim:
We pick up the play after Eric Maynor brings up the basketball, gets it to Kevin Durant on the wing, then cuts through the middle of the paint to the opposite wing. As this happens, James Harden steps up and receives a pass from Durant.
The Clipboard Awards: March 25th – Blazers, Nets, Grizzlies
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) – Lionel Hollins/Memphis Grizzlies
This play starts with the Memphis Grizzlies bringing the basketball down the court and once Greivis Vasquez gets into position, Darrell Arthur sets a pindown screen for O.J. Mayo. After Mayo comes off of his pinrown, Arthur comes off of a cross screen set by Marc Gasol. Arthur comes off the screen open, makes the catch, and knocks down the jumper.
