re: Can someone explain this offense to me?

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I just rewatched the 2nd half and I saw a lot more plays giving results I'd like to never see again than thinking "we're really close to being good".

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I would disagree based on what I saw. Certainly there were some wild shots. Douglas took some bad ones, even makes. Babbit was a little quick on some his shots too, but people were ready to say he's a better 3PT shooter than Anderson last year, so what is it now?

So here's the million $ question- is it personnel or design that are giving you the results you don't want? How many shots can you point out that were bad? How does that compare to previous years? I'll say this: bad shots aren't ever going to disappear from any offense.

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If Gentry's "space" is based on the Oopty Oop formation and having everybody on the perimeter, I don't like it as a primary formation

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Then you are SOL. The Pels don't have any players they can put on the block and run 4 out, 1 in stuff. Yes, many sets incorporate a Davis high ball screen. But, shite, that was a staple of Monty's offense too. Davis isn't there as a post player and more importantly as a passer out of the post. Dropping him on the block won't improve the offense IMO.

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All of the play set up is happening on the perimeter. All of the picks are being set from the college 3 line or higher.

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All is a bit egregious. Plenty of sets with bigs setting pin downs throughout the half. Again, I'm not sure what you want. More Horns? I do think it's fair to wonder about off ball action- to me, it could be better.

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AD's best skill is he's an inhuman finisher in traffic and you're keeping him away from the basket?

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Again, by design or not? For just one example, on the first play of the second half, Davis sets a high ball screen, rolls to the rim, is hit by Holiday, and is greeted as soon as he catches the ball just outside the restricted area by Asik's defender. From the short corner, Asik dives to the rim, but is cut off by a DC's defender. Cunningham, standing in the strong side corner, is literally all alone as his defender has crashed down on Asik. Davis can't find him and kicks it out to Holiday for a wild shot.

I saw much to like in terms of offense design in the 2nd half. Execution was not always there with guys standing around or taking questionable shots. But that takes time. And, obviously, better personnel will create better shots.

2 things worry me- the aforementioned off ball action and the lack of shots at the rim. Tough to say how much of that drop is due to Evans being out- he accounted for ~30% of the team's shots last year just from his own FGA, not sure how many he assisted. But it is not a great trend and it is something to keep an eye on.

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So here's the million $ question- is it personnel or design that are giving you the results you don't want?

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Indeed. Like I said, I can see Tyreke going wild in this system which might open everyone else up, but with the current roster most of what I'm seeing is an offense built to get lead guards shots while keeping AD out of position to use his complimentary skills as the roll man and following missed drives. AD 17 shots. Holiday 19 shots, Douglas 12 shots.

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How many shots can you point out that were bad?

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I'm not sure bad shot is the word as much as this offense seems geared towards setting up the ball handler which leaves your MVP candidate working hard for the points he's getting. A healthy Tyreke could be scoring at an All Star level with the spacing I see, so I don't want to complain too much, I'm just trying to understand how the franchise player fits into the offense. Despite his production it just doesn't seem like the offense uses him well.

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Dropping him on the block won't improve the offense IMO.

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I don't want him posting up, he just didn't roll to the basket enough after setting the pick. Again, the offense looks like it's geared towards getting the lead guard an open path to the basket which is helped if AD stays on the perimeter.

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I'm not sure bad shot is the word as much as this offense seems geared towards setting up the ball handler which leaves your MVP candidate working hard for the points he's getting

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That's fair. Like Crewz says, injuries make it hard to judge right now. Playing GS 2 out of 3 certainly doesn't help either.

Like you pointed out in another thread, Davis was assisted on 71% of his shots last season. He needs a distributor. There just isn't one playing a ton of minutes with him. And one of my critiques of Holiday is decision making with the ball. I think he'll get better as he gets more reps, but it's just hard coming off an injury in a new system with new guys v a dominant defense.

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I'm just trying to understand how the franchise player fits into the offense.

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Like you say, he's creating lanes/shots for others. They're trying/using his gravity in the middle of the court to draw help. I think if Holiday and Douglas or whoever are getting open looks because of Davis, the offense is working. Of course, some of those last night were just not great shots/decisions.

I also think Davis is a victim of his own success to a degree. He was on Mt Olympus last year. There is literally nowhere to go but down. He can still be dominant, but slightly less efficient this year and people might be upset. Only 9 guys have ever posted a PER of 30+ and it's only happened 19 times in the history of the league.

I still haven't seen anything that makes me think Gentry wont use him like PHX used Amare. I watched those Suns teams religiously- those teams and the Webber Kings were saviors to me during the dark days of NBA ball. Like I said in the other thread, Nash is a once a generation player that the Pels can't replicate. But they did many other things with Amare besides rely on Nash to throw impossible passes. Like Crewz said, things will change as we go along. It's hard to keep perspective in the moment, but it's still very early. I'll be happy to eat shite about this come the spring/summer if things are going poorly.

This team is trying to survive right now. I would not read into anything they are doing on either end as a sign of things to come.

I think it was telling that after giving up that many points Saturday, Gentry seemed more concerned with the offensive execution (even after scoring 120 on last year's best D). Based on what the players and coaches are saying, the entire system is a "read and react" offense, with much less set plays than Montyball (Monty called a play on basically every trip). Based on nothing but conjecture, I would think this type of system would take awhile to really start humming, as it requires players to think on the fly, instead of memorizing certain motions. It will take awhile for those habits to form, especially with most of the guys having a couple years of a set, controlled offense under Monty.

All that is basically me saying, I'm not sure that we have really seen Gentry's offense this year, or at least in the way that he envisions it. The ball is sticking way too much (Gordon has been a big culprit here, as it appears he is shooting anytime he can see the rim, though Holiday overdribbled a lot on Sat. too), and there are definitely times where you can tell the guys aren't sure where they are supposed to be. Considering the production they have had so far, despite not looking all that great in the execution department (not to mention the injuries), I'm still cautiously optimistic this team will be lighting up scoreboards by the time January rolls around.

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Despite his production it just doesn't seem like the offense uses him well.

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Watch how GS defended Davis on PnRs. They totally ignored whichever guard was running it and completely denied Davis from receiving a pass, usually with 2 bodies. That is a good tactic to keep AD from killing you and making the guard make a play at the rim with the other big coming over to help. Teams are going to be a lot more hesitant to try that strategy when it is Tyreke/Jrue/Cole running that play instead of Ish/Jrue/Toney/Nate. Frankly, Tyreke (despite some ugly drives) is a better passer than anyone on the team save Jrue, and will be a hell of a lot harder to defend coming off that pick with a head of steam if two guys are sticking to Davis. I really think the issues we are seeing from AD (and man are we spoiled by legitimately saying he is struggling right now) are due more to the lack of other credible threats on the floor, than any deficiency in the scheme. Obviously time will tell, but it's really hard to draw any concrete conclusions ab how the offense (or defense, really) will look til we get a decent sample size of games and a semi-healthy roster.

Tyreke and Jrue can run together a lot too. That would be a good duo.

I'm not going to be shocked if they do everything they can to trade Gordon by the deadline, and exchange his expiring for 2 players that expire next year.

Thanks for the breakdown. I'm sure the injuries are forcing their hand a bit, but it seems like this is something they need to practice more before bringing it back, because I don't think Davis is going to stop seeing doubles and triples anytime soon.

outstanding, zach lowe-like effort by corndeaux
well done sir