post play

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i think that some of asik/ajinca/others issues around the rim can be placed on our guard play

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How else were they going to get him the ball? It goes further than our guards and to our spacing. When Asik was open and could go up strong he was competent, when he had shot blockers near him or guards swiping at the ball he brought down too low people melted down. If we see improvement I think it will come from spacing, not "better" passing.

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Have him put his arm up, and throw it there

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Remember that time Cole threw a lob to Asik Wesley was pretty quick with "know your personnel".

But I was referring more to the fact that when things went bad the lane often had 3 defenders in it rather than 2 because of our poor spacing limiting the ability to make a quality pass.

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asik/ajinca/others issues around the rim

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Finishing at the rim and posting up can be different things. The Pels, like almost everyone else, have a bunch of guys that simply "can't do it" on the block. I never want to see a post entry pass to Asik. Draw and kick is different, and a bit more complicated.

Even if they did have a legit post player, the key to what Lowe/Flip are talking about is the ability to pass out of the post to those open shooters. If you show you can score, what do you do when help comes? And that help is so much more varied/complex than what was done 20 years ago. LeBron is the best post player in the league because of his size/speed and, most importantly, his ethereal vision and passing ability. He knows where everyone is at all times and can find the open man.


Also, Flip saying he is trying to get open 3s is pretty funny. It's like Monty talking about his desire to push the pace.

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Let's see...first of all, it's his opinion. Can't be right or wrong.

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If he can make a definitive statement like:

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No. You can’t throw a bounce pass in to a 7-foot guy in the post.

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Then I can make a definitive statement saying he's wrong.

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Secondly, Flip has led four teams to the Conf finals, has been an NBA coach for 20 years, and is highly regarded offensive mind, specifically regarding ball movement.

Forgive me if I give more credence to his thoughts on passing into the post than yours.

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I never said he doesn't know the game of basketball. I said he's wrong in this one particular instance. I'm sure you can find many, if not most coaches and players who don't agree that a player cannot throw a bounce pass into the post.

This really isn't truly relevent to Asik as he isn't a post up player. Asik gets garbage points, defensive breakdown points, and rebounds on offense.

Ajinca and Davis should be very strong on the offensive side of the court. Ajinca can catch and score. He showed it last season. I am interested to see how Ajinca grows this offseason on the defensive side and see if he can continue to decrease his foul rate.

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Asik should have tons of opportunities. He is a huge guy and should establish position rather easily. He has to be an option and needs some kind of go to move

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Wouldn't bet on it. Dude will 30 with a spotty back and has trouble finishing at the rim at 7 feet, 255. It'll be fine during the regular season. He's likely going to be run off the floor when teams go small in the playoffs. That's not really a problem to me.

You want him clearing out of the lane? Have him set screens for shooters. He sets an off ball screen for Gordon, Holiday, or even Anderson (5 on 4 screen is funky), what is his man going to do? If he continues to sag, he can't help and that's an open 3 for a good shooter. Have him set ball screens. If his man sags, that gives the guard a full head of steam to attack or space to pull up for an open jumper (Holiday zone).

Gentry understands spacing in a way that wasn't evident under Williams. He'll figure something out.

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That's why I'd love to see Davis at the pivot (ala Olajuwon)

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For all the shite Anderson (rightly) gets for posting too much, Davis posted up on a slightly higher % of his shots and was worse at scoring from a post up (.85 PPP v .91 PPP). They drew fouls at roughly the same rate in these possessions (Davis less than a % better).

I don't get the worry about post up offense. There's no one that is very good at it on the team (Ajinca's numbers are great (1.10 PPP), but sample size and competition make me wary of pronouncing him a post up threat). The Pels only posted up on roughly 5% of their possessions last season (27th in the league). They were pretty good at it (.89 PPP for 8th in the league) and still had a top 10 offense. Looking to increase their post up volume for that type of production doesn't make much sense to me when there are better play types they should be hunting for on a regular basis.

Two areas where they were abysmal- ISOs (2nd in the league as a % of team shots (one of 4 teams over 10% of their possessions used this way) and 17th at .83 PPP) and PnR Ball Handler (9th in the league as % and 19th at .78 PPP ).

Two underutilized areas of strength- Off Ball Screen possessions (20th in % and 2nd at 1.02 PPP) and Transition (22nd in % and 20th at 1.09 PPP). Even if they weren't very good at it, transition was still the 2nd* most efficient play type they had.

It's futile to compare the Warriors to the Pels because of the personnel differences (though it is interesting that they used twice as many off ball screen possessions last season), but it is worth pointing out that Gentry's system emphasizes transition opportunities and ball/player movement. Assuming Pels players shoot roughly the same % as last year, swapping out ISOs and ball handler possessions for some transition and off screen ones should make the Pels a better (and more entertaining) offense. Post Ups will likely have little to no bearing on the product.

All stats can be found here NBA Play Type Stats

ETA: * Possessions Off Cuts were the most at 1.22 PPP, good for 8th in the league. They were 10 in % of possessions used this way.

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conventional shots, long 2s or post offense. The math will always lean towards lay ups and semi profecient 3pt shooting. But they have to be part of the plan. Its easy points

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Easy opportunity /=/ easy success.

Long 2s and post ups are, in general, not easy points and it isn't hypothetical math. We have the data and results from many seasons of basketball.

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conventional shots, long 2s or post offense. The math will always lean towards lay ups and semi profecient 3pt shooting. But they have to be part of the plan

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What in the world is a conventional shot?


I do not mention shot selection at all. I suggest switching out some possessions from two play types that indicate stagnant offense for two play types that indicate more movement. I'd be shocked if Gentry didn't point to something similar when pitching Pels brass on the misuse of Davis.

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more transition opportunities without more pressing 

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No one presses in the NBA, yet teams have been able to create many more transition possessions than the Pelicans.

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 I'm not even sure they were dramatically different offensively from when Jackson was there. I thought the Kerr hire brought in a different defensive mentality and intensity. 

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I'm going to assume this isn't a troll because you have it completely backwards. They were a top 3 defense and outside the top 10 on offense with the same roster. Many Warriors observers complained about stagnant offense featuring too many ISOs and post ups. Jackson loved to chase the post "mismatch." Their offense was notably different this season.

Kerr had much input, obviously. But Gentry is widely known and respected as an offensive guru. He, too, played a large role in crafting their system.