By s y Go To PostHow the Process Failed Jahil Okafor
He's getting a really raw deal and deserves to be moved. Would love to have him developing as our backup to eventually replace Gortat.
By s y Go To PostOf the west is as bad as it was last year, then yeah.The west was only plus 42 games over .500 vs the east sure they can top 116 like they did in 13-14
By Dark PhaZe Go To PostHe's getting a really raw deal and deserves to be moved. Would love to have him developing as our backup to eventually replace Gortat.If he could rebound and defend a bit better he'd be gone
yeah, I'm not saying the Wolves are going to be a good defensive team, just that they have more than one good defensive player.
Like you, I'm also skeptical about Dieng's value.
Like you, I'm also skeptical about Dieng's value.
I wrote up this primer for someone new to basketball on another site. If you guys have any feedback for how I can make it better while still keeping it relatively concise, that would be great.
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Overall Strategy
You want to score more points than your opponent. Duh. This is generally done by trying to get the most points-per-possession (ppp) on your offensive trips (i.e. a possession) and limit your opponent to the fewest ppp on their offensive trips. A possession starts when a team gains control of the ball and ends when they score, lose control of the ball (via turnover or violation), or the opposing team secures the rebound off a missed shot attempt.
The best stats to look at this kind of efficiency at a team level is Defensive Rating (DRtg) and Offensive Rating (ORtg). You can find those and other stats on resources like Basketball Reference and the NBA's stat site. The Net Rating (NRtg) is the difference between ORtg and Drtg. The higher this number the better the team.
Now that you know that ppp or ORtg/DRtg can be used to measure how good a team is at offense/defense, let's apply that to how it dictates team strategy. There are many types of ways to score. Dunks, layups, 3 pointers, free throws, paint shot (a shot coming from that colored rectangle between the free throw line and the basket), and mid-range (everything between the paint and the 3 point line) to name a few. Of these, the most efficient (i.e. highest ppp), on average, are dunks, free throws, layups, and 3 pointers, in that order (someone please correct me if I am wrong).
Since those are usually the most efficient shots, defenses work on denying the offense those shots and try to force offenses into the most inefficient shot: the mid-range. There are many different defensive schemes and such to try to stop this but they usually involve preventing players from being able to get into the paint while dribbling the ball (driving). The way a defender angles himself between the ball-handler and the basket/paint can help dictate which way the ball-handler drives. If he gets beat, a help defender will leave his man to cover the mistake. Look up how Pick and Roll works because it can involve a lot of the concepts used here. This appears to be a good explanation.
In general, an offense is looking to get an uncontested shot at the rim or from the 3 point line. This is usually done with a pick and roll but there are other strategies which may include concepts derived from the triangle offense, lots of off-ball screens, and more. When time is running low (shot clock or game clock), teams usually resort to running an isolation play. This play has a low ppp but also has a low turnover rate and is easy to make sure a shot goes up so it is ran to make sure a scoring opportunity is created for the offensive team and the defending team doesn't get enough time to create their own, no matter how the play ends. Some players use iso plays outside of this situation and that is bad and they should feel bad.
Side Notes:
Positions/Roles
This has been a hot-topic the last several years. Definitions and roles have changed as offensives have changed (integrated way, way, way more 3 point shot attempts). Traditionally, positions are labeled as such:
The PG is usually the shortest followed by the SG, etc. Historically, point guard is the main ball-handler and initiates the offense, the shooting guard aggressively scores, the small forward does a bit of everything, power forward is main help defender and has shooting touch out to mid-range, center plays around the basket.
That is how positions/roles have generally been for much of the NBA's history. It has changed a bit with what is being called "position-less basketball", which is a bit of a cheap way of saying everyone needs to be able to dribble, pass, and shoot at an effective level while also being able to guard players a bit smaller and a bit larger than themselves. There are lots of alternative terms used now like big, wing, swing, and more.
The position someone is listed at does not really tell you much about their offensive role these days. You can look at their listed position to see who they typically guard, though. Nikola Jokic is listed as a center because that is who he guards on defense but his team plays him like a point guard on offense.
Being able to guard people a bit bigger and a bit smaller than you is key to playing defense at the highest level. If a team fields a lineup full of players that can do that, it means they can "switch" who each player guards during a possession and not give up a matchup advantage. The Golden State Warriors are the current masters of this.
Non-Obvious Things to Look For
Don't ball-watch. Seriously. I usually have the paint as the center of my frame of reference when watching a game. It lets me see all the off-ball motions and defensive help happen before it actually happens. If you learn to watch what's going on away from the ball and are familiar enough with a team, you can tell with great confidence what is about to happen a second or two before it actually happens and predict the result with great accuracy. When I attend games, I'll stand up and start pumping my fist for a made shot before the ball leaves the passer's hands.
It takes a lot of practice. When I'm tired and watching late games, I fall back into ball-watching. Which isn't bad, mind you. It's where you see really cool one-on-one moves without needing replay. Video game, but illustrates why off-ball movement is so good.
Watching off-ball is also where you get to see the dirtiest shit happen. Elbows, knees, grabs, shoves, etc. It's where you learn why some people laugh when others call basketball a non-contact sport.
----
Overall Strategy
You want to score more points than your opponent. Duh. This is generally done by trying to get the most points-per-possession (ppp) on your offensive trips (i.e. a possession) and limit your opponent to the fewest ppp on their offensive trips. A possession starts when a team gains control of the ball and ends when they score, lose control of the ball (via turnover or violation), or the opposing team secures the rebound off a missed shot attempt.
The best stats to look at this kind of efficiency at a team level is Defensive Rating (DRtg) and Offensive Rating (ORtg). You can find those and other stats on resources like Basketball Reference and the NBA's stat site. The Net Rating (NRtg) is the difference between ORtg and Drtg. The higher this number the better the team.
Now that you know that ppp or ORtg/DRtg can be used to measure how good a team is at offense/defense, let's apply that to how it dictates team strategy. There are many types of ways to score. Dunks, layups, 3 pointers, free throws, paint shot (a shot coming from that colored rectangle between the free throw line and the basket), and mid-range (everything between the paint and the 3 point line) to name a few. Of these, the most efficient (i.e. highest ppp), on average, are dunks, free throws, layups, and 3 pointers, in that order (someone please correct me if I am wrong).
Since those are usually the most efficient shots, defenses work on denying the offense those shots and try to force offenses into the most inefficient shot: the mid-range. There are many different defensive schemes and such to try to stop this but they usually involve preventing players from being able to get into the paint while dribbling the ball (driving). The way a defender angles himself between the ball-handler and the basket/paint can help dictate which way the ball-handler drives. If he gets beat, a help defender will leave his man to cover the mistake. Look up how Pick and Roll works because it can involve a lot of the concepts used here. This appears to be a good explanation.
In general, an offense is looking to get an uncontested shot at the rim or from the 3 point line. This is usually done with a pick and roll but there are other strategies which may include concepts derived from the triangle offense, lots of off-ball screens, and more. When time is running low (shot clock or game clock), teams usually resort to running an isolation play. This play has a low ppp but also has a low turnover rate and is easy to make sure a shot goes up so it is ran to make sure a scoring opportunity is created for the offensive team and the defending team doesn't get enough time to create their own, no matter how the play ends. Some players use iso plays outside of this situation and that is bad and they should feel bad.
Side Notes:
- shots at the rim and in the paint draw free throws at the highest rate, which is another reason why the defense wants to keep the offense away from there
- transition/fast-breaks are an easy way to get open shots before defense has a chance to get in place but can be difficult to generate, especially without sacrificing defense
- post-ups are when a player is close to the basket (the small blocks on either side, aka the post). often used to draw in help defense in order to create an open look for a teammate elsewhere
- every strategy is dependent on the talent and skills of the team. some players are good enough at mid-range to make them worth while shots, some are bad enough at 3s that they shouldn't take wide-open ones, etc.
Positions/Roles
This has been a hot-topic the last several years. Definitions and roles have changed as offensives have changed (integrated way, way, way more 3 point shot attempts). Traditionally, positions are labeled as such:
- 1 : Point Guard : PG
- 2 : Shooting Guard : SG
- 3 : Small Forward : SF
- 4 : Power Forward : PF
- 5 : Center : C
The PG is usually the shortest followed by the SG, etc. Historically, point guard is the main ball-handler and initiates the offense, the shooting guard aggressively scores, the small forward does a bit of everything, power forward is main help defender and has shooting touch out to mid-range, center plays around the basket.
That is how positions/roles have generally been for much of the NBA's history. It has changed a bit with what is being called "position-less basketball", which is a bit of a cheap way of saying everyone needs to be able to dribble, pass, and shoot at an effective level while also being able to guard players a bit smaller and a bit larger than themselves. There are lots of alternative terms used now like big, wing, swing, and more.
The position someone is listed at does not really tell you much about their offensive role these days. You can look at their listed position to see who they typically guard, though. Nikola Jokic is listed as a center because that is who he guards on defense but his team plays him like a point guard on offense.
Being able to guard people a bit bigger and a bit smaller than you is key to playing defense at the highest level. If a team fields a lineup full of players that can do that, it means they can "switch" who each player guards during a possession and not give up a matchup advantage. The Golden State Warriors are the current masters of this.
Non-Obvious Things to Look For
Don't ball-watch. Seriously. I usually have the paint as the center of my frame of reference when watching a game. It lets me see all the off-ball motions and defensive help happen before it actually happens. If you learn to watch what's going on away from the ball and are familiar enough with a team, you can tell with great confidence what is about to happen a second or two before it actually happens and predict the result with great accuracy. When I attend games, I'll stand up and start pumping my fist for a made shot before the ball leaves the passer's hands.
It takes a lot of practice. When I'm tired and watching late games, I fall back into ball-watching. Which isn't bad, mind you. It's where you see really cool one-on-one moves without needing replay. Video game, but illustrates why off-ball movement is so good.
Watching off-ball is also where you get to see the dirtiest shit happen. Elbows, knees, grabs, shoves, etc. It's where you learn why some people laugh when others call basketball a non-contact sport.
By Kibner Go To PostProbably my favorite OSU alum ever. His story is something.
Jah has been such a good solider (sans losing his shit in Boston and on bridges...lol) that it almost makes up for his god awful defense.
By s y Go To Post
Can't keep getting away with it.
By reilo Go To PostAhh, this is what you were talking about. Shame, nice d league pickup. Looked like a really solid roleplay. Hope this doesnt fuck his money up too much.
Heat what?
"Boston, I'm driving in and (thinking), 'I'm really playing in a real, live sports city?'" Irving said.
"You would go to Cleveland, and it would be at nighttime, and things would be going on, but you just see a vast difference."
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/bostons-kyrie-irving-excited-to-now-be-playing-in-a-real-live-sports-city/
Phil Gonna Triangle.
"I heard some horror stories about Phil in presentation situations with players – unprepared, just disorganized. And sometimes, he’d have Steve Mills in there, who'd try to re-direct him. But I know of a couple players who walked out of meetings in a couple different free-agent scenarios and, 'Wow, that was Phil Jackson? That's not how I imagined he'd be.'"
By Dark PhaZe Go To Posthttps://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/bostons-kyrie-irving-excited-to-now-be-playing-in-a-real-live-sports-city/I really don't get what Kyrie is doing. Hate your teammates all you want, but why shit on the fans that showed you so much love?
By giririsss Go To PostPhil Gonna Triangle.Fake News
By pilonv1 Go To PostSurprised no one has posted the Draymond GQ commentsyep. dray can't keep his mouth shut for 3 months, lol
"They didn't stand a fucking chance," he says of the Cavs, who lost in five games. "It pissed me off we didn't sweep them, though."
On a roll now, he remembers the Warriors' lone playoff loss, in Game 4 of the Finals, when the Cavs sank twenty-four three-pointers, an NBA Finals record.
"That'd never been done!" Green exclaims. "They don't come out and hit twenty-four threes and they're swept. And that's the second best team in the world. It's pretty fucking sick to see how everybody is just in a fucking panic about what to do. You sit back and think, like, these motherfuckers, they know. That's the fun part about it: They know they don't stand a chance."
You’ve always had something to push back against. But now you’re at the top. What’s driving you?
“Everybody places you on this pedestal just to see you fall, or stomp on you. I've been through that before, with coming up from the 35th pick, to where I had come in 2016. And then everybody just stomped on me. But it taught me something that I'll never forget. I've seen so many people placed on this pedestal just to be stomped on: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Mike. Yeah, everybody's saying you're the best thing ever and you're expected to be great. But you're only expected to be great, so you can fall short of that expectation and everybody got something to talk about.
“That's motivation for me. Everybody wants to anoint us as the greatest team ever, or whatever. The Warriors are gonna win the next 5 championships. The fuck outta here. It's so hard to win a championship. And if you win three in a row, and everybody said you were going to win the next five, they're gonna shit on you.
“Because if everybody places you on the top, you only got one place to go. And that's down.”
https://www.gq.com/story/draymond-green-warriors-would-like-a-word/amp
By DominicanPower Go To PostWhen has Mike ever been stomped on?Number 45 MJ
I may read that when I have time at home, but those comments don't seem very ... controversial to me.
Like everyone knew that game was a weird statistical fluke that couldn't keep up and we do love to tear down stars after we've built them up only to enjoy the recovery once they hit bottom
By blackace Go To PostHe needs to be talking about never blowing a 3-1 lead againYea and that's where the Cavs can go out and make cookies and shit. Let's not pretend the league isn't stacked with All-Time Petty personas.
By blackace Go To PostHe needs to be talking about never blowing a 3-1 lead again
What's to talk about? They got Durant and the Cavs did jack and shit to better themselves.
By Fenderputty Go To PostWhat's to talk about? They got Durant and the Cavs did jack and shit to better themselves.what the fuck could the cavs do to counter kevin durant? A 73 win team added a MVP player.
By blackace Go To PostHe needs to be talking about never blowing a 3-1 lead again
Not his fault he got snitched out of the game
By pilonv1 Go To PostNot his fault he got snitched out of the gamewas it his fault he couldn't stop kicking people in the nuts?
By reilo Go To PostYea and that's where the Cavs can go out and make cookies and shit. Let's not pretend the league isn't stacked with All-Time Petty personas.Petty and dirty is a horrible combo tho
By s y Go To Postwhat the fuck could the cavs do to counter kevin durant? A 73 win team added a MVP player.
Nothing ... though that's not the point. Why talk about not blowing 3-1 leads when you don't gotta talk about blowing 3-1 leads. Their last team didn't blow anything up but a competitive finals to watch.
By Fenderputty Go To PostNothing … though that's not the point. Why talk about not blowing 3-1 leads when you don't gotta talk about blowing 3-1 leads. Their last team didn't blow anything up but a competitive finals to watch.They've one 2 out of 3.
Frankly, Dray should be out there sending more dick pics.
By reilo Go To PostYea and that's where the Cavs can go out and make cookies and shit. Let's not pretend the league isn't stacked with All-Time Petty personas.
Bron and YNB are the pettiest divas in the league.
By shun Go To PostBron and YNB are the pettiest divas in the league.
KD is a bitch and is weak, but he isn't as petty as the others.
dray is really petty tho approaching those two
dray is really petty tho approaching those two
By shun Go To PostKD is a bitch and is weak, but he isn't as petty as the others.<3
dray is really petty tho approaching those two
By shun Go To PostKD is a bitch and is weak, but he isn't as petty as the others.Dray is a dirty player... Russ and Bron aren't...
dray is really petty tho approaching those two
By reilo Go To PostYea and that's where the Cavs can go out and make cookies and shit. Let's not pretend the league isn't stacked with All-Time Petty personas.
Yeah but Dray is fucking stupid. Like he's the type of dude who forgets the WWE is fake and gets mad when his favorite wrestler loses........
So when he talks shit like this you got to just look at him and wonder did he forget the blown 3-1 lead. Which makes him saying this even more annoying cause you got to then wonder about the level of intelligence he put into it. Is it mind games or him being mindless?
By blackace Go To PostDray is a dirty player… Russ and Bron aren't…
Well............ I mean Bron isn't kick them in the nuts dirty
By Zeus Ex Machina Go To PostWell………… I mean Bron isn't kick them in the nuts dirty
flopping and shit isn't dirty. It's a bit lame but it isn't ending careers or your abilty to make babies.
Dray is going to be mentioned with Bill and Bruce (all champions btw) when dirtiest players ever come up
By Zeus Ex Machina Go To PostYeah but Dray is fucking stupid. Like he's the type of dude who forgets the WWE is fake and gets mad when his favorite wrestler loses…
I love how perfectly this encapsulates its own discrete level of dumb.
By pilonv1 Go To PostEveryone of you would kill to have Draymond on your team and you'd love him if he was.He would be a better SF than any on the Pels roster.
By pilonv1 Go To PostEveryone of you would kill to have Draymond on your team and you'd love him if he was.Yes.