Hello again everyone....it's great to have basketball as part of our lives again.
The topic today is scouting, in this case our own Indiana Pacers.
This is on my mind because while the Pacers have played 3 preseason games, I have yet to be able to see any of them. Therefore, I basically have been relying on the raw data and statistics, plus the analysis given on Pacers Digest to get a basic idea of how we are playing. However, since I look at things from the viewpoint of a coach/scout, there is alot of information I'm unable to find out from these methods. It is in the minutae of basketball that my inner nerd comes out, and I'd love to know the intricate detailed analysis of the Pacers that I am missing. I am basically not interested at this point on individuals, but on how the overall scheme is being put together on both ends. I thought it might be fun for some of you if I actually posted some of the "insider details" of things scouts actually look for when analyzing a team. I'm also hoping that I can learn new things as well, as I generally think this is a great group of passionate intelligent fans that post on here. Here is a partial checklist of some things I'd be watching if I could, and that maybe those of you who see the games can give in a report following the next few games:
(In no particular order)
1. Defensively, how early is our point guard beginning his pressure on the opponents primary ballhandler? Where on the floor is this taking place in our new defensive scheme? Is it varying depending on who the ballhandler is, or whom the defender is? Can we pick them up full court and bother them?
I ask this one because much like UB I love point guard defense, and think it is a gigantic gaping hole in Tinsley's game, and in the Pacers in general. Are we still sagging alot to prevent Tinsley from being beaten? Are we playing conservatively to hide him or others?
2. Defensively to go along with the first question, are our wing defenders denying the first pass to the opponents offense, or are they allowing a catch because the are having to "sink" in to show help early against an immediate drive by the opposing point guard?
Coach Carlisle did this "sinking" more than I liked to try and protect Tinsley, and I thought it made our defense easy to play against. How has it changed, if at all?
3. Defensively, are we contesting jump shots at an "A" level, "B" level, or worse?
By definition, an "A" level contested shot is one where the defender rises up with the shooter with his hands outstretched, a "B" level contested shot is with your hands high but where the defender stays on the ground to not attempt to influence the shooter, and anything worse than that might mean a half hearted run out to an open shooter that is way too late, or to not rise up or put a hand up on a shooter you are in front of.
Is anyone exceptional at this? Is anyone terrible? What are our overall percentages of each level of jumper taken against us, not based on opponents shooting percentage, but on contested "A" and "B" shots forced?
4. How easy is it for a team to catch in the low post against us?
Do we fight for position or stay behind? Are we doubling after the catch is made, after the post player dribbles, as the ball is in the air BEFORE the post player is cathcing it, or are we not doubling at all? Does this depend on who it is?
5. How have we been trying to defend the screen/roll?
6. How easy is it for teams to reverse the ball against us? Are we keeping the ball to one side of the floor, or are teams swinging it around with ease from one side to the other?
7. Offensively, what do we think we can "hang our hat" on? Do we have a go to situation or set play that we will run when scoring is a must? If so, what is it? What should it be?
8. I know from reading that most of you think we are moving the ball faster....my question is, are we moving it quickly at the cost of not waiting on our cutters to get open? I ask this because moving the ball too soon in a motion offense (before cutters can get open) can sometimes be as much of a problem as holding it too long.....
9. Have we shown any tendencies to become either right handed or left handed? (this means tending on starting our possessions predominately on one side or the other). Anybody care to try and chart this?
10. When we defensive rebound, who is our first outlet pass going to predominately? Is it always our point guard or are we using different players to get this pass?
This is a key question if you truly are going to try and run, because if it is always one guy who gets the outlet pass, this can easily be defended by a prepared smart defensive team, and has been a major problem for many years in Indiana.
11. Who is taking the ball out of bounds?
This is a key question in the half court, because in close games this is a key question in end of game situations...do we have someone we trust?
12. When we run after a miss, is it a "controlled break" (are people running to predetermined spots?) or are we just reacting and adjusting on the fly depending on where each individual may be on the floor?
13. Are we screening well off the ball?
Are we being physical, or are we just like ships passing in the night? In the preseason, sloppy screens may still be effective, but once the season starts and teams start preparing for you, they will stop you. How good of screen setters have we been?
14. Do we get the ball reversed well? Are teams able to keep us to one side of the floor?
15. Are we consistently getting good shots? Regardless of our shooting percentage, or we getting shots we are comfortable as fans with our guys taking them? Are we getting shots that are being defended at an "A", "B", or "C" level?
16. How do our players look in the huddle? Are we tightly together and all paying attention, or are guys staring into space or otherwise not being professional, whether they are in the game or not? Are we running back to the huddle when a time out is called, or are our guys walking back? Are we spending a bunch of time griping to officials on the way back to a huddle?
17. Do we "pick scabs" often? (run the same play over and over in the same formation and same way) Do we run multiple set plays IN THE SAME ORDER alot, or are they mixed up well so far? (You'd be surprised how many coaches tend to run one set play, then run specific one right after it....it is a tendency scouts see alot).
18. Are our guys comunicating with one another well on the floor, or are they being directed alot from the bench? Who is talking to whom during free throws, coming out of the huddle, etc etc.
19. Are our point guards looking to the bench to recieve instructions or do they have the freedom to call their own plays while bringing the ball up?
20. What are we doing that a smart opponent would try and take away? How would a smart opponent attack us on either end? Can we be rattled, and if so how and who can be exploited?
21. Are our best players getting the most shots? Are we playing at our most efficient method?
22. In a normal possession after a made basket by an opponent and with no defensive pressure being applied, how quickly is our point guard getting the ball up the floor and into our offensive flow?
23. Can we be shot or pass faked easily?
24. Do we fight through screens, or do we just accept the screen and hope for help?
25. Are we fighting for loose balls, or are we just reaching for them? Do we dive or reach?
26. Who is responsible for being back defensively? Is it a particular individual, or does it depend on who is where on the floor?
27. How many are we sending to the offensive glass, and how many are retreating back defensivley?
28. Have we shown any particular in-bound plays yet from under our basket or on the side? if so what are they and who are they for?
29. Have we shown a tendency to run special plays out of timeouts or the beginning of quarters? Any habits or tendencies?
30. Are we in better shape than our opponents physically and cardio wise?
31. Is there any combination of players or group of players that seem to play better or worse together? Do we run different plays depending on who our point guard is? (think of the remarkable difference in how we played offense back in the Jackson/Best days)
32. If our opponent plays small/big, do we match up or do we try and exploit them with who we have playing? Do we DICTATE, or REACT, to our opponents strategy?
33. Who is shooting our technical free throws?
34. Who is our lead assistant if Jim O'Brien is tossed, suspended, or ill?
35. Are our assistants sitting together, or spread out on the bench? What do they all do during games? Do any of them talk to the players who aren't in the game, or maybe just came out?
36. How deep can our rotation be without having a significant drop off? Can guys play multiple positions, and defend multiple types of players?
37. Are we going to have regular rotations, or will it be based on how they are playing, the opponent, etc etc. Coach Carlisle basically was an adjustor to the situation guy I thought, where others like Jerry Sloan have more rigid plans.....what is this staff going to be like?
38. How are the players relating to one another? Is the bench happy and active during the game? Do our guys seem to get along on the floor? Are we tied together as a unit, or are we fractured into cliques? Are we just 12 individuals? Can you tell by watching anything obvious?
39. If an opposing player gets hot, who can be our stopper defensively?
40. What are the 3 absolute things our opponents can take advantage of to beat us? What are the 3 things we must do to win?
Ok, off the top of my head those are my top 40.
Scouting is an imperfect science done by humans, and while most of the time you can be right, there are times when you are just totally wrong about how best to do something. I can think of many times scouting opponents and making up my mind about a particular player who seems weak and easy to defend, only to have that same player have a career night. Also, smart people can watch a team play many times and then turn in almost diametrically opposing reports about them. That is all part of my fascination with the game of basketball.
I don't expect anyone to be able to answer all that extensive list, but if any of you can share your thoughts and opinions about any of the questions in the top 40, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
As always, the above is just my opinion....
Tbird
The topic today is scouting, in this case our own Indiana Pacers.
This is on my mind because while the Pacers have played 3 preseason games, I have yet to be able to see any of them. Therefore, I basically have been relying on the raw data and statistics, plus the analysis given on Pacers Digest to get a basic idea of how we are playing. However, since I look at things from the viewpoint of a coach/scout, there is alot of information I'm unable to find out from these methods. It is in the minutae of basketball that my inner nerd comes out, and I'd love to know the intricate detailed analysis of the Pacers that I am missing. I am basically not interested at this point on individuals, but on how the overall scheme is being put together on both ends. I thought it might be fun for some of you if I actually posted some of the "insider details" of things scouts actually look for when analyzing a team. I'm also hoping that I can learn new things as well, as I generally think this is a great group of passionate intelligent fans that post on here. Here is a partial checklist of some things I'd be watching if I could, and that maybe those of you who see the games can give in a report following the next few games:
(In no particular order)
1. Defensively, how early is our point guard beginning his pressure on the opponents primary ballhandler? Where on the floor is this taking place in our new defensive scheme? Is it varying depending on who the ballhandler is, or whom the defender is? Can we pick them up full court and bother them?
I ask this one because much like UB I love point guard defense, and think it is a gigantic gaping hole in Tinsley's game, and in the Pacers in general. Are we still sagging alot to prevent Tinsley from being beaten? Are we playing conservatively to hide him or others?
2. Defensively to go along with the first question, are our wing defenders denying the first pass to the opponents offense, or are they allowing a catch because the are having to "sink" in to show help early against an immediate drive by the opposing point guard?
Coach Carlisle did this "sinking" more than I liked to try and protect Tinsley, and I thought it made our defense easy to play against. How has it changed, if at all?
3. Defensively, are we contesting jump shots at an "A" level, "B" level, or worse?
By definition, an "A" level contested shot is one where the defender rises up with the shooter with his hands outstretched, a "B" level contested shot is with your hands high but where the defender stays on the ground to not attempt to influence the shooter, and anything worse than that might mean a half hearted run out to an open shooter that is way too late, or to not rise up or put a hand up on a shooter you are in front of.
Is anyone exceptional at this? Is anyone terrible? What are our overall percentages of each level of jumper taken against us, not based on opponents shooting percentage, but on contested "A" and "B" shots forced?
4. How easy is it for a team to catch in the low post against us?
Do we fight for position or stay behind? Are we doubling after the catch is made, after the post player dribbles, as the ball is in the air BEFORE the post player is cathcing it, or are we not doubling at all? Does this depend on who it is?
5. How have we been trying to defend the screen/roll?
6. How easy is it for teams to reverse the ball against us? Are we keeping the ball to one side of the floor, or are teams swinging it around with ease from one side to the other?
7. Offensively, what do we think we can "hang our hat" on? Do we have a go to situation or set play that we will run when scoring is a must? If so, what is it? What should it be?
8. I know from reading that most of you think we are moving the ball faster....my question is, are we moving it quickly at the cost of not waiting on our cutters to get open? I ask this because moving the ball too soon in a motion offense (before cutters can get open) can sometimes be as much of a problem as holding it too long.....
9. Have we shown any tendencies to become either right handed or left handed? (this means tending on starting our possessions predominately on one side or the other). Anybody care to try and chart this?
10. When we defensive rebound, who is our first outlet pass going to predominately? Is it always our point guard or are we using different players to get this pass?
This is a key question if you truly are going to try and run, because if it is always one guy who gets the outlet pass, this can easily be defended by a prepared smart defensive team, and has been a major problem for many years in Indiana.
11. Who is taking the ball out of bounds?
This is a key question in the half court, because in close games this is a key question in end of game situations...do we have someone we trust?
12. When we run after a miss, is it a "controlled break" (are people running to predetermined spots?) or are we just reacting and adjusting on the fly depending on where each individual may be on the floor?
13. Are we screening well off the ball?
Are we being physical, or are we just like ships passing in the night? In the preseason, sloppy screens may still be effective, but once the season starts and teams start preparing for you, they will stop you. How good of screen setters have we been?
14. Do we get the ball reversed well? Are teams able to keep us to one side of the floor?
15. Are we consistently getting good shots? Regardless of our shooting percentage, or we getting shots we are comfortable as fans with our guys taking them? Are we getting shots that are being defended at an "A", "B", or "C" level?
16. How do our players look in the huddle? Are we tightly together and all paying attention, or are guys staring into space or otherwise not being professional, whether they are in the game or not? Are we running back to the huddle when a time out is called, or are our guys walking back? Are we spending a bunch of time griping to officials on the way back to a huddle?
17. Do we "pick scabs" often? (run the same play over and over in the same formation and same way) Do we run multiple set plays IN THE SAME ORDER alot, or are they mixed up well so far? (You'd be surprised how many coaches tend to run one set play, then run specific one right after it....it is a tendency scouts see alot).
18. Are our guys comunicating with one another well on the floor, or are they being directed alot from the bench? Who is talking to whom during free throws, coming out of the huddle, etc etc.
19. Are our point guards looking to the bench to recieve instructions or do they have the freedom to call their own plays while bringing the ball up?
20. What are we doing that a smart opponent would try and take away? How would a smart opponent attack us on either end? Can we be rattled, and if so how and who can be exploited?
21. Are our best players getting the most shots? Are we playing at our most efficient method?
22. In a normal possession after a made basket by an opponent and with no defensive pressure being applied, how quickly is our point guard getting the ball up the floor and into our offensive flow?
23. Can we be shot or pass faked easily?
24. Do we fight through screens, or do we just accept the screen and hope for help?
25. Are we fighting for loose balls, or are we just reaching for them? Do we dive or reach?
26. Who is responsible for being back defensively? Is it a particular individual, or does it depend on who is where on the floor?
27. How many are we sending to the offensive glass, and how many are retreating back defensivley?
28. Have we shown any particular in-bound plays yet from under our basket or on the side? if so what are they and who are they for?
29. Have we shown a tendency to run special plays out of timeouts or the beginning of quarters? Any habits or tendencies?
30. Are we in better shape than our opponents physically and cardio wise?
31. Is there any combination of players or group of players that seem to play better or worse together? Do we run different plays depending on who our point guard is? (think of the remarkable difference in how we played offense back in the Jackson/Best days)
32. If our opponent plays small/big, do we match up or do we try and exploit them with who we have playing? Do we DICTATE, or REACT, to our opponents strategy?
33. Who is shooting our technical free throws?
34. Who is our lead assistant if Jim O'Brien is tossed, suspended, or ill?
35. Are our assistants sitting together, or spread out on the bench? What do they all do during games? Do any of them talk to the players who aren't in the game, or maybe just came out?
36. How deep can our rotation be without having a significant drop off? Can guys play multiple positions, and defend multiple types of players?
37. Are we going to have regular rotations, or will it be based on how they are playing, the opponent, etc etc. Coach Carlisle basically was an adjustor to the situation guy I thought, where others like Jerry Sloan have more rigid plans.....what is this staff going to be like?
38. How are the players relating to one another? Is the bench happy and active during the game? Do our guys seem to get along on the floor? Are we tied together as a unit, or are we fractured into cliques? Are we just 12 individuals? Can you tell by watching anything obvious?
39. If an opposing player gets hot, who can be our stopper defensively?
40. What are the 3 absolute things our opponents can take advantage of to beat us? What are the 3 things we must do to win?
Ok, off the top of my head those are my top 40.
Scouting is an imperfect science done by humans, and while most of the time you can be right, there are times when you are just totally wrong about how best to do something. I can think of many times scouting opponents and making up my mind about a particular player who seems weak and easy to defend, only to have that same player have a career night. Also, smart people can watch a team play many times and then turn in almost diametrically opposing reports about them. That is all part of my fascination with the game of basketball.
I don't expect anyone to be able to answer all that extensive list, but if any of you can share your thoughts and opinions about any of the questions in the top 40, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
As always, the above is just my opinion....
Tbird
Comment