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Hello everyone, it is good to be back online with you. I've made a conscious decision to be online less these past few months, but while I'm not posting I have been watching every game we play and reading this board constantly...through the good times and the bad.
The Pacers through 40 games I felt were the best Pacers team in franchise history, and they were accomplishing greatness at that time with a spirit and togetherness that transcended how good they actually were. No team was as committed, no team was as tied together, no team had the shared toughness that only sadness and failure can bring, namely losing a Game 7 in the cauldron of the Eastern Conference Finals. This team was transcending its own numbers and talent, playing truly above its head through the camaraderie and focus of a group of good guys playing with one heartbeat.
But even then, we were doing it with a mediocre offense and a world class defense. The defense has simply regressed to the mean somewhat, along with the slippage of effort and togetherness and sense of common purpose that we all can see but can't quite identify.
This post will not be about defense today, or chemistry, or trades, or draft people, or any big picture items. This post is simply going to be about ways we can improve our own pathetic offensive output, which is among the worst in the league right now. No team wins a championship being incompetent on one side of the floor, and our offense has become simply that....incompetent. The blame game can be played by media types, by fans, or sadly in our case by the players themselves......but the coaches have no time for that, they have to come up with solutions for the here and the now. So today, I am putting back on my coaching hat and trying to come up with practical solutions to help turn this thing around in time for this season to fulfill the hopes and dreams that so many of us long term fans still have for us.
As always, I look forward to ideas and suggestions you all will bring to the table as well, and perhaps my friends meeting tonight in Danville can take heart in some of the things that are about to follow.
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SUGGESTION 1: Change the geometry/spacing of the floor by moving our post players off the block and in the "back pocket".
We already have begun to manuever into doing some of this last night in Toronto, which was interesting because the Raptors also do this perhaps better than any team in the league now that George Karl isn't coaching. Miami is another team who does this with their post guys extremely well.
What I mean by this is we need to put Hibbert, Mahimni, and sometimes West into the area BEHIND the block/behind the basket with their heels almost touching the baseline area. This is substantially better than Hibbert/Mahimni/West trying to blast into the lane and post up, thereby getting in our drivers way. Anytime the ball is above the foul line extended, particularly in the center of the floor, our bigs need to position themselves with their backs to the baseline so they can see the floor. If they then want to change sides of the lane, they need to come in at a loop going out of bounds (or close to out of bounds) and coming in the other side.
This would help for a variety of reasons. One, it would give a clearer path to drive for George and Stephenson. We all get upset when Lance or Paul hold on to the ball in the middle of the floor I know.....but they are stymied often by not knowing exactly what our post guys are going to do. Hibbert especially will sometimes try and post up right in the basket area as Paul or Lance or driving, bringing help defense in their way and eliminating any spacing that we might have, and essentially eliminating any chance for a drive/dish/dunk. Even when our drivers are able to drive and dish to Hibbert, he is in traffic now and in awkward positions....moving him 100% to the area behind the rim would solve that, and eliminate some of the indecisiveness our perimeter guys have.
Secondly, by having ALL of our post guys do that, it could potentially help our second unit guys, because they would now mesh better with our starters and give us a much more unified and consistent approach. Right now, our offense is PERSONNEL drive, instead of SYSTEM driven, which leads to inconsistency and indecisiveness, and can contribute to chemsitry issues, as each player reads a given situation in real time a different way.
Someone smarter than me can try and embed some video from last nights game to show this small adjustment. Early in the game, David West manuevered himself into the "back pocket" area with his butt to the baseline. He recieved a pass there, which caused the defense to have to all turn and look at him. West (now being able to see the entire floor from this slightly different positioning), immediately found Lance for a corner 3 on his same side, which Lance made.
You can also see Toronto do that to us as well. We got beat off the dribble last night, but what was different about last night's game was that Toronto positions its Center very well, in this "back pocket" area. That made Hibbert/Mahimni have to to help "up" instead of "over", and created space for Jonas V to catch, step, and finish.
The footwork to be able to catch the ball in the back pocket and be able to finish is something that fundamental coaches and big man gurus are all working on today. Jonas was able to make that one step footwork move work for himself repeatedly, while in the exact same scenario David West missed a point blank shot (right at the end of the first half I think) because he doesn't quite have the footwork down. For us, Ian Mahimni is already pretty good at this technique, while Roy at this point hasn't really put himself in that exact floor positioning yet. The coaches need to put Hibbert there in the back pocket, and Roy needs to buy in and do it 100% of the time....no more "duck ins" for Hibbert unless it is a designed set play.
I am hoping that by putting Hibbert in the back pocket area instead of the block, that he will get a few more offensive rebounds because he will be coming from "underneath" the rim area instead of being pushed out away from it. And now hopefully when he catches a drive/dish pass, he will now be able to use the glass at a better angle or be able to finish it with a 1 step dunk instead of some awkward short shot off balance.
Lastly, the other reason to do this is to help increase Paul George's percentage at the rim or inside the restrcted area. He routinely misses more than half his attempts from inside 4 feet, did you know that? Creating more space and less indecision for him I feel is incredibly important for us to fix that stat. The single best way for us to increase our scoring output is for Hibbert and George to increase their effeciency from inside 5 feet away by by more than 20%. Both are among the leagues worst at their positions from right at the rim, and no championship offense can win that way. The back pocket positioning of our bigs I feel is an easy way to help that adjustment wise, and I do believe our coaches will make that move, but Hibbert has to listen to the coaches and to fully "buy in". I don't know whether he will do that or not, but I am hopeful.
SUGGESTION 2: IMPLEMENT A "CONTINUITY" TYPE OF OFFENSE TO RUN OCCASIONALLY TO GET OUR PLAYERS TO MOVE BETTER AND TO HELP OUR 2ND UNIT
ALmost no NBA team does this, but I think it would be an excellent move for us to do occasionally in spurts, ESPECIALLY WITH A 2ND UNIT LINEUP IN THE GAME. Larry Brown used to do this, as did Bob Hill, Doug Moe and others. Something that is easy, free flowing, equal opportunity, and generates movement of the ball and bodies. It also has the added benefit of being a fun way to play. This would keep us from having to "think" as much with a second unit guys on the floor. Coach Brown used to run "flex" type of stuff with some of his teams to get them to move and share the ball, and I think the version of "flex" that contains only the baseline backscreen but not the backscreen would make alot of sense for us. Ed Schilling, a former assistant of John Calipari, and now the lead assistant for Steve Alford at UCLA, ran this version at the high school level at Park Tudor if you'd like to search for video of it.
Our bench weakness at this point has to be blamed somewhat on Frank Vogel, who tends to be very much a "set play" guy on offense, trying to find the right mismatch. This works for our starters well who have really good players and size advantages all over the floor sometimes. But our bench units possess no mismatches, so their possessions are awkward and ugly to watch. Having some sort of continuity patterned free flowing offense would make sense I think for those times when we bog down and start letting the ball stick.
Long term going toward next season, I strongly think Indiana needs to rethink the entire way it plays halfcourt offense.....but that will be a long post for another day, likely in the summer after the season ends how it ends.
SUGGESTION 3: WE NEED A SPECIAL PACKAGE OF QUICK HITTERS WHERE HIBBERT IS THE PRIMARY OPTION, AND ANOTHER WHERE LANCE STEPHENSON IS THE PRIMARY OPTION
Hibbert has went from a guy who wanted to play his role and be a rim protector, to a guy who seems to really deeply care about post touches and shots and point. That isn't all that bad, and I don't want to portray it to be......it is all part of the growth process and maturity process that players go through. Particularly well spoken, smart, intelligent guys with talent usually go through wanting to expand their games and success and roles. It happens in business, in schools, and in coaches quite frankly. It is natural, and it is something to work through as a team and a fan base and for Roy Hibbert himself.....but it doesn't mean he is a bad guy or anything.
Lance is going through this as well. He doesnt just want to score, he also wants to be on the highlights, he wants "respect", he wants credit, and he wants to be paid. In and of itself, this isn't bad.....it just needs to be managed.
So how do you manage this as a coach? One smart way is to create a series of packages that are designed simply for them. You maybe have 3 or 4 plays for Hibbert, and maybe 6 or 7 for Stephenson. You have to feed the guys with the bigger egos in the NBA, that is simply a fact. West as a wily veteran and George as our resident best player owe it to these guys to sacrifice themselves a little so these guys can grow. And the coaches have to help that growth process by helping them succeed.
When you run no specials for Hibbert, he gets unhappy and disengaged, and his body language brings the teams collective mojo to its knees. But when Roy is involved and engaged, the entire team is better and the spirit is there for us. I wish in some ways Hibbert didn't care if he scored or got touches, but he does, and he isn't necessarily wrong to want to grow his role and be more important....it is a normal human condition.
So, I'd run some stuff for Hibbert, and I'd involve him in the process to appeal to his high basketball IQ on what that should be and where he wants the ball, etc. This isn't new school thinking either......the old Celtics did this with Robert Parish, and a million other teams with big guys have to find ways to get them involved.
This way, on the 10 or so times a game you call one of Roy's "personal" specials, he feels the love and respect from the coaches, and that way he doesnt feel like he has to force anything in the other 80 or so possessions of the game.
In Lance's case, I'd create plays for him as the primary option, but not necessarily to score, but to create chances for others. I'd use him like a "joker", moving him all over the floor, trying to ISO him with the ball in the slot area and a shooter in the deep corner and Roy in the back pocket, so he can drive and make decisions.
Stephenson is really good people. Yes, he is a wild card and yes he makes big time mistakes, we all know that. But we can't win without him and we all know that. The trick is to make that enthusiasm and joy he plays with help us instead of drive us down roads we don't want to go. All championship teams have to play with an "edge"...he is potentially that guy.
SUGGESTION 4: WE NEED TO USE EVAN TURNER IS BALLSCREEN SITUATIONS WITH A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT PLAYERS AND ESPECIALLY DIFFERENT ANGLES
I know everyone is down on ET right now, and I get it. He comes over to play in the trade, and all of a sudden we are a .500 team. But I don't buy that he is a bad guy or a bad player, I just feel that our coaching staff has done a remarkably bad job in using him well offensively and indoctrinating him into our collective group.
Turner is a ballhandler/faciliatator at heart with a mid range type of game. We need that type of guy on our team when we play certain matchups that pressure you, like Miami. If we are fortunate enough to play the Heat, Turner will need to play big for us.
The way we are using him now is making him look worse than he is. The post guys are in his way, and he needs clearer space to maneuver at the 2nd level of the defense. (go back to suggestion #1). But where he really can excel for us, better than anyone else we have maybe, is in ballscreen situations where he is the ballhandler.
I want to see us do something besides just run the same plays we've always run for people, and just try and substitute him into them. We need tweak things for his strengths and weaknesses. Since he doesn't have deep NBA range, setting ballscreens for him 25 feet away from the goal make no sense. We have to be smarter than that.
I think designing ballscreens for him around the "elbow" or "slot" areas make more logical use of his talents. I also think setting "staggered" ballscreens make sense for him as well, because he reads the screen and defenders so well. We also need to post him up a little bit, just to make teams guard him in different areas of the floor. And I also will love watching him play with CJ Watson, because I think Turner can play some point guard offensively which will let Watson play off the ball some.
Basically, we need Turner, and our coaches need to use him better. Offensively, he can play well if we play to his strengths better. Ballscreens for him set at near the elbows with Turner coming at a 45 degree angle right in line to the rim should be hard to guard for people, but we keep putting him in positions with the ball where he is bound to look bad.
SUGGESTION 5: USE LANCE AND PAUL AS A SCREENER AWAY FROM THE BALL
You want to improve chemistry with a team? Have your best players be screeners, even for each other. Lance especially is such a strong guy that he should be laying the wood to people in screening actions away from the ball, freeing up people. Screening the screener actions, where Lance screens for Hibbert and then gets a screen from someone else, aren't as big a part of our attack as they should be.
SUGGESTION 6: BENCH SCOLA AND PLAY LAVOY ALLEN IN HIS MINUTES TO INCREASE OUR OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING
We need Scola in the playoffs to make jump shots maybe, or maybe not. Right now, he is playing as if he has a giant pitchfork sticking out his back, and his legs look like rubber. He is out of gas.
I like the idea of playing Allen back up 4 minutes. He is a bruiser, a guy who plays hard, knows his role, and is a hell of a screener. You want to make the game easier to play for your best players? Give them 18 minutes a game from a guy who has 6 fouls to give, who will be a great screen setter, and who will go to the offensive glass harder than anyone we have. We need to get back to our supposed identity of "smashmouth" basketball. Allen can do that.
SUGGESTION 7: RUN THE FLOOR A BIT MORE TO GET SOME EASIER SHOTS, AND INSTALL A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT SECONDARY BREAK
I know it is hard to tell, but we actually have tried to run one or two of the Spurs secondary break patterns all season. Earlier, we did it more often, but as the season has gone on we have gotten away from doing it, and even when we DO run it, we do it halfheartedly. Our players simply don't seem to have bought into that and they seem resistant. And again, it appears to me that we are only designed to even attempt it when our starters are in together, when we have even one sub in the game we don't appear to have that in the bag.
We need to get smarter as a team in running what makes sense to our players, and our players have got to buy in to whatever we are doing, and it has to be roster wide not just with the 5 starters. I don't even think it matters alot WHAT we run, but we need to commit to it and freaking do it.
We have a weird team admittedly to run secondary break actions, because we lack a true point guard to handle the ball, and we are kind of slow in transition. The one guy we trust to push the ball doesn't like to, and the one guy who wants to push it isn't overly trustworthy and reliable. It is a tough thing to try and design. Plus, we are at the end of the year with not alot of practice time to get something else in and perfect it. So, here is what I would do:
1. I'd run it only on long rebounds, 3 point attempts by the opponent, or on missed/made free throws.
2. I'd be non traditional and have Stephenson or George be the "rim" runner. (whoever was ahead of the pack)
3. Hill and George/Stephenson (whoever wasn't the rim runner) would be stationed on the right side, as I'd always run my early to the right.
4. Hill would pass ahead after 1 or 2 maximum dribbles to George. Hill would then cut a shallow path through the right elbow area headed to the left deep corner.
5. Hibbert and West would run a "double trailer reversal", with one of them coming up the right slot and the other coming up the left.
6. We would reverse the ball all the way around back to Hill, who would come up from the corner and get the ball on the left wing someplace.
7. Lance backscreens for Paul, then Roy and David set a double staggered down screen for Lance......then we play out of that with a myriad of options.
SUGGESTION 8: EMPHASIZE THE PROCESS, NOT THE RESULT.....DO THE RIGHT THINGS
This is where the pep talk part comes, not just to the players themselves, but to you reading this at home.
I don't want to sound to "zen" like here, but this is really how you have to think. You have to make sure the processes are sound, and if they are then the results will be a by product of doing the right thing.
What are the "right things" to do on offense that we don't do enough right now? Here is a partial list:
1.SPRINT TO YOUR SCREENS, not jog to them or walk to them. David West is horrible at this, but really our entire team is. Nothing shuts things down like a loss of timing and rhythm in your flow. We need to sprint, not walk or trot, to the defender every time we want to screen somebody. This way guys with the ball aren't waiting on a screen to happen and forced to hold the ball too long....and big guys, if you are frustrated about something, then take it out on the opponent and screen the hell out of them instead of pouting.
2. POINT TO THE GUY WHO MAKES A GREAT PASS OR GREAT SCREEN FOR YOU. No need to shimmy, talk to the opponent, or play to the crowd yet....point to and thank your teammate first. Then you can do your gyrations or whatever if you absolutely must.
3. CHEER ON YOUR TEAMMATES ON THE BENCH, INSTEAD OF POUTING, POSING, OR *****ING. Even if you have to fake it, stand up and clap and encourage your teammates. Playing with passion is easy, but can you be a passionate teammate? Great teams have great teammates, not just great players. You need guys who want to be both simultaneously to win as much as you can.
4. PRAISE YOUR TEAMMATES, COACHES, AND FANS IN PUBLIC AND WITH THE MEDIA. This isn't all about you, this is about the collective group. Praise your teammates both with the microphones off, and when the camera lights or on.
5. QUIT TALKING TO THE OFFICIALS. It is a distraction you don't need as players, and it also is pointless and makes you unlikeable. The coaches will have your back if you let them. Trust.
6. BE HUMBLE, BUT BE HUNGRY. It's ok to want more.....more attention, more glory, more credit, more respect, more touches, whatever. But remember that being humble is what got you here. Being humble means you are willing to sacrifice for the betterment of others, and that credit is internal, not what others give you.
7. LIVE IN THE MOMENT. Enjoy this team and each other......don't worry about next year, next contracts, the next draft, or even the next game. Live possession by possession, play by play.
8. RESPECT EVERYONE, BUT FEAR NO ONE. We can't overlook anyone, because we aren't good enough to, plus it is disrespectful to the game of basketball to do so. But together, banded together for common cause and glory with belief in one another and ourselves, if we play the right way with the right values then we can do this.
Players, if for some reason you ever read this, please take those things to heart.
And for us fans:
I still believe in this team, in these players, in this organization, and in what our team when it is thinking correctly can stand for. I like our team I like our coaches, and I wouldn't trade places with any team in this league. I wouldn't want to be with anyone else. Where else would you want to be than right here, right now? Supporting a team that is going through this process, this mountain climb to a championship, is a rewarding experience than only we as fans who have been here since the beginning can appreciate. We are in a valley right now, but it sometimes takes being in the darkness of the valley to be able to appreciate how majestic the highest mountains can be.
We've waited almost a year for these playoffs to begin, and we are almost here. Don't lose faith now. Believe. The power of positive thinking can achieve so much.....and our team needs us now more than ever. They've lost a bit of swagger for sure, but we've lost ours as well. Do your part in bringing it back by staying positive and looking ahead, not behind. We have to get a little more mentally tough as fans as well. One bad month and guys are ready to abandon ship, dump guys, fire people, etc. We know better.
We know that our team is built for playoff basketball. We know that we have a great coach with guys who are playoff proven and who are high character guys. We might have even overachieved a bit all in all for this regular season, but the real thing we were made for starts in a couple of weeks. Time to get on the train, because it is about to leave the station. Let's try and enjoy the ride together.
As always, the above was all just my opinion.
Tbird
The Pacers through 40 games I felt were the best Pacers team in franchise history, and they were accomplishing greatness at that time with a spirit and togetherness that transcended how good they actually were. No team was as committed, no team was as tied together, no team had the shared toughness that only sadness and failure can bring, namely losing a Game 7 in the cauldron of the Eastern Conference Finals. This team was transcending its own numbers and talent, playing truly above its head through the camaraderie and focus of a group of good guys playing with one heartbeat.
But even then, we were doing it with a mediocre offense and a world class defense. The defense has simply regressed to the mean somewhat, along with the slippage of effort and togetherness and sense of common purpose that we all can see but can't quite identify.
This post will not be about defense today, or chemistry, or trades, or draft people, or any big picture items. This post is simply going to be about ways we can improve our own pathetic offensive output, which is among the worst in the league right now. No team wins a championship being incompetent on one side of the floor, and our offense has become simply that....incompetent. The blame game can be played by media types, by fans, or sadly in our case by the players themselves......but the coaches have no time for that, they have to come up with solutions for the here and the now. So today, I am putting back on my coaching hat and trying to come up with practical solutions to help turn this thing around in time for this season to fulfill the hopes and dreams that so many of us long term fans still have for us.
As always, I look forward to ideas and suggestions you all will bring to the table as well, and perhaps my friends meeting tonight in Danville can take heart in some of the things that are about to follow.
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SUGGESTION 1: Change the geometry/spacing of the floor by moving our post players off the block and in the "back pocket".
We already have begun to manuever into doing some of this last night in Toronto, which was interesting because the Raptors also do this perhaps better than any team in the league now that George Karl isn't coaching. Miami is another team who does this with their post guys extremely well.
What I mean by this is we need to put Hibbert, Mahimni, and sometimes West into the area BEHIND the block/behind the basket with their heels almost touching the baseline area. This is substantially better than Hibbert/Mahimni/West trying to blast into the lane and post up, thereby getting in our drivers way. Anytime the ball is above the foul line extended, particularly in the center of the floor, our bigs need to position themselves with their backs to the baseline so they can see the floor. If they then want to change sides of the lane, they need to come in at a loop going out of bounds (or close to out of bounds) and coming in the other side.
This would help for a variety of reasons. One, it would give a clearer path to drive for George and Stephenson. We all get upset when Lance or Paul hold on to the ball in the middle of the floor I know.....but they are stymied often by not knowing exactly what our post guys are going to do. Hibbert especially will sometimes try and post up right in the basket area as Paul or Lance or driving, bringing help defense in their way and eliminating any spacing that we might have, and essentially eliminating any chance for a drive/dish/dunk. Even when our drivers are able to drive and dish to Hibbert, he is in traffic now and in awkward positions....moving him 100% to the area behind the rim would solve that, and eliminate some of the indecisiveness our perimeter guys have.
Secondly, by having ALL of our post guys do that, it could potentially help our second unit guys, because they would now mesh better with our starters and give us a much more unified and consistent approach. Right now, our offense is PERSONNEL drive, instead of SYSTEM driven, which leads to inconsistency and indecisiveness, and can contribute to chemsitry issues, as each player reads a given situation in real time a different way.
Someone smarter than me can try and embed some video from last nights game to show this small adjustment. Early in the game, David West manuevered himself into the "back pocket" area with his butt to the baseline. He recieved a pass there, which caused the defense to have to all turn and look at him. West (now being able to see the entire floor from this slightly different positioning), immediately found Lance for a corner 3 on his same side, which Lance made.
You can also see Toronto do that to us as well. We got beat off the dribble last night, but what was different about last night's game was that Toronto positions its Center very well, in this "back pocket" area. That made Hibbert/Mahimni have to to help "up" instead of "over", and created space for Jonas V to catch, step, and finish.
The footwork to be able to catch the ball in the back pocket and be able to finish is something that fundamental coaches and big man gurus are all working on today. Jonas was able to make that one step footwork move work for himself repeatedly, while in the exact same scenario David West missed a point blank shot (right at the end of the first half I think) because he doesn't quite have the footwork down. For us, Ian Mahimni is already pretty good at this technique, while Roy at this point hasn't really put himself in that exact floor positioning yet. The coaches need to put Hibbert there in the back pocket, and Roy needs to buy in and do it 100% of the time....no more "duck ins" for Hibbert unless it is a designed set play.
I am hoping that by putting Hibbert in the back pocket area instead of the block, that he will get a few more offensive rebounds because he will be coming from "underneath" the rim area instead of being pushed out away from it. And now hopefully when he catches a drive/dish pass, he will now be able to use the glass at a better angle or be able to finish it with a 1 step dunk instead of some awkward short shot off balance.
Lastly, the other reason to do this is to help increase Paul George's percentage at the rim or inside the restrcted area. He routinely misses more than half his attempts from inside 4 feet, did you know that? Creating more space and less indecision for him I feel is incredibly important for us to fix that stat. The single best way for us to increase our scoring output is for Hibbert and George to increase their effeciency from inside 5 feet away by by more than 20%. Both are among the leagues worst at their positions from right at the rim, and no championship offense can win that way. The back pocket positioning of our bigs I feel is an easy way to help that adjustment wise, and I do believe our coaches will make that move, but Hibbert has to listen to the coaches and to fully "buy in". I don't know whether he will do that or not, but I am hopeful.
SUGGESTION 2: IMPLEMENT A "CONTINUITY" TYPE OF OFFENSE TO RUN OCCASIONALLY TO GET OUR PLAYERS TO MOVE BETTER AND TO HELP OUR 2ND UNIT
ALmost no NBA team does this, but I think it would be an excellent move for us to do occasionally in spurts, ESPECIALLY WITH A 2ND UNIT LINEUP IN THE GAME. Larry Brown used to do this, as did Bob Hill, Doug Moe and others. Something that is easy, free flowing, equal opportunity, and generates movement of the ball and bodies. It also has the added benefit of being a fun way to play. This would keep us from having to "think" as much with a second unit guys on the floor. Coach Brown used to run "flex" type of stuff with some of his teams to get them to move and share the ball, and I think the version of "flex" that contains only the baseline backscreen but not the backscreen would make alot of sense for us. Ed Schilling, a former assistant of John Calipari, and now the lead assistant for Steve Alford at UCLA, ran this version at the high school level at Park Tudor if you'd like to search for video of it.
Our bench weakness at this point has to be blamed somewhat on Frank Vogel, who tends to be very much a "set play" guy on offense, trying to find the right mismatch. This works for our starters well who have really good players and size advantages all over the floor sometimes. But our bench units possess no mismatches, so their possessions are awkward and ugly to watch. Having some sort of continuity patterned free flowing offense would make sense I think for those times when we bog down and start letting the ball stick.
Long term going toward next season, I strongly think Indiana needs to rethink the entire way it plays halfcourt offense.....but that will be a long post for another day, likely in the summer after the season ends how it ends.
SUGGESTION 3: WE NEED A SPECIAL PACKAGE OF QUICK HITTERS WHERE HIBBERT IS THE PRIMARY OPTION, AND ANOTHER WHERE LANCE STEPHENSON IS THE PRIMARY OPTION
Hibbert has went from a guy who wanted to play his role and be a rim protector, to a guy who seems to really deeply care about post touches and shots and point. That isn't all that bad, and I don't want to portray it to be......it is all part of the growth process and maturity process that players go through. Particularly well spoken, smart, intelligent guys with talent usually go through wanting to expand their games and success and roles. It happens in business, in schools, and in coaches quite frankly. It is natural, and it is something to work through as a team and a fan base and for Roy Hibbert himself.....but it doesn't mean he is a bad guy or anything.
Lance is going through this as well. He doesnt just want to score, he also wants to be on the highlights, he wants "respect", he wants credit, and he wants to be paid. In and of itself, this isn't bad.....it just needs to be managed.
So how do you manage this as a coach? One smart way is to create a series of packages that are designed simply for them. You maybe have 3 or 4 plays for Hibbert, and maybe 6 or 7 for Stephenson. You have to feed the guys with the bigger egos in the NBA, that is simply a fact. West as a wily veteran and George as our resident best player owe it to these guys to sacrifice themselves a little so these guys can grow. And the coaches have to help that growth process by helping them succeed.
When you run no specials for Hibbert, he gets unhappy and disengaged, and his body language brings the teams collective mojo to its knees. But when Roy is involved and engaged, the entire team is better and the spirit is there for us. I wish in some ways Hibbert didn't care if he scored or got touches, but he does, and he isn't necessarily wrong to want to grow his role and be more important....it is a normal human condition.
So, I'd run some stuff for Hibbert, and I'd involve him in the process to appeal to his high basketball IQ on what that should be and where he wants the ball, etc. This isn't new school thinking either......the old Celtics did this with Robert Parish, and a million other teams with big guys have to find ways to get them involved.
This way, on the 10 or so times a game you call one of Roy's "personal" specials, he feels the love and respect from the coaches, and that way he doesnt feel like he has to force anything in the other 80 or so possessions of the game.
In Lance's case, I'd create plays for him as the primary option, but not necessarily to score, but to create chances for others. I'd use him like a "joker", moving him all over the floor, trying to ISO him with the ball in the slot area and a shooter in the deep corner and Roy in the back pocket, so he can drive and make decisions.
Stephenson is really good people. Yes, he is a wild card and yes he makes big time mistakes, we all know that. But we can't win without him and we all know that. The trick is to make that enthusiasm and joy he plays with help us instead of drive us down roads we don't want to go. All championship teams have to play with an "edge"...he is potentially that guy.
SUGGESTION 4: WE NEED TO USE EVAN TURNER IS BALLSCREEN SITUATIONS WITH A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT PLAYERS AND ESPECIALLY DIFFERENT ANGLES
I know everyone is down on ET right now, and I get it. He comes over to play in the trade, and all of a sudden we are a .500 team. But I don't buy that he is a bad guy or a bad player, I just feel that our coaching staff has done a remarkably bad job in using him well offensively and indoctrinating him into our collective group.
Turner is a ballhandler/faciliatator at heart with a mid range type of game. We need that type of guy on our team when we play certain matchups that pressure you, like Miami. If we are fortunate enough to play the Heat, Turner will need to play big for us.
The way we are using him now is making him look worse than he is. The post guys are in his way, and he needs clearer space to maneuver at the 2nd level of the defense. (go back to suggestion #1). But where he really can excel for us, better than anyone else we have maybe, is in ballscreen situations where he is the ballhandler.
I want to see us do something besides just run the same plays we've always run for people, and just try and substitute him into them. We need tweak things for his strengths and weaknesses. Since he doesn't have deep NBA range, setting ballscreens for him 25 feet away from the goal make no sense. We have to be smarter than that.
I think designing ballscreens for him around the "elbow" or "slot" areas make more logical use of his talents. I also think setting "staggered" ballscreens make sense for him as well, because he reads the screen and defenders so well. We also need to post him up a little bit, just to make teams guard him in different areas of the floor. And I also will love watching him play with CJ Watson, because I think Turner can play some point guard offensively which will let Watson play off the ball some.
Basically, we need Turner, and our coaches need to use him better. Offensively, he can play well if we play to his strengths better. Ballscreens for him set at near the elbows with Turner coming at a 45 degree angle right in line to the rim should be hard to guard for people, but we keep putting him in positions with the ball where he is bound to look bad.
SUGGESTION 5: USE LANCE AND PAUL AS A SCREENER AWAY FROM THE BALL
You want to improve chemistry with a team? Have your best players be screeners, even for each other. Lance especially is such a strong guy that he should be laying the wood to people in screening actions away from the ball, freeing up people. Screening the screener actions, where Lance screens for Hibbert and then gets a screen from someone else, aren't as big a part of our attack as they should be.
SUGGESTION 6: BENCH SCOLA AND PLAY LAVOY ALLEN IN HIS MINUTES TO INCREASE OUR OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING
We need Scola in the playoffs to make jump shots maybe, or maybe not. Right now, he is playing as if he has a giant pitchfork sticking out his back, and his legs look like rubber. He is out of gas.
I like the idea of playing Allen back up 4 minutes. He is a bruiser, a guy who plays hard, knows his role, and is a hell of a screener. You want to make the game easier to play for your best players? Give them 18 minutes a game from a guy who has 6 fouls to give, who will be a great screen setter, and who will go to the offensive glass harder than anyone we have. We need to get back to our supposed identity of "smashmouth" basketball. Allen can do that.
SUGGESTION 7: RUN THE FLOOR A BIT MORE TO GET SOME EASIER SHOTS, AND INSTALL A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT SECONDARY BREAK
I know it is hard to tell, but we actually have tried to run one or two of the Spurs secondary break patterns all season. Earlier, we did it more often, but as the season has gone on we have gotten away from doing it, and even when we DO run it, we do it halfheartedly. Our players simply don't seem to have bought into that and they seem resistant. And again, it appears to me that we are only designed to even attempt it when our starters are in together, when we have even one sub in the game we don't appear to have that in the bag.
We need to get smarter as a team in running what makes sense to our players, and our players have got to buy in to whatever we are doing, and it has to be roster wide not just with the 5 starters. I don't even think it matters alot WHAT we run, but we need to commit to it and freaking do it.
We have a weird team admittedly to run secondary break actions, because we lack a true point guard to handle the ball, and we are kind of slow in transition. The one guy we trust to push the ball doesn't like to, and the one guy who wants to push it isn't overly trustworthy and reliable. It is a tough thing to try and design. Plus, we are at the end of the year with not alot of practice time to get something else in and perfect it. So, here is what I would do:
1. I'd run it only on long rebounds, 3 point attempts by the opponent, or on missed/made free throws.
2. I'd be non traditional and have Stephenson or George be the "rim" runner. (whoever was ahead of the pack)
3. Hill and George/Stephenson (whoever wasn't the rim runner) would be stationed on the right side, as I'd always run my early to the right.
4. Hill would pass ahead after 1 or 2 maximum dribbles to George. Hill would then cut a shallow path through the right elbow area headed to the left deep corner.
5. Hibbert and West would run a "double trailer reversal", with one of them coming up the right slot and the other coming up the left.
6. We would reverse the ball all the way around back to Hill, who would come up from the corner and get the ball on the left wing someplace.
7. Lance backscreens for Paul, then Roy and David set a double staggered down screen for Lance......then we play out of that with a myriad of options.
SUGGESTION 8: EMPHASIZE THE PROCESS, NOT THE RESULT.....DO THE RIGHT THINGS
This is where the pep talk part comes, not just to the players themselves, but to you reading this at home.
I don't want to sound to "zen" like here, but this is really how you have to think. You have to make sure the processes are sound, and if they are then the results will be a by product of doing the right thing.
What are the "right things" to do on offense that we don't do enough right now? Here is a partial list:
1.SPRINT TO YOUR SCREENS, not jog to them or walk to them. David West is horrible at this, but really our entire team is. Nothing shuts things down like a loss of timing and rhythm in your flow. We need to sprint, not walk or trot, to the defender every time we want to screen somebody. This way guys with the ball aren't waiting on a screen to happen and forced to hold the ball too long....and big guys, if you are frustrated about something, then take it out on the opponent and screen the hell out of them instead of pouting.
2. POINT TO THE GUY WHO MAKES A GREAT PASS OR GREAT SCREEN FOR YOU. No need to shimmy, talk to the opponent, or play to the crowd yet....point to and thank your teammate first. Then you can do your gyrations or whatever if you absolutely must.
3. CHEER ON YOUR TEAMMATES ON THE BENCH, INSTEAD OF POUTING, POSING, OR *****ING. Even if you have to fake it, stand up and clap and encourage your teammates. Playing with passion is easy, but can you be a passionate teammate? Great teams have great teammates, not just great players. You need guys who want to be both simultaneously to win as much as you can.
4. PRAISE YOUR TEAMMATES, COACHES, AND FANS IN PUBLIC AND WITH THE MEDIA. This isn't all about you, this is about the collective group. Praise your teammates both with the microphones off, and when the camera lights or on.
5. QUIT TALKING TO THE OFFICIALS. It is a distraction you don't need as players, and it also is pointless and makes you unlikeable. The coaches will have your back if you let them. Trust.
6. BE HUMBLE, BUT BE HUNGRY. It's ok to want more.....more attention, more glory, more credit, more respect, more touches, whatever. But remember that being humble is what got you here. Being humble means you are willing to sacrifice for the betterment of others, and that credit is internal, not what others give you.
7. LIVE IN THE MOMENT. Enjoy this team and each other......don't worry about next year, next contracts, the next draft, or even the next game. Live possession by possession, play by play.
8. RESPECT EVERYONE, BUT FEAR NO ONE. We can't overlook anyone, because we aren't good enough to, plus it is disrespectful to the game of basketball to do so. But together, banded together for common cause and glory with belief in one another and ourselves, if we play the right way with the right values then we can do this.
Players, if for some reason you ever read this, please take those things to heart.
And for us fans:
I still believe in this team, in these players, in this organization, and in what our team when it is thinking correctly can stand for. I like our team I like our coaches, and I wouldn't trade places with any team in this league. I wouldn't want to be with anyone else. Where else would you want to be than right here, right now? Supporting a team that is going through this process, this mountain climb to a championship, is a rewarding experience than only we as fans who have been here since the beginning can appreciate. We are in a valley right now, but it sometimes takes being in the darkness of the valley to be able to appreciate how majestic the highest mountains can be.
We've waited almost a year for these playoffs to begin, and we are almost here. Don't lose faith now. Believe. The power of positive thinking can achieve so much.....and our team needs us now more than ever. They've lost a bit of swagger for sure, but we've lost ours as well. Do your part in bringing it back by staying positive and looking ahead, not behind. We have to get a little more mentally tough as fans as well. One bad month and guys are ready to abandon ship, dump guys, fire people, etc. We know better.
We know that our team is built for playoff basketball. We know that we have a great coach with guys who are playoff proven and who are high character guys. We might have even overachieved a bit all in all for this regular season, but the real thing we were made for starts in a couple of weeks. Time to get on the train, because it is about to leave the station. Let's try and enjoy the ride together.
As always, the above was all just my opinion.
Tbird
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