CoolBreeze's 2 Things I Didn't Like Tonight Plus 1

[AbeVigodaLive]

Bazz doesn't get assists because he doesn't get the ball in positions to make assists. Think about when he gets the ball. In the post where he's never double teamed and his go to move goes towards the baseline as opposed to towards the paint which means there is no opportunity for an assist. He can't hit a cutter to the basket unless he makes a move to the inside especially when you factor in his lack of height and lift off the ground on that shot. It is a quick hit and not really and athletic move that would allow him to adjust mid-shot to hit a cutter. Other touches come from spot up shooting. I don't think he has really taken many, if any bad contested jumpers so as long as he is open he should take the shot. When you get an offensive rebound, you really should go up with the ball right away to not give the defense time to recover. He could get maybe an assist more if he hit the big man with a pass after an offensive board rather than putting up the shot, but that requires him to have to assess whether that pass is there which could be enough time for the defense to recover and thus force him to pass the ball out of a position that is normally advantageous if you go up with the shot right away. The only area he can improve really is in transition when we have numbers. He still doesn't give the ball up there which is a problem when you essentially give up a point for trying to get fouled versus making the extra pass because of his poor foul shooting.

It is not easy getting assists when you have no ball handling responsibilities. He rarely attacks his man off the dribble to get to the bucket which is a major assist opportunity for most players when the defense has to make a rotation to stop them at the rim. We don't run him in the pick and roll at all. Assists don't just come out of thin air. They usually involve the ball handler doing something to force the defense to adjust and then hitting the open guy. If you're never asked to dribble the ball then you don't really get those opportunities. It is the same reason why Wiggins isn't exactly lighting up the assist category either. Assists just aren't easy to get if you can't create off the dribble and force the defense to rotate to stop you. If you look at Lavine last night a lot of his assists came from attacking the basket and making a good pass versus going up for a shot. That is just a different mindset than Bazz and Wiggins have as the few times they do drive to the basket they are looking to score which isn't a bad thing, but also doesn't lead to many assists. It is going to be an issue for them until they are given the responsibility to create more off the dribble or make their moves towards the lane versus the baseline and hope we have guys actually cutting to the basket to pass the ball to. I still think they should be able to get 1 or 2 more assists per game than they get now with their play style, but I can easily see why assists don't come to them that easily.

That seems like a lot of excuses for ...

"Since record keeping began on assists (1950s), there is literally no one in the history of professional basketball 6'7 or less that has averaged fewer assists per 36 minutes than Shabazz Muhammed."

That includes hundreds of players. He's just a really bad passer. He was awful in college. In position or not in the pros... he's still bad. Actually, he's been terrible.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Couple thoughts

Anybody want to see more Dieng? Pek always gets better after the first few weeks, and Dieng's D is suspect, but why not? He's made some really impressive shots offensively, like Tim Duncan, Kareem type shots. But of course defensively he's totally failing to hold his position and keep his guy away from the paint. He needs to learn that if he's going to become a starting center. Gotta start somewhere.

I am also introducing legislation that would require Wiggins to drive to the basket at least as many times as he shoots jump shots. There's no reason he shouldn't be getting to the line 5-6 times a game at this point, and he needs to develop a more aggressive approach and get practice putting the ball on the floor and taking it to the rack.

Yeesh, our offense is still figuring things out. Lots of times last night with guys standing around unsure of what to do in the half court. I'm really glad we got out and ran for that stretch (fun to watch), and we should do that more, but we also need guys to know where they're supposed to be going on offense, and everybody should be moving (and moving the ball) more.

Mo with some really nice passes last night, and a great night from Brew. Just couldn't stop their offense once they got clicking though and we had no answer ourselves. Zach's passing was nice, and I liked that he attacked the basket a couple times, but he takes some bad shots and he clearly should have been kicking it out to Martin for more shots there. Not sure why we've gone away from Martin the last couple games.

Looking forward to seeing Anthony Davis next.

Drew, One of the problems of not having Love (and now Rubio) is that Pek has to do a lot more work to get his points. Pek is not a great isolation post player, yet Flip has very few, er, actually no one now that Rubio is out, that can get Pek the ball in the pick and roll, which is probably where he's at his most dangerous. Pek is also pretty good at those quick hitting duck-ins Adelman used to always set up for him, where Love would get the ball in the high-post and then feed Pek in deep post position. Now we're just dumping it down to him from the wing and hoping that he can create something.

Dieng has definitely shown a more diverse offensive arsenal than I ever expected. I'm still skeptical that he can keep hitting these sweeping hooks and mid-range bank shots, but hell, I never expected either of those types of shots from him coming out of Louisville. We'll see if he can keep it up.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

The continued criticism of Flip's offense is getting ridiculous. Going into the season everyone knew 3pt shooting was going to be our biggest issue yet we are currently one of the better teams based on percentage. This isn't because we're jacking up 3's to satisfy the advanced stats crowd it's because for the most part we're taking good 3's. People are questioning whether a made step back 2 by Wiggins is something to be happy about. That's crazy would you suggest he turn those into step back 3's? I'm seeing people complain about or floor spacing but at the same time they want only 3's and layups. We don't have shooters capable of spacing the floor so our floor spacing would look even worse if avoid mid range shots and only went for layups.

Rage, I don't think any of us are suggesting that we go full-on Houston mode. You are right - we don't have the personnel for it. However, we've talked about before that because the 3-point shot is worth 50% more than a 2-point shot, you can have a pretty severe drop-off in accuracy and it's still a superior shot versus mid to long range 2 pointers. Simply knocking down 33% of 3's is equivalent to hitting 50% of long 2's (which is pretty much unheard of over the course of a season).

My hope is that this is a teaching/developmental process that Flip is deploying and he knows full well that ultimately we need to be taking more 3's. But still, based on his history and the types of players he's had, I along with others are skeptical that he truly gets it. The game has changed dramatically since his heyday. These days, 3-point shooting isn't just about accuracy; it's about volume.

[Coolbreeze44]

The continued criticism of Flip's offense is getting ridiculous. Going into the season everyone knew 3pt shooting was going to be our biggest issue yet we are currently one of the better teams based on percentage. This isn't because we're jacking up 3's to satisfy the advanced stats crowd it's because for the most part we're taking good 3's. People are questioning whether a made step back 2 by Wiggins is something to be happy about. That's crazy would you suggest he turn those into step back 3's? I'm seeing people complain about or floor spacing but at the same time they want only 3's and layups. We don't have shooters capable of spacing the floor so our floor spacing would look even worse if avoid mid range shots and only went for layups.

Rage, I don't think any of us are suggesting that we go full-on Houston mode. You are right - we don't have the personnel for it. However, we've talked about before that because the 3-point shot is worth 50% more than a 2-point shot, you can have a pretty severe drop-off in accuracy and it's still a superior shot versus mid to long range 2 pointers. Simply knocking down 33% of 3's is equivalent to hitting 50% of long 2's (which is pretty much unheard of over the course of a season).

My hope is that this is a teaching/developmental process that Flip is deploying and he knows full well that ultimately we need to be taking more 3's. But still, based on his history and the types of players he's had, I along with others are skeptical that he truly gets it. The game has changed dramatically since his heyday. These days, 3-point shooting isn't just about accuracy; it's about volume.

Very well said Q

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Bazz doesn't get assists because he doesn't get the ball in positions to make assists. Think about when he gets the ball. In the post where he's never double teamed and his go to move goes towards the baseline as opposed to towards the paint which means there is no opportunity for an assist. He can't hit a cutter to the basket unless he makes a move to the inside especially when you factor in his lack of height and lift off the ground on that shot. It is a quick hit and not really and athletic move that would allow him to adjust mid-shot to hit a cutter. Other touches come from spot up shooting. I don't think he has really taken many, if any bad contested jumpers so as long as he is open he should take the shot. When you get an offensive rebound, you really should go up with the ball right away to not give the defense time to recover. He could get maybe an assist more if he hit the big man with a pass after an offensive board rather than putting up the shot, but that requires him to have to assess whether that pass is there which could be enough time for the defense to recover and thus force him to pass the ball out of a position that is normally advantageous if you go up with the shot right away. The only area he can improve really is in transition when we have numbers. He still doesn't give the ball up there which is a problem when you essentially give up a point for trying to get fouled versus making the extra pass because of his poor foul shooting.

It is not easy getting assists when you have no ball handling responsibilities. He rarely attacks his man off the dribble to get to the bucket which is a major assist opportunity for most players when the defense has to make a rotation to stop them at the rim. We don't run him in the pick and roll at all. Assists don't just come out of thin air. They usually involve the ball handler doing something to force the defense to adjust and then hitting the open guy. If you're never asked to dribble the ball then you don't really get those opportunities. It is the same reason why Wiggins isn't exactly lighting up the assist category either. Assists just aren't easy to get if you can't create off the dribble and force the defense to rotate to stop you. If you look at Lavine last night a lot of his assists came from attacking the basket and making a good pass versus going up for a shot. That is just a different mindset than Bazz and Wiggins have as the few times they do drive to the basket they are looking to score which isn't a bad thing, but also doesn't lead to many assists. It is going to be an issue for them until they are given the responsibility to create more off the dribble or make their moves towards the lane versus the baseline and hope we have guys actually cutting to the basket to pass the ball to. I still think they should be able to get 1 or 2 more assists per game than they get now with their play style, but I can easily see why assists don't come to them that easily.

That seems like a lot of excuses for ...

"Since record keeping began on assists (1950s), there is literally no one in the history of professional basketball 6'7 or less that has averaged fewer assists per 36 minutes than Shabazz Muhammed."

That includes hundreds of players. He's just a really bad passer. He was awful in college. In position or not in the pros... he's still bad. Actually, he's been terrible.

Normally I'm an advanced stats guy, but he has a career MPG average of 8.5. How is it fair to just multiple his stats by a little more than 4 and say that is what he would average per 36? He's an 18/7 guy by that logic so why isn't he playing 36 a night when that is a legitimate stat line for a 3rd option on offense? I'd have more faith in that advanced stat for assists if he actually played anything close to 36 minutes, but since he isn't even in the ballpark I don't buy that as a good use of the per 36 stat line. Let me know how he looks when he at least averages 18 MPG, otherwise it is a pretty big stretch to say he would get a certain stat line if you just quadrupled his minutes.

[Monster]

I think some of the critism of Flip's past jumpshooting offense is fair but let's be honest Flip's teams overachieved in the regular season and then always (sometimes by bad luck) seemed to be the underdog in the first round. One of the key problems for those Wolves playoff teams was nobody could get KG the ball cleanly in the post when it really mattered. It was mind boggling how TB was not very good at this for how good of an all-around player he was. Part of it was his lack of size but yeah. Flip played to guy's strengths too who was a drive to the basket slasher guy on those teams? The Wolves did live and die on jumpshots but there was a lot more to the Wolves not advancing than Flip's offense.

Here is the thing about Flip's offense this year. Are guys taking shots or plays that are outside of what they should be doing based on their skills? I'd say most of the time guys are taking shots or scoring opportunities they should be taking. That's good coaching. Like Q suggested and I believe is the case that Flip is developing guys right now and things will expand for the team and players. Remember Rubio didn't take a 3 point shot for what 3 games and then he took 3.

I know Dieng struggles with being strong enough but I think his post defense has slowly improved. I thought he was ok against Howard and he can get better he has looked lost as a man defender a lower percentage of the time according to my eye test.

Q is right Pek is having to work harder without Rubio or Love feeding him. Pek is good at what he does but he isn't a multifaceted player. You have to live with that. I can. It seems to me that the Wolves aren't on the same page on what to do with screens and I'm not saying pek is good but its made him look even worse. A couple years ago I remembering defending PNR much better.

Q you are right Martin was trying on D against Ariza and just couldn't do anything. Part of that is he is just so thin and not strong. It makes me worry about Lavine but Zach has unreal athletic abilities that will help him. He can cover ground quickly.

Speaking of Zach I watched the 1st quarter last night because I didn't see it I watched the game from the 2nd quarter on Live. Ugh it was so exhausting watching commercials. LOL Anyway I'm so impressed with Zach I'm trying not to go all crazy overboard with excitement and hope for the guy but the guy can play and he is raw and hasn't figured things out yet but he plays with calm confidence and no fear. I got a kick out of him at the end of the game he was the first to go greet Houston guys just slaping hugging like they were all his brothers in the realm of Basketball. He is kind of a weird fun personality.