Baseline to Baseline: October 19th
- Norman Powell, attacking closeouts.
Most attributed the Raptors’ trade of DeMarre Carrol to the Nets as a cost-effective move slated to duck Toronto under the luxury tax. Although that may true (and a big part of it), I also saw it as a realization that a) Carroll was hurting them whenever he was on the floor and b) Norman Powell needed to receive more minutes because he simply makes shit happen.
The Raptors moved the ball more on that possession than they have in the last three seasons combined. Powell has the juice to attack an unbalanced Paul Zipser as he goes unfettered to the rim. The play is simple, but the impact could be substantial — Carroll wasn’t bringing any semblance of juice to a starting lineup that sorely relied upon DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry bail outs. If Powell can bring somewhere between 12 and 16 points a game, Toronto’s ceiling suddenly moves up a notch. (Especially if CJ Miles spews flames from the arc as he did last night.)
2. Andre Roberson through the backdoor.
The Knicks are going to be one of the five worst defensive teams in the league this season, but nearly every team has fallen victim to this set at one point or another. Roberson’s shooting woes have been well documented, and defenders will sag so far off of him that it leaves an opening for him to cut. Roberson and Russell Westbrook have such great chemistry that Westbrook throws it up to him as he is a solid ten feet away from the basket.
The best thing about this set is that even if the help defender stayed on Roberson, then Steven Adams would have been the one receiving the lob.
3. The Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan pick-and-roll.
This isn’t good defense at all by the Lakers, but the concept of Griffin and Jordan executing a mini pick-and-roll in such close quarters is fascinating.
The Clippers need proper spacing along the perimeter to make this work (which they do here). Griffin’s moxie as a creator, combined with Jordan’s threat as a vertical finisher will force defenses into making decisions they are not used to. Four-men are typically not asked to defend the ball handler in the pick-and-roll, and that unfamiliarity can cause communication issues that lead to easy baskets.
4. Patrick Beverley is the right kind of crazy.
Lonzo Ball probably couldn’t have faced a worse matchup to make his NBA debut against. He had to go against a delightfully crazy person, first team all-defensive guard whose entire focus was set on making him look like a fraud? Yikes.
Ball didn’t play well at all, limited by the shadow of Beverley rightly shaking up his insides. Critics will be quick to jump on the train that he is in fact a fraud — See! He can’t create against NBA defenders! — but I would chalk this up to more of a bad game. Most guards are out of sync when they are matched up against Beverley.
Ball will never wow us with his ability to take over a game, anyway. That’s not what he does. His best efforts will revolve around the sum of the little things he does throughout the course of a game — getting the ball ahead quickly, setting the pace, rebounding, and getting teammates the rock in their comfort zones — adding up to a victory. Despite what Lavar Ball might want us to believe, Lonzo is not Steph Curry. And that’s OK! Playing in the NBA is hard enough as it is, let alone when you have the weight of Big Ballers everywhere on your back. Let the kid find his way.
