(01-12-2022, 11:52 PM)Omega_Supreme Wrote: The description of playing with your back to the basket does not always mean post ups. A lot of Sabonis game is starting in the midrange and finishing in the post area using his foot work and touch. He has a outside/in game but he can play and score over both shoulders consistently which is probably the better term.
He is the perfect big for us. I wish we could go for both guys.
Indiana is in a rebuild right now so they may not want a lot back.
It would take KP and THJ off the rip
Totally agree Omega!
Someone had a concern, and this is indeed valid to have this, that his 3pt game is not as great (Sabonis). This is a valid concern, although i do see him knock the 3 when he is fully open. But due to the way he plays pick and roll, Sabonis has a unique inside and outside threath to the pick and roll, its just different than what is traditionally done at the moment in the NBA. He can get under the defense and get the easy layup/dunk at the basket if the defense focuses on the PG. However if the defender draws back to protect the basket, Sabonis is absolutely elite in lowering the pace and positioning himself perfectly in the mid range distance where he gets the ball, and from here its game over, he drives and finishes at the rim as good as everyone in the NBA (as in the example in video).
My point here is that the way Sabonis plays pick and roll, he doesnt need to space at the 3pt line as most other bigs need to, because they dont have this skill after the screen that Sabonis has. Sabonis doesnt need to draw back all the way to 3pt line as his counter move. He draws back to the mid range distance as his counter move, from where he punishes the defenses regularly. Thus, like other traditional modern bigs he has an inside and outside threat after the screen is set. For other bigs these two moves tend most often to be the threath of a dunk and then the counter-move being the threat of dropping deep to the the 3pt line. For Sabonis, he has the inside and outside counter, but they are different. The inside is his attack to the rim if defense allows that, while however his counter is this hesitation move and receive the pass at the mid range (as in the example of video i provided) from where he executes his deep counter move. From there he drives and scores at the basket where he is near unstoppable.
The difference between Sabonis and our bigs is that Sabonis is far more effiecient in both his inside as well as his outside counter move from pick and roll. And given what we know about Luka and how well he reads defense, and how Luka would provide the ball to Sabonis in this counter move, IMO both Sabonis and Luka would be improved players if played together. I believe this would open more space up for Luka and would open even more space for Sabonis. G
Also, not all other 4 guys other than Luka need to space at the 3pt, we cant run the iso offense all the time. Spacing can be accomplished by the way Sabonis hesitates at the mid range distance after the screen while our other 3 players space at the 3pt line (that is DFS, Maxi and Brunson). This actually is also providing more space to the 3 players that space the floor and lanes for Luka to pass the ball outside. 4 outside at the 3 can be too much sometimes.
EDIT: I want to highlight this also from yesterdays game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lh0o0j1J2c
When the defender focuses on the PG: He has elite inside game under the rim: At 2:18 and at 03:22 in the video.
When the defender focuses on defending the rim, Sabonis executes then his counter-move by hesitating at the mid range, positioning well to receive the pass, drive, and when he comes at that speed and given his skills under the basket, he is near unstoppable. Examples of plays at 2:05 and 2:55 in the video.
I can imagine how that would work even better with Luka. First of all the elite level of these screens that Sabonis sets would free up Luka to run at the rim.
The next defender would need to decide whether to step up to stop Luka, and if he does Luka would get the ball to Sabonis under/above the rim. If the defender would step back and protect the rim, Luka can make the floater or pass to Sabonis like at 2:05 or 2:55 examples and Sabonis is destroying the bigs in the paint when he is given a full speed open run at the rim (even when a big is waiting there). In my view that's the go and countermoves, and this is the way Sabonis spreads the defense unconventionally than other bigs. It looks easy, but is super difficult. The skills needed for a big are ability to screen, then drive with the ball from mid range with the skills of a PG, then having an elite game inside to score. Our bigs cant do any of that! This is a rare player Sabonis, and would fit perfectly in our scheme.