I just finished watching an absolutely phenomenal duel between two great players today. It was on ESPN, but up here North of the Border, it was on TSN (The Sports Network, for those that dont know what that is.)
All i can say is wow. James had the fire and fury that if he develops over time, he will become unstoppable. Wade is one hell of a baller also.
As good as they were, it wasn't like I was watching something that Kobe couldn't go or hasn't done. Sure, those guys pass it a bit more than Kobe. Especially James, man, that guy still passes and makes good passes in the biggest of moments. But he is still not as good defensively as Kobe, even when he absolutely tries, like he did today in the 2nd half when he guarded Wade, and Wade abused him a bit.
A couple of points for discussion though.
1) But one thing I noticed that they do more so than Kobe is ISO at the top of the 3 pt. line. and drive around a pick. It works almost every time.
Either they get to the hoop, get fouled, have an easy 10 footer or kick out to the open shooters.
They space their shooters all over the floor and everything opens up for Wade or James.
I know why we dont do that....because that isn't the triangle. But a pick and roll with Odom and Kobe where kobe drives around the pick and into the paint would be even more lethal than those two because of Kobe's pull up jumper. Dont know why they dont go to that more.
Its also basically where most point guards initiate their offense from. Tony Parker, Steve Nash as other examples.
Tony killed us wiht this play. Tim Duncan or Robert Horry woudl come on the high screen and roll and set the pick and just half a step is all that was needed from Parker.
I hope Kobe and Phil watched this game.
2) Kobe Bryant does post up. His post up game is not as good as Jordan's. But that is mainly becuase, #1 - Kobe doesnt position himself and fight for position down there enough. #2 - Kobe isnt quite as good at that fallaway turnaround jumper as jordan was. Dont get me wrong, hes great....but just a tad worse than MJ. He needs to work on that and make that his signature unstoppable. Play.
Post up, back down a couple steps, 12-15 foot fadeaway. BAM 50-55% FG%.
Kobe's biggest problem in this offense is where he receives the ball. Inevitably, on the wing there tends to be a bit more of congestion. Plus, by the time he finally finds his space to shoot, hes still 20-22 feet away from the basket. And sometimes, he doesnt even find room to shoot.
A pick and roll is best executed at the top of the key or three point line. There is more room to maneuver. When kobe gets a pick on the wing, the defenders are able to stay in front of him more because kobe still has to reverse direction to get to the hoop.
At the top of the 3 pt. line, Kobe's momentum has him going towards the hoop, so it will be very difficutl to stop him.
Bottom line is that if James and Wade are doing this effectively. Along with guys like Tony Parker, Steve Nash, etc....there is absolutely NO reason why we should not be doing this play more often.
Basically, the whole fourth quarter, James and Wade were operating from that location with extreme effectiveness. No reason why Kobe doesnt do this as well!
I feel that where Kobe receives the ball is as important as how efficient he is in scoring the ball.
Pick and roll at the top of the key. And posting up. I think Kobe is a better post player than both James and Wade. But he doesnt do it often enough to punish the opposing defense. He needs to post up and back his man down.
When he wants to attack the paint and create shots for others, he needs to do it from the top of the 3pt. line via a pick from someone like Odom, Cook or Mihm. In other words, another shooter/playmaker.
Just putting out there a couple things that may make the team nad Kobe even more efficient and lethal. Thats all im saying.
Would love to hear all your thoughts on this.
I just finished watching an absolutely phenomenal duel between two great players today. It was on ESPN, but up here North of the Border, it was on TSN (The Sports Network, for those that dont know what that is.)
All i can say is wow. James had the fire and fury that if he develops over time, he will become unstoppable. Wade is one hell of a baller also.
As good as they were, it wasn't like I was watching something that Kobe couldn't go or hasn't done. Sure, those guys pass it a bit more than Kobe. Especially James, man, that guy still passes and makes good passes in the biggest of moments. But he is still not as good defensively as Kobe, even when he absolutely tries, like he did today in the 2nd half when he guarded Wade, and Wade abused him a bit.
A couple of points for discussion though.
1) But one thing I noticed that they do more so than Kobe is ISO at the top of the 3 pt. line. and drive around a pick. It works almost every time.
Either they get to the hoop, get fouled, have an easy 10 footer or kick out to the open shooters.
They space their shooters all over the floor and everything opens up for Wade or James.
I know why we dont do that....because that isn't the triangle. But a pick and roll with Odom and Kobe where kobe drives around the pick and into the paint would be even more lethal than those two because of Kobe's pull up jumper. Dont know why they dont go to that more.
Its also basically where most point guards initiate their offense from. Tony Parker, Steve Nash as other examples.
Tony killed us wiht this play. Tim Duncan or Robert Horry woudl come on the high screen and roll and set the pick and just half a step is all that was needed from Parker.
I hope Kobe and Phil watched this game.
2) Kobe Bryant does post up. His post up game is not as good as Jordan's. But that is mainly becuase, #1 - Kobe doesnt position himself and fight for position down there enough. #2 - Kobe isnt quite as good at that fallaway turnaround jumper as jordan was. Dont get me wrong, hes great....but just a tad worse than MJ. He needs to work on that and make that his signature unstoppable. Play.
Post up, back down a couple steps, 12-15 foot fadeaway. BAM 50-55% FG%.
Kobe's biggest problem in this offense is where he receives the ball. Inevitably, on the wing there tends to be a bit more of congestion. Plus, by the time he finally finds his space to shoot, hes still 20-22 feet away from the basket. And sometimes, he doesnt even find room to shoot.
A pick and roll is best executed at the top of the key or three point line. There is more room to maneuver. When kobe gets a pick on the wing, the defenders are able to stay in front of him more because kobe still has to reverse direction to get to the hoop.
At the top of the 3 pt. line, Kobe's momentum has him going towards the hoop, so it will be very difficutl to stop him.
Bottom line is that if James and Wade are doing this effectively. Along with guys like Tony Parker, Steve Nash, etc....there is absolutely NO reason why we should not be doing this play more often.
Basically, the whole fourth quarter, James and Wade were operating from that location with extreme effectiveness. No reason why Kobe doesnt do this as well!
I feel that where Kobe receives the ball is as important as how efficient he is in scoring the ball.
Pick and roll at the top of the key. And posting up. I think Kobe is a better post player than both James and Wade. But he doesnt do it often enough to punish the opposing defense. He needs to post up and back his man down.
When he wants to attack the paint and create shots for others, he needs to do it from the top of the 3pt. line via a pick from someone like Odom, Cook or Mihm. In other words, another shooter/playmaker.
Just putting out there a couple things that may make the team nad Kobe even more efficient and lethal. Thats all im saying.
Would love to hear all your thoughts on this.