Post#20 » by Turd Ferguson » Thu Nov 8, 2012 10:41 pm
I don't think it's so much that Ersan is struggling mightily on his own, but that his lack of production has been a result of the stagnation that has been our offensive sets these last two games with Memphis and Cleveland. Our sets totally break down anywhere from 3-8 seconds after initiation, and we've spent the remainder of the shotclock often times with everyone else on the floor just looking at the ball handler, expecting him to make something happen.
Our pick and roll game has been atrocious so far. Simplest play in the game and neither Jennings nor Monta have figured out how to effectively create space for either themselves or others during P 'n R execution. I can think of more times either of those knuckleheads have tried to "split" the defensive coverage on a two-man game and either lost the ball or got stripped than times where they've either gotten themselves or someone else an open look. Contrast that with Memphis last night, who flat-out out-muscled us on every set screen, and was able to get to wherever they felt like on the floor for uncontested shots. A good number of Ersan's spot-ups last year came after either Jennings or Monta got to the basket and kicked it out to him. He hasn't had many of those so far.
Ers has also spent most of his (limited thus far) minutes on the floor with Tobias, who, whenever the offense has not been ran through him, has been relegated to standing in a corner or around the perimeter. Whether that's by design or by his lack of offensive awareness/spacing is yet to be seen. But last year, with Ers logging minutes with Dunleavy, he seemed to be more active, if only because Dunleavy was always on the move, and Ersan was able to slash/find position for offensive rebounds as a result of that. With Tobias standing around and no Dunleavy in, our offense schemes have looked lost, and I feel like the lack of rotations that Ersan seemingly thrived off of last year are the reasons he's not finding the same touches on the offensive end. Obviously, it's still incredibly early to be voicing any real concern about his production though.
trwi7 wrote:Monta's career has done a complete 360 since he was traded here.