Spoiler:
- ORL gave up some quick and open 3 pt opportunities, losing a little airspace that was gone a second later. It was the great equalizer in gm1 and gm2 qt1. It was compounded by the ORL shooter then dribbling back into TOR's team defense that was rubber-banding to their side in the first place! (Related to AG’s complaint?)
- Vooch needs side PnRs, closer to the baseline. Something that gets him into deep positioning near the baseline. He posts very well from a baseline opportunity. And he knows how to pass out from it too. Today, he did poor passes going back out to the point, simply letting TOR reset their staunch defense. And I think some of that was not getting the ball where he was used to, deeper and closer to the baseline.
- The doubles bother Vooch, understandably, but he is imo not passing out of them nearly early enough or smartly enough (to the best person/spot). If he doesn’t feel a scoring opportunity too well, he needs to stop holding or dribbling 1-2 times and immediately keep the ball moving. He's not breaking any defenses down where he's getting his catches 90% of the time in this series (and where he can dribble has to be in his favorite post-up and attacking spots instead). Instead, pass it across extremely early, like sometimes to the point of a touch pass. TOR has really committed to doubling him bc they know it has actually been resetting their defense very often in gms 1-2. I think getting it on the side, closer to baseline, and as deep as possible is where he can look to score more, while reading for good passes. And I think a play of Vooch getting it on the elbow without a PnR yet is where he can look to initiate and pass more, because 1) Gasol has poor foot speed and Ibaka poor post-defense AND TOR loves to double Vooch, so 2) a suck-in of defense at the elbow can really let Vooch read the floor and have enough space for a pass to any player. Vooch would also have the airspace for his long 2's and 3's.
- Need to look at some actions where the option/play is a cutter or an option to get it to Vooch ONCE he’s gotten deep positioning. There has to be a creative way to get Vooch into deep post positioning, like a screen for Vooch, or faking a space out to 3 movement.
- I think Marc Gasol was the reason ORL lost moreso than anyone else, actually. He’s kept Vooch out of deep post, kept Vooch out of all his favorite and familiar spots on the floor, and shut down Vooch handily. He has now adjusted to stepping out on switches which is absolutely devastating ORL’s entire offense, and has literally picked passes up as big steals and transition offense for TOR which TOR breathes off of. They traded a better reg season player in JV for a better post-season one in Gasol.
- ORL as a whole, was making poorer passes than it should have been, missing more FTs than it should have been, and was often caught moving its players back into TOR’s defense. So on top of missing some just barely open-enough 3pt opportunities, they would dribble the ball right back into the brunt of TOR’s defense.
- ORL got a good number of FTA’s and drives, but I still think they missed a window for driving to finish. TOR’s defense was not set well for drivers and cutters (outside of blockers), they want to step out on switches, focus their perimeter defense to smother ORL’s initiation of plays. Tall task (because they have blockers), but maybe somewhere else ORL can ignite offense and break through. This may also come to attacking and initiating WITHOUT PnRs. Who said you have to live through them? Because when every PnR is putting two TOR defenders on the ORL ball handler, then why not just initiate 1 on 1!! Maybe the PnR action is more effective inside the possession and outside of being the very first play in the possession!
- I don’t want a fast pace/offense at all, it gives TOR energy, but they need to be smarter on offense. The players would rather be in their designated spots than make the easiest cuts that gives ORL points and throws TOR team defense off kilter. There needs to be some creativity here to beat a clearly more talented team, and you may have to make a pass to a cutter or downscreen/pin-off screen just to start opening up their defense a bit. The PnR could also be a Pick and pop for Vooch to get shots and actions going. It would be easier for a handler to pass out of a blitzed 2-man PnR show with a Vooch stepping to the side than making some half-hearted roll that is impossible to pass to from two TOR defenders on top.
- ORL came out of TOR with what they wanted, a 1-1 tie, and big adjustments by TOR that ORL can pore over and re-adjust back. Hopefully we will throw the next punch. Obviously rebounding and defense needs to get back to gm 1 and gm 2 1st half levels though.
- All the hate on AG’s game as a top 1-2 option, and now you see why we need to bear patience as he grows this part of his game. He was the only offensive provider outside of T Ross tonight.
- No doubt I’ve tried to get ppl to be more appreciative of Fournier’s clever offense and that it helped ORL get here, as he had a strong 2nd half of season to coincide with ORL’s post-season surge, but it’s very obviously clear that he and D.J. are where this team needs upgrades more than anywhere else. Vooch is blowing it this postseason, but at least he can say he was a signpost for double teams, and still has an all-ranges offense. And again, it's not fair to D.J. and Fournier to have to PnR into TWO TOR defenders every single time. They really may need to attack 1 on 1, because it's sounding (counterintuitively) like their best option to start breaking down the defense.
- The TOR adjustment to ORL PnRs is devastating. Both defenders will try their best to show and lock down the handler initiating the PnR, and TOR is doing it literally from the half court line, down to right near the basket. ORL might actually have to look at weaning off the number of PnRs they run, if it is just going to bring two defenders to the handler. Say, Fournier or DJ, will have a better time trying to do something rather than nothing with just 1 defender at least. Maybe some off-ball downscreen/pin-off screens, and cutter options.
- Like Frye tweets, ORL definitely needs to look at letting a sharpshooter like Ross initiate more plays too, and getting more time in with more dangerous players like Vooch. I know T Ross has this high-energy of sprinting and good defense, higher shot attempts, that forces/fits him to fewer minutes, but we need our dangerous weapons more often. Or maybe readjust who is the starter still in there with T Ross.
- A summarized, offensive readjustment could be running about 55% less PnRs, converting some of those into side PicknPop’s with two good shooters. Replacing most of those lost PnRs with either a) creatively getting Vooch into spots where he can initiate offense and b) doing more creative offense like 1on 1 drives (usually with pass outs), purposely making plays to cutters, making faster and smarter passes to stretch the D for opportunities, and running off pin-downs.
- I think Nurse made a ton of offensive adjustments too, that might give ORL a lot of defensive work/readjustment too. But then again ORL kept the score like under 10 by half time with literally zero ORL offense, before waving the white flag in the 2nd half. So it might just be 80% a recommitment to the defense, close-outs, and rebounding they are capable of.
- Vooch needs side PnRs, closer to the baseline. Something that gets him into deep positioning near the baseline. He posts very well from a baseline opportunity. And he knows how to pass out from it too. Today, he did poor passes going back out to the point, simply letting TOR reset their staunch defense. And I think some of that was not getting the ball where he was used to, deeper and closer to the baseline.
- The doubles bother Vooch, understandably, but he is imo not passing out of them nearly early enough or smartly enough (to the best person/spot). If he doesn’t feel a scoring opportunity too well, he needs to stop holding or dribbling 1-2 times and immediately keep the ball moving. He's not breaking any defenses down where he's getting his catches 90% of the time in this series (and where he can dribble has to be in his favorite post-up and attacking spots instead). Instead, pass it across extremely early, like sometimes to the point of a touch pass. TOR has really committed to doubling him bc they know it has actually been resetting their defense very often in gms 1-2. I think getting it on the side, closer to baseline, and as deep as possible is where he can look to score more, while reading for good passes. And I think a play of Vooch getting it on the elbow without a PnR yet is where he can look to initiate and pass more, because 1) Gasol has poor foot speed and Ibaka poor post-defense AND TOR loves to double Vooch, so 2) a suck-in of defense at the elbow can really let Vooch read the floor and have enough space for a pass to any player. Vooch would also have the airspace for his long 2's and 3's.
- Need to look at some actions where the option/play is a cutter or an option to get it to Vooch ONCE he’s gotten deep positioning. There has to be a creative way to get Vooch into deep post positioning, like a screen for Vooch, or faking a space out to 3 movement.
- I think Marc Gasol was the reason ORL lost moreso than anyone else, actually. He’s kept Vooch out of deep post, kept Vooch out of all his favorite and familiar spots on the floor, and shut down Vooch handily. He has now adjusted to stepping out on switches which is absolutely devastating ORL’s entire offense, and has literally picked passes up as big steals and transition offense for TOR which TOR breathes off of. They traded a better reg season player in JV for a better post-season one in Gasol.
- ORL as a whole, was making poorer passes than it should have been, missing more FTs than it should have been, and was often caught moving its players back into TOR’s defense. So on top of missing some just barely open-enough 3pt opportunities, they would dribble the ball right back into the brunt of TOR’s defense.
- ORL got a good number of FTA’s and drives, but I still think they missed a window for driving to finish. TOR’s defense was not set well for drivers and cutters (outside of blockers), they want to step out on switches, focus their perimeter defense to smother ORL’s initiation of plays. Tall task (because they have blockers), but maybe somewhere else ORL can ignite offense and break through. This may also come to attacking and initiating WITHOUT PnRs. Who said you have to live through them? Because when every PnR is putting two TOR defenders on the ORL ball handler, then why not just initiate 1 on 1!! Maybe the PnR action is more effective inside the possession and outside of being the very first play in the possession!
- I don’t want a fast pace/offense at all, it gives TOR energy, but they need to be smarter on offense. The players would rather be in their designated spots than make the easiest cuts that gives ORL points and throws TOR team defense off kilter. There needs to be some creativity here to beat a clearly more talented team, and you may have to make a pass to a cutter or downscreen/pin-off screen just to start opening up their defense a bit. The PnR could also be a Pick and pop for Vooch to get shots and actions going. It would be easier for a handler to pass out of a blitzed 2-man PnR show with a Vooch stepping to the side than making some half-hearted roll that is impossible to pass to from two TOR defenders on top.
- ORL came out of TOR with what they wanted, a 1-1 tie, and big adjustments by TOR that ORL can pore over and re-adjust back. Hopefully we will throw the next punch. Obviously rebounding and defense needs to get back to gm 1 and gm 2 1st half levels though.
- All the hate on AG’s game as a top 1-2 option, and now you see why we need to bear patience as he grows this part of his game. He was the only offensive provider outside of T Ross tonight.
- No doubt I’ve tried to get ppl to be more appreciative of Fournier’s clever offense and that it helped ORL get here, as he had a strong 2nd half of season to coincide with ORL’s post-season surge, but it’s very obviously clear that he and D.J. are where this team needs upgrades more than anywhere else. Vooch is blowing it this postseason, but at least he can say he was a signpost for double teams, and still has an all-ranges offense. And again, it's not fair to D.J. and Fournier to have to PnR into TWO TOR defenders every single time. They really may need to attack 1 on 1, because it's sounding (counterintuitively) like their best option to start breaking down the defense.
- The TOR adjustment to ORL PnRs is devastating. Both defenders will try their best to show and lock down the handler initiating the PnR, and TOR is doing it literally from the half court line, down to right near the basket. ORL might actually have to look at weaning off the number of PnRs they run, if it is just going to bring two defenders to the handler. Say, Fournier or DJ, will have a better time trying to do something rather than nothing with just 1 defender at least. Maybe some off-ball downscreen/pin-off screens, and cutter options.
- Like Frye tweets, ORL definitely needs to look at letting a sharpshooter like Ross initiate more plays too, and getting more time in with more dangerous players like Vooch. I know T Ross has this high-energy of sprinting and good defense, higher shot attempts, that forces/fits him to fewer minutes, but we need our dangerous weapons more often. Or maybe readjust who is the starter still in there with T Ross.
- A summarized, offensive readjustment could be running about 55% less PnRs, converting some of those into side PicknPop’s with two good shooters. Replacing most of those lost PnRs with either a) creatively getting Vooch into spots where he can initiate offense and b) doing more creative offense like 1on 1 drives (usually with pass outs), purposely making plays to cutters, making faster and smarter passes to stretch the D for opportunities, and running off pin-downs.
- I think Nurse made a ton of offensive adjustments too, that might give ORL a lot of defensive work/readjustment too. But then again ORL kept the score like under 10 by half time with literally zero ORL offense, before waving the white flag in the 2nd half. So it might just be 80% a recommitment to the defense, close-outs, and rebounding they are capable of.
