M2J wrote:76ciology wrote:M2J wrote:
I generally agree, he's more aggressive like back in January last year, but also still finding his role in this new system. Much of that run was without Joel (I think people are reading too much into the Cleveland game, and how Ben played but Joel was a late scratch and may have thrown everybody off)... However this system is really Joel centric, and they need the shooters to hit to go smoothly for Ben as a facilitator... Including Green and Tobi.
I just think it will take time, I went back and watched the game late last night, and did see some of Ben as a screener and he definitely has gravity and helped Seth get to the basket. But mostly, I'm very happy they're working on that action...I actually think it's a game changer especially if they do it with Shake in the 4th.
In the fourth or when we need to have our best foot forward, we can have both Seth and Shake. Ben would decreAse his ball handling duties and be more of a screener (roll man) and at the dunker spot. A role like you see Bam or Draymond plays.
You then can see more of those actions you mention, him being a screener to the shooters. He’d still be pushing on transition and do some drives with the ball, its not like we’d totally remove him from more prominent ball duties.
This can work. A guy with great shooting but decent handles can just run the two man game nowadays. And if you look at the numbers Seth, Milton and Tobi can. But I still dont think it would carry us to ever win the championship.
I wouldn't fully bet on that either right now, but we'll see how this team executes in tight games over the course of the season.
But if they are the elite defensive team that we sometimes see on a consistent basis, and able to crank that up even more when they need it. I can see it happening. They'll of course as a team also need to hit open shots. But that's really any team.
We've seen that formula win titles plenty of times with dominant big men, and Joel's face up game and shooting, along with his improved passing from double teams could make him a quality closer like a Duncan or Hakeem. But shooters have to hit shots and close offensively by committee and Ben/Joel have to be all defensive type forces. I don't doubt that Joel will draw doubles in the paint for the shooters... But a stronger ball handler and passer in Ben getting more post opportunities and making plays as a roll man for himself and teammates is another dimension, along with his new willingness to go to the free throw line and drive aggressively... We have seen over the years that Ben has clutch moments either hitting key free throws, making clutch defensive plays or getting opportunistic baskets in big moments due to his bb IQ.
But, I'm starting to feel better about Joel being able to just generate needed points to stop a run, or extending a lead, or get a go ahead points. Mainly because he can get to the line
The big difference in Jojo’s game is his shooting. Ive said before how I think Jojo being a good to great shooting maybe the key to unlocking this duo rather than expecting Ben to be a good shooter. He’s evidently taking more 16ft to less than 3pt range jumpers from 13% to 18%. His 3pt numbers is also up.
Crunch time, Biid floats to the FT line area to allow Ben to be a threat at the dunker spot. Need a basket, give the ball to Biid and he hits a face up jumper.
The league love it when teams would exchange baskets down the stretch in the playoffs. And this type of style wont go away anytime soon.
In the end we’re going to rely on Biid’s 1v1 offense and non-allstar shooters like Seth, Milton and Tobi to create plays. This is against guys like Kyrie, KD, Tatum and other elite perimeter shotmakers. Yes, we have the disadvantage but I think the hope is we can close the gap or be better because of our defense.
