Hawks vs Magic

[parson]

It's a conviction - held by many in the NBA - that you run isos with your best player down the stretch, like baseball where you bring in your closer at the end of the game. I believe that isos only work where there's an advantage, but NBA-educated coaches often believe your best player makes his own advantages.

Not saying I agree, just saying...

[HoopsGuru25]

The thing about Joe is that he isn't that good of an isolation player because any play where he dominates the ball almost guarantees that the Hawks won't get a layup or a free throw. Being a ball-stopper is much more tolerable when you are shooting 8 plus free throws a game.

[azuresou1]

Isolation ball can work in short stretches, because it DOES have advantages. However, when you run isolations over and over, you have all those advantages negated.

[parson]

The thing about Joe is that he isn't that good of an isolation player because any play where he dominates the ball almost guarantees that the Hawks won't get a layup or a free throw. Being a ball-stopper is much more tolerable when you are shooting 8 plus free throws a game.

Dead on.

Isolation ball can work in short stretches, because it DOES have advantages. However, when you run isolations over and over, you have all those advantages negated.

It depends. If I have Michael Jordan and you have Mike Bibby defending him, I'll run isos all day long until you change your defense. That's where the NBA people are right: find an advantage and milk it for all it's worth.

Thing is, we just go on faith that Joe can work magic, one-on-one, against anybody. I think sometimes it's Smoove with the advantage, sometimes it's Horford. And sometimes, when it's CLE we're playing, it's Marvelous at SG.