sidestep wrote:Roy Tarpley wrote:sidestep wrote:Setting screens is not just a matter of attitude (selfish or not) -- it's a real skill, and probably the most neglected and underrated skill among bigs. The timing, the angle, and especially, if the ball handler doesn't use the first pick, being able to re-screen at a different position and direction. And making sure the pick makes contact with the defender before moving, unless it's a trap. Tyson and Ed Davis are the only bigs Lin played with that were good at this. Cody Zeller, low BBIQ. The worst was probably Jordan Hill, who slips the pick even before it makes contact, and slips out just to shoot an ineffectual long 2.
Lopez sometimes slips the pick early before bumping the defender, but, most of all, I think the tricky part is whether Lopez will give up post position in order to come up to set picks. I've seen him expect to be fed the ball even when he hasn't established deep post position. Lopez is a smart guy and a team player, and Atkinson seems very detail oriented, so I'm not worried about this issue. But Atkinson is going to have to find a balance between using Lopez in the post and using him in screens, and that proportion may take Lopez out of his comfort zone a bit.
No one on the Hornets could set a decent pick. Maybe Hawes was okay. Jefferson was terrible, I'm surprised he didn't get called for an illegal pick each time. Booker is apparently good at setting picks.
I forget where I read it but I saw a post in which a Nets fan expressed concern that Lin is more likely to use the pick to score himself instead of looking for the roll man. This is a misperception but it does have a basis in last year. On the Hornets, Lin often didn't use the pick by going on the pick's other side, or attacking before the pick was set. This made the suckiness of the roll man a moot point, and avoided getting doubled off the pick, but still pulled the defending big man up from the paint. Lin won't have to resort to that so much this year, though not using the pick can sometimes be the right choice regardless.
Fortunately Lopez has good hands. Unlike Zeller, who seemed to fumble any bounce pass in the paint that wasn't at his chest, and if he did manage to catch a bounce pass, he is just as likely to get the ball pried from him. He had a remarkable ability to lose the ball after catching it in traffic hehe. As for Al, it wasn't just that he didn't set good picks, but that his comfort zone was in something opposite, that is, in establishing post position instead. That's what I meant by the comfort zone thing, since Lopez is also a skilled post player.
Disagree about Zeller and the Hornets setting good screens in general. I think you're being a bit unfair to him. Cody aint a great player that's for sure, but if setting screens is cool then you can consider him Miles Davis. I think Zeller is actually one of the best screen setters in the league and a decent finisher out of the pick and roll in general. He has a long way to go though of course. You're right also about Albus if I ever have to watch him set another screen again i'll gouge my eyes out.
1. Cody Zeller shot 59% out of pick and roll last season.
2. Cody Zeller was 5th best in the entire league in points per possession out of the pick and roll (min 100) and he operated as a role man on 29% of the team's possessions, which was the 9th highest number in the league (5th if you go min 100). So he's efficient out of pick and roll at very high volume.
3. NBA tracked hustle stats during the playoffs - Cody Zeller was the 4th best player in the playoffs in "Screen Assists" - which is where the screen he sets leads directly to a basket by the ballhandler. (sample size) http://stats.nba.com/league/player/#!/hustle/?sort=SCREEN_ASSISTS&dir=1
4. Cody Zeller was the 6th best player in the league in score frequency when he operated the pick and roll (min 100). That's the percentage of time the team scored at least 1 point off of his pick and roll. Testament to Kemba's improvement as well.
5. Only 3 players in the league scored over 200 points as a roll man with at least 1.22 points per possession - Deandre Jordan, Hassan Whiteside and Cody Zeller.
6. On April 17th Coach Clifford said that Cody Zeller had set the 3rd most ball screens in the entire NBA.
7. In the Playoffs, the Hornets were the second best team in team screen assists. (sample size)
So yeah, Cody's interior finishing is ugly and he loses the ball a lot but he's a damn good screen setter. Zeller's finishing aint always stellar but he can run a pick and roll.
