chefo wrote:ZOMG wrote:dougthonus wrote:
If you want to discount all data where he had nagging injuries that he played through, then you will probably have to discount 1/3rd to 1/2 his season every year, because players just play through nagging injuries all the time. It is part of the league.
I do hope he shoots well going forward of course. He definitely has shown the ability to stay hot for good stretches.
Another interesting thing is that Lauri shoots a ton of wide open threes and almost exclusively assisted threes. It will be interesting the defense changes on him if he starts shooting more consistently (ie, people stay at home more) and if he's able to add some off the dribble threes in isolation.
I'm not sure anyone really wants him to shoot off the dribble three pointers in isolation. To me it seems that whenever he gets the ball on the perimeter and puts it on the floor, people start screaming for him to get in the post or just drive to the hoop. Hell, you regularly hear it on this very forum. And it seems Donovan thinks the same way.
Big volume 3pt shooting is here to stay, but it's also important to try to maximize the quality of perimeter looks. It's no wonder all teams love kickout threes and pick and pops. Those are the best ones. NBA defenders are so good that a contested off the dribble 3pt shot is very rarely a good option.
People like Zach can make them, but IMO leaning too heavily on these shots is foolish.
If the other team does change the D as described, our coaching staff start high-fiving and going to bed with a grin from ear to ear. Why?
1.) If nothing else, another 'big' is nowhere near the paint and can't double the ball handler.
2.) If they start playing him tight, you just run a simple 'screen the screener' set after the initial pick and pop action and all kinds of mayhem starts happening defensively because there are very few teams that are disciplined enough and smart enough to constantly make the correct reads when there is a lot going on off ball.
3.) It allows Lauri to drive
4.) It allows Lauri to slip the screen
5.) etc., etc.
When you have a very talented shooter who is not a complete stiff, taking away his attempts costs a lot to a defense. Coach D seems to be the most perceptive guy we've had since... Thibs? He'll know how to counter the counter.
I've never called Lauri an elite shooter, but nevertheless he's long been the only Bulls player besides Zach to be game planned for. Doug's post implied that he's just about ignored on the perimeter, and nothing could be further from the truth. Lauri has had a defender surgically attached to his chest for most of his career because teams consider him a true 3pt shooting threat. But NBA games are long and you can't keep an eye on any player for 100% of the time. He's gonna get off open shots just like any perimeter oriented guy.
However, Fred in particular was also very good at freeing Lauri for 3pt shots with all kinds of clever actions, and Boylen used them for a while too... until he didn't.
I agree that it wouldn't hurt Lauri to be less robotic with his shooting - personally I hate it when he throws up rushed crap when people are running at him. Donovan said at some point that Lauri could do more damage by sprinkling shot fakes here and there and stepping past the defender closing him out, and I absolutely agree. And Markkanen has shown signs of doing that more this season.