Sixers vs Nets
The main takeaway from game 2 is that dependence on three-point shooting can shoot you out of the game. Head coach Jacque Vaughn on in game adjustments, “The only adjustment made was that the ball didn’t go in the hole for us.” Vaughn added, “We got open looks, they tried to go zone, we had enough shooting out there, the ball just didn’t go in.”
Vaughn is correct that the Nets got open looks but as a coach you have to do something when the ball is not going in. Nets power-forwards Finney-Smith and Ryan O’Neale went 4–15 from behind the three point line. Smith and O’neale’s 26% from the three point line equals 0.8 points per possession.
The 76ers zone was not designed to have Smith and O’Neale shoot the ball. It was not shadowing or hedging towards Cam Johnson or Mikal Bridges. Ball movement stopped when O’Neale and Smith caught the ball and had an open look. Cam Johnson finished the game shooting 45% from the three point line.
The 76ers shot themselves out of the game. Their zone offense failed to prove the 76ers zone defense. The problem was settling and not being able to get in the paint.
The Nets shot 38 two point shots and 40 three point shots. The Nets were not lighting it up from inside the arc by shooting a frail 44% for an expected value of 0.89 points per possession on two point shots.
31% from three translates to 0.93 points per possession which is better than shooting 44% from two. The logic behind the high dependency on the three point shot makes sense and the analytics support it but their is also the psychology to missing shots.
Three-point shooting success in the first half may have given the Nets a false sense of reality but once the shots were not falling, you need to get to the rim or to the free-throw line. There were gaps in the Sixers zone despite their increased intensity in the second half but the Nets continued to shoot threes and they died by the three.
Kings vs Warriors
Shooting percentages favored the Warriors. Warriors shot 62% from two point range to the Kings 61%. From the three point line the Warriors shot 32.5% to the Kings 23.7%. The free-throw line percentage favored the Warriors 83.3% to the Kings 72.4%.
How did the Warriors lose the game? Turnovers and less shot attempts. The Warriors committed 20 turnovers and took 10 less shots than the Kings. The other major difference was the Kings shot ten more free-throws than the Warriors.
Foul trouble plagued the Warriors. In game 1 the Kings assaulted the rim and were able to get to the free-throw line in key moments. In Game 2, Looney’s and Draymon Green’s foul trouble made things easier for Domantas Sabonis and allowed him to bounce back from his poor performance in Game 1.
The other factor that stood out was the Kings young legs and their activity on defense. Davion Mitchell became a nuisance for Steph Curry. Mitchell fought through screens, chased Curry and managed to stay in front to challenge shots. The other defensive factor was Sabonis help on down screens and the Warriors motion offense. Sabonis identified the screening action and stepped up to help on the man coming off the screen. Sabonis negated any possible curls for open mid range shots and challenged three-point shots.
The Kings young legs and athleticism are disrupting the Warriors motion and it will be interesting to see if Steve Kerr goes to more pick and roll action. If the Warriors go to the pick and roll, Sabonis will be the target. Will the Kings have him play drop coverage or have him step up like he is doing on the Warriors motion offense?
Sabonis and Green Circus
The refs got this right despite the hysteria on twitter. Sabonis deserved a technical for grabbing Draymond’s leg and Draymond deserved to get ejected for stomping on Sabonis and then using Sabonis body as a trampoline and jumping off him.
A lot of the arguments defending Draymond focus on Sabonis starting the action but we all know that the retaliation is often the action that is more severely punished. Yes, Sabonis started the action by grabbing Draymond’s leg and that action warrants a technical foul.
The other defense for Draymond is asking what was he supposed to do? Don’t stomp on him and don’t jump off his chest. There is a clear stomp by Draymond which is not needed. The stomp is made worse by then applying pressure on the chest to jump off Sabonis. The stomp and the jump off were not necessary. It was impossible for Draymond to not step on Sabonis but you can step on Sabonis without stomping and then jumping.
Draymond’s action was a retalliation. Had Draymond just stepped on him and then fell, Sabonis would have been the one awarded the technical and Draymond would have stayed in the game.
Players scuffling like this is not new. Dennis Rodman would get tangled up with Karl Malone and Karl Malone handled it like a professional and did not let Rodman get under his skin.
How referees will look at these plays is as two individual actions. That is how the referees handled this situation. Sabonis action was penalized and Draymon’s action was penalized. It is never a natural act to stomp a person’s chest and then use that chest as a trampoline. That action is excessive and deserves an ejection.
The Flopping
Flopping in the NBA is getting out of control. On several occassion last night players are flying across the floor. The action is similar to 1980’s action film where a character is shot with a low caliber pistol and the bullet elevates the character and flings them across the room and through a window.
The flopping is a problem and is a problem that the NBA rules committee created. The game is called differently on the perimeter and on the post. On the perimeter any contact with an offensive player is called a foul. Meanwhile in the post, the Warriors defense on Sabonis generated this response on twitter
There is a physicality in the paint that is non existent in the perimeter. The variance in how the game is being called is leading to excessive flopping. Post players are desperate for a call and when they can’t get one they over sell to try and get a favorable whistle. On the perimeter, players know that any contact is going to be called so they oversell the contact to get the whistle and we are starting to see 1980’s action stunts by NBA players on minimal touching.
The skill level is high but the flopping is off putting and it is a problem that the NBA created and magnified.
BUY ME A COFFEE
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