Post by DERRENMATTS on Jun 12, 2006 0:40:46 GMT -5
From watching the Finals, this is what really stands out to me. Aside from playing solid defense (which is a given) we need to have good scorers on the floor, and from my observation, at least 5 of them.
By scorers, I'm refering to guys who can put the ball in the basket when we need a bucket, or when time is running out, guys who have the ability to get off a good shot. Watching Dallas, they have Dirk, Stackhouse, Terry, and to some extent Josh Howard and Devin Harris. These 5 can get points even when they have to alter their shots or change their direction to the basket. Its one thing to score when the lane is wide open, but to be a good scorer, you need to be able to make quick adjustments, change directions, and change hands and score in different ways. Or make tough layups in traffic, or hit pull up jumpers with a hand in your face.
In the playoffs, and especially in the Finals, defenses are smothering. So having scorers who can still get off good shots and score when defenses are swarming around you is crucial. Miami struggled tonight in game 2 because they don't have as many "scorers" as Dallas does. By shutting down Shaq and Wade, Dallas was able to stifle Miami's offensive attack. Simply put, Walker, Jayson Williams, Udonis Haslem, Gary Payton, and James Posey aren't the type of scorers who can get off good shots on their own when the team needs buckets.
Its the team's perogative to execute the X's and O's as often as possible. But with defenses being raised a notch in the playoffs, its inevitable that the offense will have to manufacture points outside of the team offense. That's why we'll need guys who can make shots when the plays fall apart.
So where do we stand? Well, we do have Pierce, and he's a proven scorer and one of the league's best when it comes to getting his own points. He's been doing it for such a long time now that its not a problem for him to accept the challenge of scoring when plays are broken.
We also have 2 young scorers on the rise who appear to have the ability to score when plays are broken. Al Jefferson just has the knack to wiggle his way in the post and put up shots that bounce in. I'm not even sure if he knows how they go in. Gerald is a guy who shows early glimpses of being able to create offense on the fly. He's not confined to just set plays. He's a creative scorer.
So that gives us 3 guys who can score outside of the team offense. Wally may be a guy who can get off his own shot, but he's not all that effective driving to the basket. He's got that Antoine syndrome where he bowls over people when he goes hard to the rim. Tony Allen may be able to take on the task of creatively getting us points when the shot clock is winding down. He can get to the rim fairly consistently when his knee is healthy. But he's got to get himself a jumper to be considered a guy we can count on when we need points because he can't only rely on driving to the basket.
I think it'll be to our benefit to get ourselves at least one other guy who plays well in the team offense but who also has that ability to get points for us when he needs to go outside the X's and O's and create his own shots.
By scorers, I'm refering to guys who can put the ball in the basket when we need a bucket, or when time is running out, guys who have the ability to get off a good shot. Watching Dallas, they have Dirk, Stackhouse, Terry, and to some extent Josh Howard and Devin Harris. These 5 can get points even when they have to alter their shots or change their direction to the basket. Its one thing to score when the lane is wide open, but to be a good scorer, you need to be able to make quick adjustments, change directions, and change hands and score in different ways. Or make tough layups in traffic, or hit pull up jumpers with a hand in your face.
In the playoffs, and especially in the Finals, defenses are smothering. So having scorers who can still get off good shots and score when defenses are swarming around you is crucial. Miami struggled tonight in game 2 because they don't have as many "scorers" as Dallas does. By shutting down Shaq and Wade, Dallas was able to stifle Miami's offensive attack. Simply put, Walker, Jayson Williams, Udonis Haslem, Gary Payton, and James Posey aren't the type of scorers who can get off good shots on their own when the team needs buckets.
Its the team's perogative to execute the X's and O's as often as possible. But with defenses being raised a notch in the playoffs, its inevitable that the offense will have to manufacture points outside of the team offense. That's why we'll need guys who can make shots when the plays fall apart.
So where do we stand? Well, we do have Pierce, and he's a proven scorer and one of the league's best when it comes to getting his own points. He's been doing it for such a long time now that its not a problem for him to accept the challenge of scoring when plays are broken.
We also have 2 young scorers on the rise who appear to have the ability to score when plays are broken. Al Jefferson just has the knack to wiggle his way in the post and put up shots that bounce in. I'm not even sure if he knows how they go in. Gerald is a guy who shows early glimpses of being able to create offense on the fly. He's not confined to just set plays. He's a creative scorer.
So that gives us 3 guys who can score outside of the team offense. Wally may be a guy who can get off his own shot, but he's not all that effective driving to the basket. He's got that Antoine syndrome where he bowls over people when he goes hard to the rim. Tony Allen may be able to take on the task of creatively getting us points when the shot clock is winding down. He can get to the rim fairly consistently when his knee is healthy. But he's got to get himself a jumper to be considered a guy we can count on when we need points because he can't only rely on driving to the basket.
I think it'll be to our benefit to get ourselves at least one other guy who plays well in the team offense but who also has that ability to get points for us when he needs to go outside the X's and O's and create his own shots.