Post by DERRENMATTS on Nov 20, 2006 20:02:12 GMT -5
We won't be true title contenders until Jefferson and Green are ready to contribute consistently, and by that I mean play at the level they have the ability to play at.
The way things are shaping up now, we have many of the key ingredients in place to be one of future elite teams in the league.
But 2 things that we do lack, or aren't really strong at are 1) a big time low post threat (a guy you can go to in the clutch) and 2) a high flyer who can go up the ladder and bring down alley oops.
While Perkins may sometimes power his way to the basket and clang in some points for us, and Gomes may be one of the best clean up scorers in the league, and Powe is emerging as a low post scoring option, this is where Al Jefferson shines the most. The kid has a knack for scoring in the paint. Sometimes its not pretty and sometimes even he doesn't know what move he's going to use. But the outcome is generally a bucket in traffic. Once we start playing consistently well, we'll be a playoff worthy team. But to get to the contenders level, we're going to need a go to scorer in the post who we can count on in the clutch to get us baskets. This is where we will separate ourselves from those who can't get over the hump.
Its quite evident that we sometimes become reliant on our perimeter game, and at times, when we desperately need a bucket, we bail the other team out by settling for jumpers. This is where having a reliable scorer in the post makes a difference. This is where Jefferson will really earn his money for us. And until he does, we will not be a complete team.
Focusing now on Gerald Green, we already see how effective a shooter he is, and how good he can become with more seasoning and development. We know that he has the ability to create his own shots and now he's learning how to be a scorer in the team game. But one area where Gerald can really help us at is giving us alternate scoring options using alley oops and backdoor cuts. Lots of teams utilize the alley oop out of timeouts and on set plays and its effective because when executed properly, the only way to stop it is by fouling the player before he leaps in the air to catch the lob pass. Since only a few can jump as high as Gerald can, we can expose this advantage and utilize his quickness and jumping ability, as well as Telfair's and Rajon's accurate passing ability, and this will our opponents different looks on offense to keep them confused.
We run a lot of motion plays where two or three players cut in different directions at the same time. This is the perfect time to run an alley oop or a backdoor cut because teams will be scrambling to cover on defense and there are bound to be times when Gerald can sneak in for a lob pass above the rim.
The way things are shaping up now, we have many of the key ingredients in place to be one of future elite teams in the league.
But 2 things that we do lack, or aren't really strong at are 1) a big time low post threat (a guy you can go to in the clutch) and 2) a high flyer who can go up the ladder and bring down alley oops.
While Perkins may sometimes power his way to the basket and clang in some points for us, and Gomes may be one of the best clean up scorers in the league, and Powe is emerging as a low post scoring option, this is where Al Jefferson shines the most. The kid has a knack for scoring in the paint. Sometimes its not pretty and sometimes even he doesn't know what move he's going to use. But the outcome is generally a bucket in traffic. Once we start playing consistently well, we'll be a playoff worthy team. But to get to the contenders level, we're going to need a go to scorer in the post who we can count on in the clutch to get us baskets. This is where we will separate ourselves from those who can't get over the hump.
Its quite evident that we sometimes become reliant on our perimeter game, and at times, when we desperately need a bucket, we bail the other team out by settling for jumpers. This is where having a reliable scorer in the post makes a difference. This is where Jefferson will really earn his money for us. And until he does, we will not be a complete team.
Focusing now on Gerald Green, we already see how effective a shooter he is, and how good he can become with more seasoning and development. We know that he has the ability to create his own shots and now he's learning how to be a scorer in the team game. But one area where Gerald can really help us at is giving us alternate scoring options using alley oops and backdoor cuts. Lots of teams utilize the alley oop out of timeouts and on set plays and its effective because when executed properly, the only way to stop it is by fouling the player before he leaps in the air to catch the lob pass. Since only a few can jump as high as Gerald can, we can expose this advantage and utilize his quickness and jumping ability, as well as Telfair's and Rajon's accurate passing ability, and this will our opponents different looks on offense to keep them confused.
We run a lot of motion plays where two or three players cut in different directions at the same time. This is the perfect time to run an alley oop or a backdoor cut because teams will be scrambling to cover on defense and there are bound to be times when Gerald can sneak in for a lob pass above the rim.