Some interesting things to note from the video.
1. Dame & Giannis generate 1.23 PPP on the PnR which is 3rd best in the league behind Tyrese/Turner at 1.29 and Jaylen/Kristaps at 1.24. Caveat is that Dame/Giannis ran over 50% more PNRs than Jaylen/Kristaps did.
Bucks fans sentiments and eye test was correct, Giannis sets AWFUL screens and it’s causing some issues in the offense.
I’ve lamented all season Dame settling for low % midrange shots way more than he used to, and the video highlights that as well and lays the blame at Giannis barely making contact on screens so dames defender can catch up and blow force him into a stepback mid range.
The real story here is a major positive.
Despite dame’s poor shooting so far, despite Giannis setting bad screens, despite the spacing in general with the other guys (cough Brook cough) being bad, and despite the obvious lack of chemistry dame and Giannis have so far (which is improving) they are STILL the second best PNR duo in the nba above elite pairings like Jokic/Murray.
If they figure it out (it is an if unfortunately) it will *devastate* teams.
3 comments
So it just really makes me wonder why he won’t set harder screens. He sets proper screens for Khris
Seems like Giannis always wants to slip the screen for a lob like how he runs it with Khris. This only works if the PnR ball handler is aggressive and drives downhill towards Giannis’ defender. Khris is very good at this but Dame is a little too patient and conservative where he takes a few seconds to assess the defense. The way teams usually blitz Dame and not Khris so much probably plays a factor in all of this. If the lob is not there, Khris can also stop his dribble and pull up from the midrange anytime because that’s his go-to and he has the size to do so. On the other hand, Dame is usually scoping for the 3pt or he’s trying to blow by the big. The midrange is pretty much Dame’s last resort and biggest weakness on offense.
I think Dame and Giannis should meet somewhere in the middle where Giannis is more patient and slows down a bit when setting screens, while Dame plays faster and more aggressive off the dribble.
I watched all of Denver’s playoff games last year, and Jokic/Murray duo with their PnRs and sidestep bounce passes was a thing of beauty. Joker has unreal court vision and ability to inveigle defenders with his unpredictable sloth-like movements lol…certainly not the fastest, but perhaps the smoothest. I’d have to harken back to the eighteen years of Stockton/Malone PnRs and postups back in the 1990s under Jerry Sloan in Utah to find a better PnR pairing than Jokic/Murray.
The fact that an unbaked Giannis/Dame PnR is among the top two or three in the league at this point is a very good sign of better things to come. But Dame has to be more selfish and methodical, and Giannis has to *maintain position longer and more often* than he does. They both move well without the ball, but that the PnR is predicated on one moving, and the other maintaining position.
***Bonus:*** The PnR doesn’t have to go from Dame to Giannis for a score. Dame is an elite penetrator and finisher despite his lack of height, and Giannis is an elite passer for a big man perhaps just a tier below Joker. I can see obfuscating PnR play calls *where either Dame or Giannis can feed each other*. Throw in Lopez into that setup, and we’re even more dynamic. Throw in Beasley in the corner for a PnR failsafe, and I’m a gonna lose my goddamn mind with excitement.
***Fear the Deer*** 🦌