And…we’re back! Hope y’all had a great Thanksgiving.
Under the Hood – it’s time to see what’s really going on inside this Pistons team.
Doc Rivers and the Milwaukee Bucks exposed Detroit’s biggest weakness last night – their lack of perimeter shooting.
To beat a 2-3 zone, you want to force the defense to constantly move. Quick ball movement to find open shooters or cutters is the best way to attack. If you want to punish a zone, you need to score from deep.
Putting somebody at the high-post, above the free throw line in the middle of the zone is a good way of collapsing the defense. I think Cade had a couple of good possessions as the middle-man. A simple touch pass to LeVert forces Bucks’ Kevin Porter Jr to do a 360 as he tries to contest Caris’ open three.
If the offense is struggling late in the possession, Cade being in the middle of the zone already has him in a great spot to create.
We didn’t see too much of a 5-out offense against the zone, but we did see a possession late in the third quarter. You can see how much more room there is to cover for the defense, and some quick side-to-side movement at the top of the zone creates enough movement for Daniss Jenkins to get to a open jumper from the free throw line.
Another good possession with quick ball movement and shooters along the three-point line where an Ausar drive-and-kick ends up as a hockey assist for a LeVert three.
Now, let’s look at some bad possessions.
Sure, this layup attempt by Ron Holland was weak, but that’s not the worst part to me. With six total people in the paint, including two Pistons, RoHo leaves a wide open corner to cut into a packed lane. Cade could’ve found him for an open three instead of a contested layup.
Jaden Ivey makes a great step back three here, but the point of this clip is to watch how Milwaukee defends Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson.
I wrote last night in the game recap that the Duren roll was nonexistent and it’s because Milwaukee had no respect for Ausar’s jumper. Jericho Sims, to the left of Bobby Portis, is completely in the paint to double JD on the roll and left Thompson wide open on the wing. They treated Ausar like a non-shooting center.
Just a frustrating take for me – there needs to be higher offensive awareness on this team to find a better shot late in the shot clock than an isolation into a packed paint to get an attempt over three Bucks defenders.
Again, same complaint as above – this is a terrible take. Ron could’ve had an open three at the top of the key, but he instead turns a great shot into a terrible one as he drives right into Myles Turner.
I will give Ron and Ausar their flowers, however.
One thing I enjoy that both of them do, which all struggling shooters should learn to do, is to get a running start before they receive a pass to try to catch the defense sleeping.
Ron attempted it in the above clip when he should’ve shot the three, but you can see him set this next one up. He’s slowly walking towards the three-point line, then starts running before the ball gets to him so it’ll help him get passed his defender.
Ausar is capable of doing it as well. Here he starts running before the catch to get passed AJ Green. On his way to the paint, Jericho Sims has to help off the corner and Ausar finds Ivey for a wide open three.
These are ways Ron and Ausar can still make a positive impact offensively if they’re not yet threats from deep.