If the screen gets rejected at the level without any gains, Sabonis can also dive to the rim and wriggle through tight space with his footwork - a result which, yet again, highlights how he’s capable of shifting defenders and what he adds as a people mover in the right spots, rather than intentionally calling plays for him to pick-and-pop early in the shot-clock. Of course, don’t take that to mean the reverse never happens. In that way, with Turner improving as a shooter and Sabonis more known for scoring around the basket, the respective amount of gravity that each draws from within this play oftentimes results in outcomes opposite from the expected norm - albeit with the latter generating, though not always directly assisting on, threes for others. Then, as McConnell storms baseline, Aaron Gordon abruptly retreats from the help to prioritize the three-point line over the basket, resulting in an open dunk. Here, after Turner releases from the pick notice how both defenders commit to the ball. This was also visible against Charlotte, when after slipping out against the spontaneous blitz he, again, drew a crowd, facilitating a power play from Torrey Craig.īy comparison, spot the difference against Denver. Not only does he set a bone-crushing screen that results in a switch Khris Middleton drops down to provide help at the same time as Grayson Allen scurries across the lane, effectively creating a 3-on-1 on the back-side. Just look at this possession against Milwaukee. While it still seems highly questionable that Domantas Sabonis, a bruising playmaker, is launching three 3-pointers per game on 26 percent shooting while averaging fewer post-ups (2.8) on nearly identical pace than was the case for Kristaps Porzingis, as a stretch-big, during Rick Carlisle’s final season in Dallas (3.7), there’s no denying the way in which the two-time All-Star bends defenses around the basket - even when he doesn’t touch the ball. They create odd-man advantages with inverse gravity Overall, what this shows is that the structure is there to provide a potential roadmap, not an ironclad itinerary. To be fair, the same largely applies to the play diagrammed above, as the player ghosting the flare screen mainly does so to space and shift attention away from the side of the floor the ball is about to be headed toward, but the ball also finds the cutter on the move every now and again. Last season, the Pacers ran mechanical false action ( like UCLA-reject) solely to distract from what was coming. So what, right? Those are the Xs and Os, but what does any of it mean, if anything? Well, after clipping every time the Pacers have run this play this season, here’s what can be learned about the team more broadly from how they go about going through the motions. McConnell but also sometimes Malcolm Brogdon, with the end result being a step-up screen to attack baseline. Step 3, Step-up Screen: At this point, after a long journey from one side of the floor to the other and back again, the ball returns to the original initiator, who is typically T.J. Step 2, Ghost Flare-Boomerang: From there, as the ball continues to ping around the perimeter, the player who received the initial pass chases their own reversal and sets a ghosted flare screen, which triggers a boomerang pass and sends the action back in the opposite direction as they slip to the basket.
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Step 1, Corner-to-Wing Exchange: Appearing like a random series of cuts and reads, the set begins with the lead ball-handler driving toward the sideline and swinging the ball to a cutting wing who simultaneously replaced in the corner by a trailing big. Striking a balance between providing multiple options and playing to the strengths of the players involved, all five players are positioned to move and touch the ball in a way that matches tasks to skills. With a place for everyone and everyone in their place, the Pacers have a specific play that, while simple, rarely disappoints.