Blazers Have A Ploy To Give Brandon Roy The Ball More

[ABM]

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/11/blazers_have_a_ploy_to_give_br.html

NEW ORLEANS -- By the looks on the faces of the Trail Blazers, coach Nate McMillan might as well have been speaking Chinese on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.

"Weak 25 ice" McMillan shouted from the sideline.

Steve Blake squinted at the coach and grimaced. Joel Przybilla threw up his hands in confusion. And Brandon Roy tilted his head up, his mind searching for the play.

Behind McMillan, scouts for three NBA teams scurried, flipping through diagrams and past play calls. There had been up to 50 play calls before that, and none had caused as much angst as this one.

The reason for all the confusion on the court, and the commotion within the scouting table, was that the Blazers had never run the play before.

"We all didn't know the play," Roy chuckled later.

The play was an isolation designed for Roy, with the center posting, then clearing out.

Turns out McMillan had talked about the play in meetings, but had never fully implemented the call into the Blazers' playbook.

"He must have thought we put it in already," Blake said, noting that he rarely, if ever, is stumped by a play call. "Coaches have mishaps too, just like players."

It was a subtle and early evolution of this year's Blazers: McMillan was beginning to implement a new wrinkle to the team's attack -- a series of isolation (or "ice") plays for Roy.

The idea is to make the Blazers' halfcourt offense more varied. With Roy, the Blazers had become so pick-and-roll dominated that they became predictable. Teams would routinely trap Roy in an effort to force him to either retreat from penetration or pass.

"They aren't even hesitating," McMillan said of the traps. "So we have to give him some space and let him operate."

Now, with the "ice" series, Roy will get the ball in different areas of the court and instead of having either Greg Oden or LaMarcus Aldridge come and set a screen for him, the entire Blazers team will clear out the middle of the court. This allows Roy to break down his man.................

............."Basically, we are saying we are open to the idea of letting me go one-on-one more," Roy said. "And hopefully this helps the team out, especially with Greg or LaMarcus cutting. It can get us easier baskets."

Interestingly, the new isolation plays are a throwback to Roy's second season. At that time, however, McMillan scrapped the plays because he felt it killed the team's movement because everyone cleared out and watched Roy go to work.

That's when he started putting the ball in Roy's hands more and started calling heavy amounts of pick-and-roll sets to get more people moving.

But now, with an older and more savvy team, McMillan feels Aldridge and Oden can read the spacing and make better cuts. Also, he has given Roy the freedom to call for a pick off an isolation....................

 

[andalusian]

More options are good, as long as they keep an open mind about it and go away from it if it does not work.

Roy taking someone one-on-one is a good weapon.

 

[alex42083]

Any way to get our best player the ball in his hands more and let him work is a good thing to me. We're not going to beat everyone by 20 and have everyone getting their touches, so we're going to need Brandon to help close out the good teams. It'll be interesting to see if we see Brandon's numbers rise a bit, or see him create a bit more.

 

[Eastoff]

It's just a ploy to keep the ball from Dre. Why are they telling the league our secret code words?!

 

[Minstrel]

It's just a ploy to keep the ball from Dre. Why are they telling the league our secret code words?!

Y'all forgot about Dre.

 

[Natebishop3]

ugh. iso plays do NOT promote good ball movement/player movement.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Poor decision IMO. The reason our team has started to play well on offense is because of the fantastic ball movement. I can't believe our coach wants to stop that ball movement by holding it.


Coming soon to an arena near you.

Interestingly, the new isolation plays are a throwback to Roy's second season. At that time, however, McMillan scrapped the plays because he felt it killed the team's movement because everyone cleared out and watched Roy go to work.

I know he thinks it will change, but it won't

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Poor decision IMO. The reason our team has started to play well on offense is because of the fantastic ball movement. I can't believe our coach wants to stop that ball movement by holding it.


Coming soon to an arena near you.




I know he thinks it will change, but it won't

Definition of insanity, right? Looks like perhaps Mr. Sonic needs to be committed...

 

[oldguy]

What happened to letting Dre call the plays? I thought Nate handed him the keys to the offense. Are we back to Nate calling all the plays, or sometimes calling the plays, or is Dre still doing that, mostly?

 

[Mediocre Man]

What happened to letting Dre call the plays? I thought Nate handed him the keys to the offense. Are we back to Nate calling all the plays, or sometimes calling the plays, or is Dre still doing that, mostly?

Here is how I think it went down.

Brandon: I am not getting the ball enough since that new guy has been calling plays.

Nate: What should we do?

Brandon: Put the ball back in my hands and let me go 1 on 1.

Nate: But we are playing well.

Brandon: But we won 54 games with us having to struggle to win against those teams we just blew out on the road.

Nate: Good point. Forget about everything that is working, hold the ball until the clock is running out and create a shot.

 

[Draco]

So during the offseason we wanted to add another playmaker so this team wasn't dependent on Roy running 70% of the offense and causing us to get bounced in the first round.

We finally have a good stretch of games where other players are creating shots and now some want to make sure "Roy gets his"?

How about just letting Roy score his ~18ppg in the flow of a team game without him being the entire offensive focal point? We have some of the worst guard and wing defense in the leauge, how about Roy worries about being the teams #1 wing defender?

Is this really about what's best for the team or just what's best for Roy.

 

[ABM]

Here is how I think it went down.

Brandon: I am not getting the ball enough since that new guy has been calling plays.

Nate: What should we do?

Brandon: Put the ball back in my hands and let me go 1 on 1.

Nate: But we are playing well.

Brandon: But we won 54 games with us having to struggle to win against those teams we just blew out on the road.

Nate: Good point. Forget about everything that is working, hold the ball until the clock is running out and create a shot.

You do realize that this will all be situational, don't you? I mean, every team with a star player designs clear-out plays for them occasionally. No new news here, IMO.

 

[RR7]

You do realize that this will all be situational, don't you? I mean, every team with a star player designs clear-out plays for them occasionally. No new news here, IMO.

No, we're going to do this on every single play. Season's lost. Fire Nate.

 

[andalusian]

No, we're going to do this on every single play. Season's lost. Fire Nate.

I heard the Blazers are appealing to the league to use it retroactively - so we are actually 0-9.

Just FYI.

 

[RR7]

I heard the Blazers are appealing to the league to use it retroactively - so we are actually 0-9.

Just FYI.

I'm posting this from my iPhone as I head off to the nearest bridge. 0-9?! Seriously! We couldn't even beat Minnesota at home?

As for 'Dre calling his own plays, the article pretty clearly mentions Blake trying to get the ball to Roy. And Roy kicking out to Rudy. I don't remember a lineup where we had Blake-Miller-Rudy-Roy-Joel out on the court, so I am assuming Andre was on the bench. Andre gets to call his own plays. Steve not so much.

 

[yakbladder]

I heard the Blazers are appealing to the league to use it retroactively - so we are actually 0-9.

Just FYI.

Bwahahahaha...

But it's true. We are using it on every play.

And, despite all the paranoia, MM is correct. This team was designed and coach specifically to frustrate him and his need for a fast pace Loyola-Marymount type offense from the 80's. In fact, I believe MM is starting a new league next week where they won't be allowed to defend in order to speed up the game. It's called horse.

 

[magnifier661]

Poor decision IMO. The reason our team has started to play well on offense is because of the fantastic ball movement. I can't believe our coach wants to stop that ball movement by holding it.


Coming soon to an arena near you.




I know he thinks it will change, but it won't

I doubt he uses it all the time. Just trying to mix things up more, especially on those games when our role players aren't doing so well. Sometime you have to have your superstar carry the team until the role players get back on track. So instead of the normal isolation we see with a pick and roll or pop more like it, Nate can design a few more plays to combat those situations.

I'm not against that at all. The more plays the better for the team. Too many times we are too damn predictable.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Poor decision IMO. The reason our team has started to play well on offense is because of the fantastic ball movement. I can't believe our coach wants to stop that ball movement by holding it.

If executed properly by Roy it sounds like this particular iso is as much about him finding an open cutter as it is him lowering his head and getting to the rim. I get what you are saying about the iso being kind of weak sauce as far as the team game goes, but in small doses maybe this is the kind of thing that can mix Roy's one-on-one dominance with Dre's creativity with the ball.

 

[magnifier661]

If executed properly by Roy it sounds like this particular iso is as much about him finding an open cutter as it is him lowering his head and getting to the rim. I get what you are saying about the iso being kind of weak sauce as far as the team game goes, but in small doses maybe this is the kind of thing that can mix Roy's one-on-one dominance with Dre's creativity with the ball.

The way it was explained, it doesn't sound much like iso to me. But I get what mediocre is saying. You don't want less movement all the time. From what I believe, it's just something they can use when times are tough scoring-wise.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Bwahahahaha...

But it's true. We are using it on every play.

And, despite all the paranoia, MM is correct. This team was designed and coach specifically to frustrate him and his need for a fast pace Loyola-Marymount type offense from the 80's. In fact, I believe MM is starting a new league next week where they won't be allowed to defend in order to speed up the game. It's called horse.

It simply amazes me that when anyone brings up a faster pace, the first thing some of you bring up is Phoenix, Loyola Maymount, the Knicks, GS etc.

What we did in our last two games at home, and on the road in parts of our last two games was push the ball, and moved the ball, and it worked well.

Last year we held the ball a lot more, and good defensive teams figured out how to stop it.

 

[Paxil]

While Roy is fantastically efficient in isolation, he can be even more efficient in the set offense. He hasn't seemed all that interested in being part of the normal offense though... sometimes it is all him or nothing. That is an adjustment that he needs to make. He can create off set plays too. He can shot off a screen.

Remember when Jordan had huge games and the Bull's lost? He'd score 50 and they would lose. It was if as he did more to keep the game tight... the team did worse.

I am fine with them isolating Roy at times... but I hope it doesn't lead to everyone standing around watching.

 

[magnifier661]

While Roy is fantastically efficient in isolation, he can be even more efficient in the set offense. He hasn't seemed all that interested in being part of the normal offense though... sometimes it is all him or nothing. That is an adjustment that he needs to make. He can create off set plays too. He can shot off a screen.

Remember when Jordan had huge games and the Bull's lost? He'd score 50 and they would lose. It was if as he did more to keep the game tight... the team did worse.

I am fine with them isolating Roy at times... but I hope it doesn't lead to everyone standing around watching.

I don't get why so many people think he's not participating in this offense. I may be taking crazy pills, but I see him moving without the ball these last 5 games. Also, he's lowered his point total, but his rebounding, FG% and assists have gone up. Personally, I think Roy is playing much smarter basketball and our team is benefiting from it.

 

[yakbladder]

It simply amazes me that when anyone brings up a faster pace, the first thing some of you bring up is Phoenix, Loyola Maymount, the Knicks, GS etc.

What we did in our last two games at home, and on the road in parts of our last two games was push the ball, and moved the ball, and it worked well.

Last year we held the ball a lot more, and good defensive teams figured out how to stop it.

I'm just giving you grief MM.

I know you really think Phoenix and Loyola Marymount are slow teams that bore you after the first 30 seconds of play.

Last year we also won quite a few games. And don't give me the BS about us being ousted in the first round. It was the first playoff series for most of these guys and a controlled offense was a much better way to go...at that time. I'm not saying they shouldn't speed it up to take advantage of things like LMAs running skills, but it would be equally ridiculous for me to say they shouldn't run ISO plays to take advantage of Roy's advantage over just about anyone.

 

[yakbladder]

I don't get why so many people think he's not participating in this offense. I may be taking crazy pills, but I see him moving without the ball these last 5 games. Also, he's lowered his point total, but his rebounding, FG% and assists have gone up. Personally, I think Roy is playing much smarter basketball and our team is benefiting from it.

You're taking crazy pills. Please stop and/or pass them around.

It's great and all that there is team distribution except that:

A) You're going to need a go-to guy. I'm not convinced that people even think after a few games that's Roy anymore. It's like we're mixing it up for the sake of mixing it up.
B) If you deflate Roy to second tier status then you lose your superstar, your instant foul, and possibly disengage your moral leader. I don't think that's a good thing.

Is there room for adjustment on Roy's part? Sure. But I think simply saying he needs to accept things, move without the ball and be happy with under 10 pts a night is shooting the team in the foot in the long run. He HAS to be a threat for the triumvirate of death to work.

 

[magnifier661]

You're taking crazy pills. Please stop and/or pass them around.

It's great and all that there is team distribution except that:

A) You're going to need a go-to guy. I'm not convinced that people even think after a few games that's Roy anymore. It's like we're mixing it up for the sake of mixing it up.
B) If you deflate Roy to second tier status then you lose your superstar, your instant foul, and possibly disengage your moral leader. I don't think that's a good thing.

Is there room for adjustment on Roy's part? Sure. But I think simply saying he needs to accept things, move without the ball and be happy with under 10 pts a night is shooting the team in the foot in the long run. He HAS to be a threat for the triumvirate of death to work.

I guess I finally found the thread I wanted to post my Roy's new role on. Anyways, I doubt Nate is wanting to use him less, which I explained in another thread. I think the team using him to be that 4th quarter player is exactly what we need. Having him coast for the first 2 quarters, start heating up in the 3rd, then taking over the 4th are what players like Kobe and Wade were doing when they had Shaq.

Fact is, if you can establish a low post game, and score easier, the defense has to adjust to that. Once they adjust to that, then you bring in "Roy ball" to completely deflate them.

 

[e_blazer]

The way I see it, this is just an additional play set that will be thrown in from time to time to disrupt defenses keying on stopping the pick and rolls that Brandon has relied upon. I don't see that mixing things up will do anything but improve scoring options for both Roy and other players.

It will be interesting to see how the team uses this tonight.

 

[RR7]

Anyone notice the mention in there of the 50 or so plays that Nate has and calls? I thought we only had 3, according to some in here.

 

[Paxil]

Magnifier661 it isn't that he isn't participating... it is that I expect that as our best player he would be a tad more aggressive. He looks like Batum out there sometimes... passing the ball when wide open etc... except that Batum at least look ready to do something... sometimes Roy has been flat-footed.

I know his numbers are fine, but if anyone is not giving 100% Roy preached about in preseason... it is him.

We saw clearly in previous seasons that Roy would coast at times and then try to take things over in the 4th quarter... and in some games a win was out of reach by then. I think there is a nice in-between that he can find... and I am sure he will.

 

[Paxil]

Anyone notice the mention in there of the 50 or so plays that Nate has and calls? I thought we only had 3, according to some in here. RR7

That seems crazy... I can't remember what couch said it this year but one said he only calls about 3 plays from the bench all game. I have seen times when we have the advantage and stop to call a play... not as many as in years past... but pressing and advantage will always be more efficient.

 

[magnifier661]

Magnifier661 it isn't that he isn't participating... it is that I expect that as our best player he would be a tad more aggressive. He looks like Batum out there sometimes... passing the ball when wide open etc... except that Batum at least look ready to do something... sometimes Roy has been flat-footed.

I know his numbers are fine, but if anyone is not giving 100% Roy preached about in preseason... it is him.

We saw clearly in previous seasons that Roy would coast at times and then try to take things over in the 4th quarter... and in some games a win was out of reach by then. I think there is a nice in-between that he can find... and I am sure he will.

I think it has been already. I would much rather have a Roy that isn't forcing the issue, as much as one allowing the game come to him. When the team is struggling to score, I've already seen Nate call upon Roy to score for the team, or at least run the offense.