Nate's Offense

[Hank The Dwarf]

Can someone in here sum up Nates Offense for me?

What sets do we run? What plays do we run? What is Nate's overall philosophy on Offense?

thanks,

 

[AgentDrazenPetrovic]

I think its going to change a bit. It was more halfcourt sets that started off with a high screen & roll. Aldridge/Frye would come up off the low block and the offense moved around from there if my memory serves me right.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

Nate philosphical view about offense: the best offense is a good defense. : )

Just playing, I'm not sure what kind of offensive scheme Nate runs . . . waiting for MM's reply.

 

[AgentDrazenPetrovic]

This is what I envision:

You would have a point bringing the ball up. Roy moving around the 3 point line and cutting across the lane to get the entry pass and getting free....utilizing screens....martell in the corner for a 3....aldridge high and oden low. Roy gets the ball first off a screen and has the option to Aldrige in the high post or Webter beyond the arc. From there, that pass feeds the post or gets kicked back to the back court.

I believe that is kind of how it happened last year, but there was a lot of drible penetration by Roy. When Outlaw was the 3, he would also attack the basket.

 

[Reep]

I think they will run a lot of high pick and roll with Oden dunking off the roll, and Aldridge popping for the J.

However, I think they will also go for a lot of isolations just dumping the ball into Oden. How can you not do this. Hopefully it will be followed by LMA or Roy cutting to the basket and Oden passing out of the double for an easy one.

 

[AgentDrazenPetrovic]

Oden the Point-Center?

 

[Reep]

Oden the Point-Center?

People say he understands the game well and can pass. I don't remember seeing much of it, but he didn't have much to pass to at TOSU, and why would you pass when you can posterize someone.

 

[mook]

Here's a great summary from the Hollinger article in another thread:

Offensively, the Blazers were a midrange jump-shooting team that largely avoided the paint. Portland had only 4.6 percent of its shots blocked, narrowly missing out on the league lead, because the Blazers so rarely shot in the paint. All four of their double-digit scorers -- Brandon Roy, Travis Outlaw, LaMarcus Aldridge and Martell Webster -- were more comfortable shooting from 15 to 18 feet, making the Blazers one of the rare teams that generated below-average numbers of both free-throws attempts and 3-point attempts.

They also rarely ran. Despite their youth, the Blazers were a straight half court team that played the league's second-slowest pace -- only Detroit was slower. They would isolate Roy or Outlaw to work off the dribble and either dish to a teammate for a jumper or shoot one themselves. With Oden back, that approach is likely to change a bit this coming season.

 

[AgentDrazenPetrovic]

People say he understands the game well and can pass. I don't remember seeing much of it, but he didn't have much to pass to at TOSU, and why would you pass when you can posterize someone.

Oden really didn't get a lot of Isolations at OSU. It was a fast paced offense. He did get some, but in the games I watched, it was faster, more up-tempo.

 

[PapaG]

Nate philosphical view about offense: the best offense is a good defense. : )

Just playing, I'm not sure what kind of offensive scheme Nate runs . . . waiting for MM's reply.

You'll see some high/low post work now that Oden is an option along with Aldridge. You can see bits of it in the limited summer league clips of the two playing together on Youtube. Expect plenty of doubles down low, and Oden has shown the willingness to try and hit a cutting Aldridge in the lane.

 

[maxiep]

Here's a great summary from the Hollinger article in another thread:

Yeah, you're going to see us score a little bit more in the paint than last season.

 

[Mediocre Man]

The offense Nate runs is called a low post and kick offense. It is very antiquated, and only works if you have people that can hit jump shots.

There is no movement at all, and the middle tends to get clogged because the lack of movement on the perimeter allows the defenders to stay in possition.

 

[PapaG]

Yeah, you're going to see us score a little bit more in the paint than last season.

And with Oden and Pyrz, you'd think that opponents would score less in the paint, and the long limbs of the perimeter players should continue to alter opposing outside shots. Yet Hollinger also only sees the Blazers winning one more game this year.

Better defense, more efficient offense, and more depth...I don't understand his thought process.

 

[PapaG]

The offense Nate runs is called a low post and kick offense. It is very antiquated, and only works if you have people that can hit jump shots.
There is no movement at all, and the middle tends to get clogged because the lack of movement on the perimeter allows the defenders to stay in possition.

Let's be fair. He didn't run that offense in Seattle with Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen, and until LMA showed he could at times dominate on the block, he didn't run it last year.

It was the two year stretch when ZBO was the only consistent offensive player where we saw the offense you describe, painful as it was to watch. There may be a return to it this year, but with Oden on the block and LMA in the UCLA high-post, Nate would be stupid not to try and emphasize these mismatches.

 

[Reep]

Last year, the top three scorers were Roy, LMA and Outlaw.

Roy scored off pick and rolls and top of the key isolations.
LMA scored off high pick and pops with occaisional post ups.
Outlaw scored a lot off isolations or spotting up at the top of the key.

With the limite exceptions when LMA set up on the low post (not all that often), I can't recall seeing anything run through the low post last year.

My guess is that it will be up to Roy how it goes this year. He will initiate the pick and roll with LMA or Oden or pass down to the low post with either with Blake and Webster spotting up (and hopefully moving without the ball)

 

[PapaG]

Last year, the top three scorers were Roy, LMA and Outlaw.

Roy scored off pick and rolls and top of the key isolations.
LMA scored off high pick and pops with occaisional post ups.
Outlaw scored a lot off isolations or spotting up at the top of the key.

With the limite exceptions when LMA set up on the low post (not all that often), I can't recall seeing anything run through the low post last year.
My guess is that it will be up to Roy how it goes this year. He will initiate the pick and roll with LMA or Oden or pass down to the low post with either with Blake and Webster spotting up (and hopefully moving without the ball)

Totally agree, and the only times that Nate kept running it through LMA on the block was when LMA was abusing teams early in games.

 

[Foulzilla]

And with Oden and Pyrz, you'd think that opponents would score less in the paint, and the long limbs of the perimeter players should continue to alter opposing outside shots. Yet Hollinger also only sees the Blazers winning one more game this year.

Better defense, more efficient offense, and more depth...I don't understand his thought process.

He explained this reasonably I thought (not that I agree, but I understood where he's coming from). He believes too many things went right last season (outside of Oden, mostly healthy, lot of player playing their best seasons ever, etc) and therefore the record was better then they should've had. Therefore, this season won't see too much of an improvement... unless everything goes right again.

I'm still thinking upper 40's myself, but at least he backs his opinion up some. Also note he slots the Blazers into 8th with a 42-40 record, so obviously doesn't expect the West teams to have such high records in general next season.

 

[PapaG]

He explained this reasonably I thought (not that I agree, but I understood where he's coming from). He believes too many things went right last season (outside of Oden, mostly healthy, lot of player playing their best seasons ever, etc) and therefore the record was better then they should've had. Therefore, this season won't see too much of an improvement... unless everything goes right again.

I'm still thinking upper 40's myself, but at least he backs his opinion up some. Also note he slots the Blazers into 8th with a 42-40 record, so obviously doesn't expect the West teams to have such high records in general next season.

I don't see how LMA and Roy having "career years", when they are both in their second year and LMA's first as a starter, is any sort of argument. Plus, Roy missed 8 games last year, LMA missed 6, and James Jones was out for almost 2 months. I don't agree at all with the argument that "everything went right". Did a young team overachieve? Yes, but the starting unit just got stronger, the bench just got stronger, and the defense just got stronger.

 

[gatorpops]

I don't see how LMA and Roy having "career years", when they are both in their second year and LMA's first as a starter, is any sort of argument. Plus, Roy missed 8 games last year, LMA missed 6, and James Jones was out for almost 2 months. I don't agree at all with the argument that "everything went right". Did a young team overachieve? Yes, but the starting unit just got stronger, the bench just got stronger, and the defense just got stronger.

I concur with this completely.

I said in that other thread, it wasn't luck, it was attention to team detail which was amazing for such a young team.

Also, Hollinger said that the team was very low in free throws and fast breaks and something else that escapes me, O yes, rebounds.

We will get a whole lot more FT (Oden) and are a fair to better FT shooting team.

With Bayless and Rudy and Oden on this team the rebounds that lead to fast breaks will greatly increase. That will translate to at least 7-10 more wins.

We are probably a better three point shooting team as well. More guys can/will shoot and score more of them and lead to more wins.

Defense will be greatly improved overall on both 1st and 2nd teams and this will translate into more wins.

Probably we will have several more career years for this team----------

Wow!

g

 

[Nikolokolus]

I think the Pick-n-roll will always be Nate's bread and butter play, but I imagine we'll see a lot more in-and-out stuff with Greg getting the ball dumped into him on the low block quite a bit, and if there's no shot, hopefully he'll be kicking it out to an open wing, or LaMarcus in the high post for a jumper.