There were several things that I noticed watching the game last night that I liked. First, they ran a set play to start the game (first set play I have seen this season) that not only got us an easy basket, but got our big man involved right away.
Secondly, the intensity was obviously back on both sides of the ball (regardless of the early results). The team definitely looked like a weight had been lifted and were now having fun again. And dispite the big defecit in the 2nd, it didn't have the same feel as the previous games. You couldn't point to lack of effort or poor shots as the cause as much as that the Kings were missing wide open shots while the Bucks were making theirs.
However, the biggest difference I noticed was the spacing on offense. Everyone has been upset with the lack of assists, one on one play, and a total lack of an offense this season. But one the things that has bothered me most has been the poor spacing on offense. I just attributed it to the lack of an offensive system. Poor spacing can make it very difficult to pass the ball to the open man because the angles are wrong. How many times this season (and last) have we watched one of our guard trying to pass the ball into the post with little success? Many times it is because he has another guard standing 5 feet to his left (or right depending on which side of the court), whick allows his man to play off his man and fill the passing lane. And how many times have we had our low post AND high post players on the same side of the court (making a pass to either almost impossible)? I have watched numurous times this season when 2 players tried to go to the same spot on the floor essecially taking both players out of the play.
How do you correct these things? SPACING! The guard 5 feet away moves to the corner taking his man with him. The high and low post players stay on opposite sides of the key. This not only opens up the pass to your post players, but also creates more space for the guard to penetrate. Which brings me to antother area of spacing. Players knowing where to go to create good angles for a pass when the ball handler penetrates.
This season I haved watched our guard repeatedly drive into the lane only to cut off and have no good angles for an outlet pass. This has happened to Tyreke, Thorton, Jimmer, Salmons, and Thomas. The result is usuallly either a tough (forced) shot or a pass that has little chance of being completed. Last night when our guards penetrated they miraculously had 2 or 3 options to kick the ball out to. The only difference was that the spacing was much better (for much of the game).
The only reason I could see for the better spacing was that our new coach was constantly yelling to our players where they should be on the floor (creating better spacing). This gives me hope for the rest of the season, as it appears that Smart will be trying to teach our team the proper spacing to help our offense run better (that having actual structure and plays to run).
Sorry if I have been a little long winded, but just felt the need to say something about this as I feel it is one of the most important aspects of a successful offense IMO.
Secondly, the intensity was obviously back on both sides of the ball (regardless of the early results). The team definitely looked like a weight had been lifted and were now having fun again. And dispite the big defecit in the 2nd, it didn't have the same feel as the previous games. You couldn't point to lack of effort or poor shots as the cause as much as that the Kings were missing wide open shots while the Bucks were making theirs.
However, the biggest difference I noticed was the spacing on offense. Everyone has been upset with the lack of assists, one on one play, and a total lack of an offense this season. But one the things that has bothered me most has been the poor spacing on offense. I just attributed it to the lack of an offensive system. Poor spacing can make it very difficult to pass the ball to the open man because the angles are wrong. How many times this season (and last) have we watched one of our guard trying to pass the ball into the post with little success? Many times it is because he has another guard standing 5 feet to his left (or right depending on which side of the court), whick allows his man to play off his man and fill the passing lane. And how many times have we had our low post AND high post players on the same side of the court (making a pass to either almost impossible)? I have watched numurous times this season when 2 players tried to go to the same spot on the floor essecially taking both players out of the play.
How do you correct these things? SPACING! The guard 5 feet away moves to the corner taking his man with him. The high and low post players stay on opposite sides of the key. This not only opens up the pass to your post players, but also creates more space for the guard to penetrate. Which brings me to antother area of spacing. Players knowing where to go to create good angles for a pass when the ball handler penetrates.
This season I haved watched our guard repeatedly drive into the lane only to cut off and have no good angles for an outlet pass. This has happened to Tyreke, Thorton, Jimmer, Salmons, and Thomas. The result is usuallly either a tough (forced) shot or a pass that has little chance of being completed. Last night when our guards penetrated they miraculously had 2 or 3 options to kick the ball out to. The only difference was that the spacing was much better (for much of the game).
The only reason I could see for the better spacing was that our new coach was constantly yelling to our players where they should be on the floor (creating better spacing). This gives me hope for the rest of the season, as it appears that Smart will be trying to teach our team the proper spacing to help our offense run better (that having actual structure and plays to run).
Sorry if I have been a little long winded, but just felt the need to say something about this as I feel it is one of the most important aspects of a successful offense IMO.
