Davidson, Kevin Love
The argument for putting the ball in the hands of your best player is a strong one, but I thought Davidson coach Bob McKillop made three errors in crafting the Wildcats' final possession against Kansas.
The first mistake came immediately after Davidson got the ball back, down 59-57 with 17 or 18 seconds left. McKillop spent his final timeout immediately, which meant that the Wildcats would start the possession 90 feet from the game-tying or game-winning bucket. I would have preferred that he instructed his team to inbound the ball to point guard Jason Richards, had Richards rush the ball into the frontcourt, and then called time. The three or four seconds it would have taken Richards to move the ball upcourt wouldn't be wasted, as Stephen Curry spent at least that much time dribbling it up on the final possession, anyway.
I've seen all or parts of five or six Davidson games this year, and one thing other than Curry's brilliance has struck me each time I watch them; they excel at scoring out of bounds plays. I don't have exact numbers at hand, but I believe the Wildcats scored at least a bucket or two per game in the tournament on inbounds plays in the frontcourt. In fact, the possession before, Curry had gotten free for the three-pointer that cut the Kansas lead to two on an inbounds play.
Granted, most of those plays (including the one that led to Curry's three) originated with the ball under the basket, and the Wildcats would have been taking the ball out on the sideline, in front of their bench. But McKillop has shown great skill in drawing up plays that lead to easy shots for his team, and I have to think that having Curry run around off of screens would have had the Jayhawks scrambling defensively. Even if they couldn't get the ball to Curry, Kansas surely would have been preoccupied with him, and that might have led to an easy look for another Davidson player. Remember that the Wildcats didn't absolutely need a three-pointer -- a two would've sent the game into overtime. With Jayhawk defenders keeping one eye on Curry and the other on their own man, it's not unreasonable to think that a set play off the inbounds pass might've led to an open look for Richards or perhaps Bryant Barr (whose 11 second-half points, including three three-pointers. kept the Wildcats in the game). Or maybe one of Davidson's bigs would have gotten lost in the flurry of screens, and would have been open in the paint for a layup.
Having done so, McKillop's second error came in having Curry bring the ball up. Curry had to have been the focus in Kansas' defensive huddle during the timeout, and every Jayhawk on the floor would have had the thought, "Where's Curry? Where's Curry?" on his mind during the possession. McKillop made it easy on them, however. Giving Curry the ball allowed the Jayhawks to keep him in front of them, rather than constantly having to turn their heads to locate him.
As good as Curry has shown he can be off the dribble, the majority of his damage comes with him running off screens. His considerable shooting ability is what everyone points to when they talk to about him as a scorer, but his craftiness in reading the defense and getting open is what allows him to get those shots. And again, if he's running off of screens, there's more of a chance that a Kansas player focuses on him too much and allows another Davidson player to drift for an open look.
Finally, the high screen that Davidson ended up running with Curry was the wrong play given the situation. It's generally an effective play and one that Curry has capitalized on frequently, but it only works if the man defending the screener is worried about his man rolling to the basket and doesn't adequately cover the ballhandler coming around the pick. Holding a two-point lead, the only way Kansas could lose in regulation was to give up a three-pointer, so they were surely going to allow Thomas Sander to roll to the bucket if giving Curry a look at a game-winning three-pointer was the alternative. At the very least, using Barr as the screener and running a pick and pop would have given the Jayhawks someone else to concern themselves with. Instead, the Kansas D didn't have to worry about Sander -- a 23 percent three-point shooter -- standing wide open at the three-point line. They doubled Curry, forcing him to give the ball up to Richards for a difficult three.
And1 Kevin Love's outlet passing ability frankly hasn't merited the attention it has gotten -- it simply doesn't generate as much "extra" offense for UCLA as everyone seems to think it does -- but that doesn't mean it's not remarkable. On Saturday's broadcast, CBS aired tape of a UCLA practice that showed Love sinking two-handed chest passes from halfcourt, three-quarter court, and fullcourt. I don't know and I don't care how many tries it took for him to make it -- the fact that he can do it, and do it often enough to be trying it during a shootaround, is simply amazing. His ability to put the ball in a particular spot with an outlet pass like that is incredible.
The first mistake came immediately after Davidson got the ball back, down 59-57 with 17 or 18 seconds left. McKillop spent his final timeout immediately, which meant that the Wildcats would start the possession 90 feet from the game-tying or game-winning bucket. I would have preferred that he instructed his team to inbound the ball to point guard Jason Richards, had Richards rush the ball into the frontcourt, and then called time. The three or four seconds it would have taken Richards to move the ball upcourt wouldn't be wasted, as Stephen Curry spent at least that much time dribbling it up on the final possession, anyway.
I've seen all or parts of five or six Davidson games this year, and one thing other than Curry's brilliance has struck me each time I watch them; they excel at scoring out of bounds plays. I don't have exact numbers at hand, but I believe the Wildcats scored at least a bucket or two per game in the tournament on inbounds plays in the frontcourt. In fact, the possession before, Curry had gotten free for the three-pointer that cut the Kansas lead to two on an inbounds play.
Granted, most of those plays (including the one that led to Curry's three) originated with the ball under the basket, and the Wildcats would have been taking the ball out on the sideline, in front of their bench. But McKillop has shown great skill in drawing up plays that lead to easy shots for his team, and I have to think that having Curry run around off of screens would have had the Jayhawks scrambling defensively. Even if they couldn't get the ball to Curry, Kansas surely would have been preoccupied with him, and that might have led to an easy look for another Davidson player. Remember that the Wildcats didn't absolutely need a three-pointer -- a two would've sent the game into overtime. With Jayhawk defenders keeping one eye on Curry and the other on their own man, it's not unreasonable to think that a set play off the inbounds pass might've led to an open look for Richards or perhaps Bryant Barr (whose 11 second-half points, including three three-pointers. kept the Wildcats in the game). Or maybe one of Davidson's bigs would have gotten lost in the flurry of screens, and would have been open in the paint for a layup.
Having done so, McKillop's second error came in having Curry bring the ball up. Curry had to have been the focus in Kansas' defensive huddle during the timeout, and every Jayhawk on the floor would have had the thought, "Where's Curry? Where's Curry?" on his mind during the possession. McKillop made it easy on them, however. Giving Curry the ball allowed the Jayhawks to keep him in front of them, rather than constantly having to turn their heads to locate him.
As good as Curry has shown he can be off the dribble, the majority of his damage comes with him running off screens. His considerable shooting ability is what everyone points to when they talk to about him as a scorer, but his craftiness in reading the defense and getting open is what allows him to get those shots. And again, if he's running off of screens, there's more of a chance that a Kansas player focuses on him too much and allows another Davidson player to drift for an open look.
Finally, the high screen that Davidson ended up running with Curry was the wrong play given the situation. It's generally an effective play and one that Curry has capitalized on frequently, but it only works if the man defending the screener is worried about his man rolling to the basket and doesn't adequately cover the ballhandler coming around the pick. Holding a two-point lead, the only way Kansas could lose in regulation was to give up a three-pointer, so they were surely going to allow Thomas Sander to roll to the bucket if giving Curry a look at a game-winning three-pointer was the alternative. At the very least, using Barr as the screener and running a pick and pop would have given the Jayhawks someone else to concern themselves with. Instead, the Kansas D didn't have to worry about Sander -- a 23 percent three-point shooter -- standing wide open at the three-point line. They doubled Curry, forcing him to give the ball up to Richards for a difficult three.
And1 Kevin Love's outlet passing ability frankly hasn't merited the attention it has gotten -- it simply doesn't generate as much "extra" offense for UCLA as everyone seems to think it does -- but that doesn't mean it's not remarkable. On Saturday's broadcast, CBS aired tape of a UCLA practice that showed Love sinking two-handed chest passes from halfcourt, three-quarter court, and fullcourt. I don't know and I don't care how many tries it took for him to make it -- the fact that he can do it, and do it often enough to be trying it during a shootaround, is simply amazing. His ability to put the ball in a particular spot with an outlet pass like that is incredible.
posted by H.S. Slam, Ph.D at 8:21 PM
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