Matt Barnthouse
01/30/2019
This is a situation where having a 4 that can handle the ball can make your offense dynamic.
On this play, Aaron Gordon acts as point guard, running a basic Pick and Roll with Nikola Vucevic, along with some added motion with the 1 and 2.
This accomplishes a few things:
A) The beginning of the set looks almost as if the point guard is coming up to take the ball, which forces the defense to anticipate.
B) Having the 4 as the ball handler, 1 off the ball, and the 3 stuck in the corner puts Russell Westbrook and Paul George off the ball, allowing the offense to attack the Thunder's weaker players.
C) A taller player can simply see the roll man better and deliver a nice pass that goes through the help defense in a way that a smaller player may not be able to do.
D) The off-ball motion during the roll forces defenders to keep their attention on their assignments away from the ball.
While this play requires players with unique skillsets, the concepts can be translated to just about any level, the idea that having a ball handler who is not the typical ball handler can be used to exploit weaknesses in the defense in ways that only using a traditional point guard cannot.
Check out this blog post on my experience as a FMS content intern!
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