Lopez and Batum have really worked well on a two man game. The pick and roll is to perfection, with Lopez getting sooooo many easy buckets. I was pleasantly surprised watching it run so effectively last game.
If we're going by X-Men, they're Gambit and Colossus. (Matthews is Wolverine, LMA is Cyclops, and Damian is Nightcrawler... just FYI)
They had a really nice sequence in the 4th with that pick and roll. I think they ran it three times in a row and scored every time (or dished to LMA for the dunk). I was pretty annoyed that they went away from it before Detroit really stopped them. Why not use it over and over until the other team proves it has a defense for it? Anyway, Lillard gets a lot more of the talk about being a pick and roll PG, but the truth is Batum can run it so well. He's averaging 6 assists/game now, which is unreal compared to how he was used in the McMillan era as a spotup shooter. It used to be that I felt LMA had to touch the ball in every half court possession, but now I think it's more important that Batum does, just because he's such a threat to shoot, pass or drive. On top of that, Batum is in the top 10 for distance traveled per game, and is tied for overall speed (4.5mph). He's as much of a "hustle guy" as he is a "glue guy." He's playing like the 2001 Pippen on offense now (and a lot less like Prince/AK47 on offense). But he's covering the court like Prince or AK or Marion did in their prime. Batum is really becoming quite a unique player, and as his game continues to evolve it's going to be harder coming up with comparable players.
That new stats site that tracks speed is really an eye-opener. It seems like the only guys averaging higher than 4.5mph are bench players (who don't need to pace themselves) and a few waterbug PG's (Tony Parker). Batum is a real outlier on that list as a guy who goes that fast, covers 2.7 miles/game, and is 6'8. I'd noticed that stat the other day, and watching Detroit game you could just see the impact if you were paying attention. He's consistently one of the guys back defending on the fast break and one of the guys running through screens on the offensive end. He has a rep for being a somewhat indifferent French player at times, vanishing for one game and emerging in another, but the numbers show that he's probably the hardest worker on the team.
This 2 man game really stems from the predictability the ballhandler has with Lopez, they know he's going to roll to the hoop and they know he's got solid enough hands to catch balls placed in weird spots and still get a decent look off at the rim. LMA's much more likely to pop after the pick than go to the basket, so the few times he does actually roll it seems like the ball handler just isn't really ready to get him the ball, and when they try to it often times ends up in a bobble because he has some difficulty catching on the move and going right in to finish. I wanna see more of this in our offense, and I'd like to see it with Robinson/Freeland and Lillard as the ballhandler more as well. We can obviously do other things with our offense, but adding this sort of thing even more could really take our offense to the next level, especially when it develops to the point where teams start to gameplan to try and stop it and start rotating someone from the weakside to stop the roll... Should start to generate wide open looks from 3 on the kickout from the big or the ballhandler when they read the rotation, and we're built to make teams pay for that.
The two-man game between Nic/Lopez shouldn't be surprising - he did this with Hickson all last season. Unfortunately Stotts didn't call it very often, but seemingly whenever Nic got a screen from Hickson it'd result in a lay-up/dunk for Hickson.
I think it's even more effective with Lopez than Hickson for two reasons: Lopez sets a better pick; Lopez is a bigger target. In both cases, it's makes the entry pass even easier for Batum. BNM
The Blazers have done so much pick-and-popping the last couple of years I've almost forgot what a pick-and-roll is. Nice to see it come back.
Yeah the pick and roll only works when your big can set a good pick. This is probably why Aldridge and Hickson didn't get it run many times last season.
A lot of posters, who only looked at Lopez' individual stats (especially his rebounding stats), thought he wouldn't really be our answer at starting center. Nice to see some of them coming around. Things like setting a good pick, boxing out the other team's center and altering shots, don't show up in the box score, but definitely have a positive impact on his team. Lopez is the master at these things. They are very basic, fundamental skills, but severely lacking in most NBA players these days. I blame SportsCenter. They never show the top 10 picks of the night or top 10 box outs. So, these basic skills get overshadowed by high flying dunks and flashy passes (you never see the top 10 flashy passes gone bad - aka: turnovers - on SportsCenter, either). His new teammates, especially Aldridge and Batum seem to be very happy playing with Lopez. The things he does well makes it easier for everyone else to do their jobs. Batum often gets referred to as a glue guy, but he's emerging more and more as a great facilitator. I think Lopez is our new glue guy because of all the so-called "little" things he does well. Those "little" things make a big difference. BNM
I saw a few Jennings drives that he dribbled back out because he saw Lopez coming to help. That would have never happened last season with Hickson being our help defender.
My biggest concern with Batum on the pick and roll is he seems to make up his mind to pass the ball as the pick is set, and doesn't tend to really read the defense. Often times, it works out really well. I think it was game before last, he threw a few passes that were basically right to the defender, though, because they dropped into passing lane, and his mind was made up to make the pass. How often do we seem him NOT pass the ball on the designed pick and roll with him? I am definitely encouraged by his playmaking. He's improved leaps and bounds from early in his career. It's just something I've noticed with him.
Yep, and he also alters a LOT of shots against penetrating guards and wing players, He's just so huge and ALWAYS in position to protect the rim. In short, he gets it. He understands what it means to be a rim protector. It doesn't necessarily mean blocking every shot. Discouraging opponents from even considering driving the lane can be even more effective. In this respect, Lopez is the anti-JaVale McGee. McGee goes for the block EVERY time. This leaves him out of position and makes it very easy for the penetrating guard to pass the ball to McGee's wide open man under the basket for an easy 2. McGee is a great shot blocker, but a really bad defender. For every block he gets, he gives up several easy baskets by being out of position. Lopez won't get nearly a many blocks, but he is rarely out of position. BNMa
