Kobe's comment summarizes our problems.

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You just completely didn't grasp my point at all.

It has absolutely nothing to do with JJ being as good as Kobe. It has to do with the fact that they backed off the double on Kobe because he has shooters around him and you can't leave them wide open. If we had shooters the same thing would happen for JJ.

About "emulating the Lakers", when did I say that? I said that we need shooters to improve our half court offense and make teams pay for doubling JJ. Look at the final 4 teams, they all have at LEAST 2 3pt shooters on the floor at all times.

I'm with you that we need shooters... I don't think a single person is denying that. We saw how much better our offense was when Bibby & Marvin were making shots and the ball actually moved. Sorry if my remarks came off as critical that wasn't my intention.

My point was that even if we picked up an extra guy to stretch the defense that would only take us so far without a natural point to run the show. The Lakers can get away with this since they have a guy like Kobe dictating the game, plus two outstanding passing big men in Odom & Gasol. JJ is a good passer but we need Acie to develop or get a true PG to have a consistently productive offense, with or without shooters...

[AHF]

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It's not that easy. NBA players are unbelieveably athletic and as soon as the pass moves, the defense is there. The bottom line is that with tons of defensive players in the lane combined our inability to shoot, we will never be a successful half court team. It's not that simple because players are already closing out as the pass is made. Not to mention that all of our players aren't the great playmakers that you are giving them credit for. Those decisions are no where near as easy as it would seem.

There is a reason that all of the top teams have shooters on the floor all the time..

I agree things aren't cut and dried but if our coaching staff can't come up with a series of options to punish teams for doubling JJ outside the 3pt line then our coaches just suck. I am sorry but 4 on 3 plays are not that difficult to exploit a reasonable % of the time.

[AtLaS]

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I agree things aren't cut and dried but if our coaching staff can't come up with a series of options to punish teams for doubling JJ outside the 3pt line then our coaches just suck. I am sorry but 4 on 3 plays are not that difficult to exploit a reasonable % of the time.

I agree we could do that, but it's not going to work every time. The best and most efficient way to beat it is with shooters. Sometimes we will beat the double with drives after JJ swings it, we do that now. But we can't do it consistently because it's tough to do without shooters. Also, Bibby isn't our future PG so it will be Law instead on one of the wings and (as of now) he's not a shooter. There aren't any successful teams that can't shoot and that's why.

But the main thing is that Horford or Smith are not playmakers, giving them the ball at the top of the key with 4 potential options is not a good idea for them IMO, they aren't going to consistently make the right decisions. And even if they do, it's still going to be tough to drive, because as soon as the ball gets to them at the top of the key, the defense has already collapsed making it much tougher to drive, for them or whoever they swing it to.

[AHF]

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I agree things aren't cut and dried but if our coaching staff can't come up with a series of options to punish teams for doubling JJ outside the 3pt line then our coaches just suck. I am sorry but 4 on 3 plays are not that difficult to exploit a reasonable % of the time.

I agree we could do that, but it's not going to work every time. The best and most efficient way to beat it is with shooters. Sometimes we will beat the double with drives after JJ swings it, we do that now. But we can't do it consistently because it's tough to do without shooters. Also, Bibby isn't our future PG so it will be Law instead on one of the wings and (as of now) he's not a shooter. There aren't any successful teams that can't shoot and that's why.

I was particularly frustrated in the playoffs because we didn't even try. We would swing the ball to someone like Horford wide open around the free throw line and not even test the defense - we just let them recover and moved on with the game.

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But the main thing is that Horford or Smith are not playmakers, giving them the ball at the top of the key with 4 potential options is not a good idea for them IMO, they aren't going to consistently make the right decisions. And even if they do, it's still going to be tough to drive, because as soon as the ball gets to them at the top of the key, the defense has already collapsed making it much tougher to drive, for them or whoever they swing it to.

I don't think the driving would be that tough because I don't believe that the defenders would have recovered by the time the ball got to Horford, etc. That is why you pass the ball - because it moves faster than the defender. Once you get it, you have two options. Drive if you are open or pass to the open player.

Sure, it would not work every time by any means but it is a failing of our staff that we didn't even try to punish the Celtics for doubling JJ outside the 3pt line, IMO. After JJ lit the Celtics up in the 4th, we should have been ready the next game with a few plays to exploit the double team and we just didn't anticipate that issue and adjust (for reasons unknown to me).

[exodus]

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We would swing the ball to someone like Horford wide open around the free throw line and not even test the defense

Horford didn't drive all year long. Why would the playoffs be different?

I was saying all season that Horford needed to drive to take advantage of his speed against bigger, slower players but so far he has shown no inclination to do that.

[AtLaS]

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Sure, it would not work every time by any means but it is a failing of our staff that we didn't even try to punish the Celtics for doubling JJ outside the 3pt line, IMO. After JJ lit the Celtics up in the 4th, we should have been ready the next game with a few plays to exploit the double team and we just didn't anticipate that issue and adjust (for reasons unknown to me).

I agree with this. We've all had our problems with Woodson. But, Woodson aside, we will be much more successful at beating JJ doubles with shooters than without them, regardless of who is our head coach or which sets we run. Even if Horford starts taking it to the basket, I wouldn't trust him to make the right passing decision, same goes for Smith. They will sometimes make the right choice, but most of the time they will probably make mistakes IMO because they are not play makers. I do agree it is something we should have at least tried, though.

[AHF]

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We would swing the ball to someone like Horford wide open around the free throw line and not even test the defense

Horford didn't drive all year long. Why would the playoffs be different?

Because he didn't have to drive past someone. He had space because the extended double teams on JJ that weren't seen in the regular season.

Like you I would like to see more of him using his speed against bigger players throughout the game, but in situations where a double team frees him up it should be a no brainer, IMO.

[exodus]

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We would swing the ball to someone like Horford wide open around the free throw line and not even test the defense

Horford didn't drive all year long. Why would the playoffs be different?

Because he didn't have to drive past someone. He had space because the extended double teams on JJ that weren't seen in the regular season.

Like you I would like to see more of him using his speed against bigger players throughout the game, but in situations where a double team frees him up it should be a no brainer, IMO.

It should be a no brainer for someone who is actually looking to drive. I don't think Horford fits in that catagory.

Several times i saw him run a pick and roll with Bibby and Horford just didn't want to roll so bibby's pass went right past him or he had to lunge to get it.

It is just something he will have to learn. I think his willingness and ability to drive will be a big factor in how successful he is as a player.