Defending the Bucks
Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2018 4:39 am
Seems to me the easiest/best way to play the Bucks is to treat their centers as if they are just sharpshooting wings. Treat Brook Lopez as if he were Kyle Korver. Functionally, they're more similar in style of play than Brook Lopez is with any other NBA center that I can think of. So why stick a traditional slow footed center on him? Stick a switchable forward on him instead of giving them what they want. Brook Lopez isn't an offensive or defensive rebounding threat in his current style of play, so going small doesn't really give up anything in the way of rebounding.
Defensive benefits? More switchable defenders and much quicker defensive rotations. Also encourages Milwaukee to go to the post under the guise of having a mismatch. A Brook Lopez post up provides a more favorable outcome than Milwaukee's #1 ranked half court offense. Giannis seems to get some degree of tunnel vision in the post as well. And from my experience watching the Bucks this season, he goes into the post not even looking to score on most occasions, but rather to draw the double team and then pass to the open man on the perimeter. If you coach your team to collapse the defense at the right moments, he will turn the ball over on bad passes more often then he will score.
Offensive benefits? Lopez is a slow footed center and hurts Milwaukee's switching on defense and provides a weakness teams can hunt and exploit, especially when going small. Force Bud to take him out of the game.
In two games against the Hornets, Milwaukee's offense has struggled immensely with MKG on the court, who has been played in this matchup primarily at center. MKG has a 109 ORTG (4th/10) and 82.6 DRTG (1st/10) in these two games, whereas Cody Zeller has a 98.9 ORTG (9th/10) and 118 DRTG (9th/10). That's a 45.4 swing in net rating, including a 35.4 swing in DRTG alone by going small against a bigger team. Needs more sample/research (and coaches willing to go small vs the Bucks) but I'm fairly certain this trend would hold true to applicable teams that don't have a mobile center that would fit this matchup (like the Nuggets have in Mason Plumlee), but have switchable forwards and the capacity to go small.
Defensive benefits? More switchable defenders and much quicker defensive rotations. Also encourages Milwaukee to go to the post under the guise of having a mismatch. A Brook Lopez post up provides a more favorable outcome than Milwaukee's #1 ranked half court offense. Giannis seems to get some degree of tunnel vision in the post as well. And from my experience watching the Bucks this season, he goes into the post not even looking to score on most occasions, but rather to draw the double team and then pass to the open man on the perimeter. If you coach your team to collapse the defense at the right moments, he will turn the ball over on bad passes more often then he will score.
Offensive benefits? Lopez is a slow footed center and hurts Milwaukee's switching on defense and provides a weakness teams can hunt and exploit, especially when going small. Force Bud to take him out of the game.
In two games against the Hornets, Milwaukee's offense has struggled immensely with MKG on the court, who has been played in this matchup primarily at center. MKG has a 109 ORTG (4th/10) and 82.6 DRTG (1st/10) in these two games, whereas Cody Zeller has a 98.9 ORTG (9th/10) and 118 DRTG (9th/10). That's a 45.4 swing in net rating, including a 35.4 swing in DRTG alone by going small against a bigger team. Needs more sample/research (and coaches willing to go small vs the Bucks) but I'm fairly certain this trend would hold true to applicable teams that don't have a mobile center that would fit this matchup (like the Nuggets have in Mason Plumlee), but have switchable forwards and the capacity to go small.