New Post at Bullets Forever on the Wizards’ New Frontcourt

Go check out the video breakdown of how Nene, Kevin Seraphin, and Emeka Okafor fit together.

One way to open things up for the big men is by playing a little high-low, with one player flashing to the free throw line while the other sets up in the low post. The Lakers and Grizzlies often have two big men on the floor, and putting Pau Gasol and Marc Gasol in the high post creates problems for the defense. Of course, Nene and Seraphin haven’t displayed that level of skill; I doubt we’ll be seeing a Nene-Seraphin pick-and-roll alley oop any time soon. But although they aren’t Gasol-esque, both Wizards showed some comfort in getting the ball at the free throw line. From there they can look to throw an entry pass into the post or (hopefully) hit the short jumper.

New Post at Bullets Forever on Trevor Ariza

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with the acquisition of Ariza, the Wizards have a more reliable slasher at small forward. The Wizards shouldn’t let Ariza dribble into isolation situations, but when he can take one or two dribbles against a scrambling defender, he can get to the rim. On a similar amount of spot-up drives as Singleton, Ariza got to the rim twice as many times. Ariza is listed as 15 pounds lighter than Singleton, but he plays much stronger than Singleton in these situations. The video below shows Ariza’s ability to beat his man even when they aren’t closing out with urgency.

The problem here is that although Ariza may get to the rim more, he doesn’t always finish those shot attempts. He’s been up and down as a finisher in recent years, and he shot only 47 percent on these at-the-rim attempts on spot-up drives. At the very least, those shot attempts at the rim bring a greater possibility of drawing fouls. With a little random variation in terms of made layups and fouls, Ariza could be a solid bailout option instead of a negative presence.

New at Bullets Forever: How the Wizards Can Use Harrison Barnes

Go check out the video breakdown of Harrison Barnes and the Wizards’ playbook!

Finally, Wittman had a play to get his shooting guard into a pick-and-roll. Wall wasn’t the only guy using ball screens last year; about one third of Crawford’s offense came from pick-and-roll plays. On this play, Crawford runs off of screens to get to the wing and then receives a screen when he gets the ball.

Crawford took a lot of the ball handling responsibility last year, so it will be interesting to see if Barnes assumes a similar role. The major holes in his offensive game include his ball handling and pick-and-roll abilities, so that could mean that the Wizards have one fewer ball handler and initiator on the team.

New at Bullets Forever: What to Expect from Bradley Beal’s Rookie Season

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Beyond simply putting Beal on the right side of the floor and standing around, Randy Wittman may try to use off-ball screens to get Beal to his sweet spot at the top of the key. According to Draft Express, Beal is effective at using screens, and Wittman had a few plays to free up shooters at the top of the key this past season.

One way to get Beal clean looks is by running a decoy pick-and-roll. In the video below, Wall draws the defense’s attention by running a pick-and-roll on one side of the floor, while Beal (potentially) gets a screen on the other side of the floor. The defense is threatened by Wall, so they can’t focus their attention on helping on Beal. This play worked for Jordan Crawford, so it should work for Beal, as well.

Video Breakdown of Trevor Ariza’s and Emeka Okafor’s Defense

Head over to Bullets Forever to check out a video breakdown on the two defensive-minded veterans that the Wizards just acquired.

Another part of off-ball defense is defending spot-up shooters. Ariza was solid in his recovery to spot-up shooters, ranking 87th in the NBA in points allowed per spot-up possession (Sidenote: Synergy’s defensive spot-up numbers can be a little misleading because it is difficult to assign responsibility for a particular spot-up shooter.) The defensive player will always be at a disadvantage in a spot-up situation. They can close out slowly and allow an open jumper, or they can sprint at the shooter and give up a driving lane.

Again, Ariza’s physical gifts really help him shut down spot-up shooters. Check out the clips below, as Ariza plays help defense in the lane and recovers to block his man’s shot. It’s not often you see a player cover that much ground, even in the NBA.

New Post on John Wall in the Clutch at Bullets Forever

Go check out the crunch time conflict between John Wall and Randy Wittman.

Wall breaks the play and decides to take the game into his own hands. He nearly pulls it off as his shot comes just after the buzzer. The full play is below. Pay attention to Wittman on the sidelines during the play. He signals for the pass to Crawford and then looks dumbfounded when Wall decides to go one-on-one. Clearly frustrated, he doesn’t pay much attention to the rest of the play.

New Post at Bullets Forever on Post Defense and the NBA Draft

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Being a rookie is tough, and getting schooled in the post is part of the learning process. To his credit, Vesely didn’t get bullied in the post too often, despite his slim frame. He did, however, have trouble with fakes. Players using up-and-unders and head fakes were successful numerous times. Check out the video below and watch Vesely get faked out of position.

New Post on Randy Wittman and John Wall at Bullets Forever

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Against Detroit, things went smoothly because there wasn’t too much interference from help defenders. In these next two clips, we see Wall hesitate because of an extra help defender. Wall loops around the off-ball screens and gets the ball screen from Seraphin, as usual. As Seraphin rolls to the hoop, Jordan Crawford’s defender (Monta Ellis and Greivis Vasquez in these two clips) stays in the lane for a moment preventing the pass to the rolling Seraphin. Check out the video below.

New Post on the Future of Andray Blatche at Bullets Forever

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Over the past two seasons, he’s only scoring or getting fouled on 37 percent of his pick-and-pop possessions. Part of the problem is his desire to create his own shot off the dribble. All of those pump fakes, jab steps and spin moves have led to plenty of turnovers and missed shots. Let’s reminisce and watch some examples from the past two seasons.

New at Bullets Forever: How to Use Jordan Crawford

Head over to Bullets Forever to help me figure out how to fit Jordan Crawford into a normal offense.

Instead of simply giving the ball to Crawford and letting him do his thing, the Wizards would be wise to use Nene or Kevin Seraphin to draw the defense’s attention first. Once the defense is focusing on the post, Crawford has a much better chance at getting free on a down screen. In the video below, you see how easy it is for him to get to his favorite spot on the floor by coming off of a down screen while the defense is watching a post player.