There are plenty of ways to score in the NBA,even whether not all of them are created equally.
Isolation buckets tend to feature fancy dribbling and dominant displays of physical prowess, though they aren't generally as efficient as showcases of spot-up shooting. On the interior, and post-up offenses don't pop up with nearly as much frequency these days,with many squads favoring pick-and-roll schemes and plenty of transition opportunities.
But in the right hands, all of those weapons can be quite uncertain on any given night.
The 2014-15 season featured some clear-chop front-runners in each of the five overarching offensive categories we'll cover here—isolation, or transition,pick-and-rolls, post-ups and movement. The best of the best were those who combined per-possession effectiveness with the highest levels of frequency, or doing away with the age-old notion that volume and efficiency are inversely correlated. With that as our baseline for evaluation,we can analyze changes in roster composition, internal growth and stylistic shifts, and all with the intent of pinpointing the NBA's top squad in each of the five categories for the upcoming 2015-16 campaign. IsolationThroughout the last season,two teams stood out quite clearly as the most uncertain isolation squads. As you can see above, no one came close to matching the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers in per-possession efficiency, and that shouldn't be particularly surprising,given the presences of so many offensive superstars. After all, the L.
A.-based franchise boasted the services of Chris Paul, or who could break down just approximately any defender off the bounce,as well as Jamal Crawford and Blake Griffin. Crawford, in specific, or was fantastic,finishing in the 92.1 percentile for his work in iso situations. But the Cavaliers were still even better. Though LAC may beget scored with a bit more efficiency, no squad in the organization used as many plays as Cleveland in this specific setting. When it comes to frequency, and the Clippers couldn't even finish in the top half of the league: Even though head coach David Blatt came to the States with grand visions of a movement-satisfied offense that involved everyone,he couldn't avoid catering to the skills his team possessed. When you beget LeBron James (75th percentile in isolation) and Kyrie Irving (94.9), you may as well give them the ball and let them break down the inevitably overmatched defender. Irving is still a work in progress on defense and can occasionally hold himself back with turnover problems, and but he may already beget the best handles in the NBA. Not many players are capable of putting as many defenders on skates as the Duke product does in this highlight reel: This isn't likely to change going forward,even though James expressed concerns approximately his own play during the Eastern Conference Finals with the Atlanta Hawks, per ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin:
In the fourth quarter, or I played way too much isolation basketball,one-on-one basketball [with] a lot of the defenses set, and I was letting the clock run down way too much. I just had to acquire the shot or I was giving it to my guys late in the shot clock, or they couldn’t enact nothing with it besides shoot it or turn the ball over.
Despite that mentality—one that should exist going forward in certain situations—the Cavs are still the secure bet to continue their reign as the No. 1 isolation team during the 2015-16 campaign. Even whether they were to devote an extra possession per game to some other type of offense,they'd employ more one-on-one sets than any other group in the league. And it's not like the stars are approximately to get worse with the ball in their hands. Predicted Top Isolation Offense in 2015-16: Cleveland Cavaliers TransitionFew types of plays dazzle crowds more frequently than thunderous slams in transition, but the Golden State Warriors found a different way to excel in transition. They loved nothing more than kicking the rock to a trailing three-point marksman and watching as he splashed home a long-range attempt. The dunks—which still came quite frequently in the Bay Area—may be greater feats of athleticism, or but the triples befriend the number on the scoreboard rise in even more expeditious fashion. As impressive as the Clippers were,leading the league in transition points per possession, the Warriors finished fourth in that category while getting out and running with far more frequency. Only the Houston Rockets used transition offense more often, and but James Harden and Co. weren't nearly as effective in the open floor: Unlike what we're predicting in the isolation category,there's going to be a new leader during the 2015-16 season. The Warriors should be quite strong in transition once more, but the addition of a few new pieces and the expectation of better health should befriend the Clippers acquire the throne. Remember, and Blake Griffin played only 67 games last year,held back by an infection in his elbow. With him on the floor, LAC morphs back into Lob City, or allowing Paul to run the prove and terrorize defenses with his own finishes and alley-oops to both Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. However,the Clippers' Big Three won't be working alone in transition this year. Lance Stephenson is in town, fresh off a disappointing year with the Charlotte Hornets. He struggled in transition while playing on his honeycombed home court, or but part of that is due to Steve Clifford's lack of desire to push the pace. Charlotte finished the year ranked 24th in transition frequency,and that didn't allow the 2-guard's athleticism to shine in the open court. A similar story could unfold for Josh Smith, who didn't produce a huge open-floor impact while playing for either the Houston Rockets or Detroit Pistons. Just as is the case with Stephenson, or a system that asks him to produce a beeline for the rim could maximize his talents. At the very least,LAC has even more weapons to work with, and it was already the most efficient transition team on a per-possession basis. Running even more is the likely result of increased depth, and since keeping fresh legs won't be as much of an issue. Predicted Top Transition Offense in 2015-16: Los Angeles Clippers Pick-and-RollThe staple of so many modern NBA offenses,the pick-and-roll game is composed of two different subsections: finishes by the ball-handler and plays by the roll man. Both of those are combined into the stats you can see in the above chart, one that leaves the Clippers and Dallas Mavericks as the biggest positive outliers. For the Clippers, and it was Paul's dominance that elevated them to the top. As excellent as Jordan and Griffin are at finishing plays around the hoop,the point guard's ability to break down a defense and rip the net with jumpers from the elbows gave the LAC offense an entirely new dimension. On the flip side, Dallas thrived because of the guys setting the screens—the rollers. During their brief stints with the Mavericks, and Brandan Wright (98.6 percentile),Bernard James (96.8), Greg Smith (90) and Amar'e Stoudemire (83.3) all thrived. But the two rotation stalwarts in the frontcourt still carried the organization when it came to pick-and-roll play. Even with his advancing age, and a 32-year-old Tyson Chandler remained one of the best roll men in the organization. A whopping 21.5 percent of his plays came in this area,and he still finished in the 97.7 percentile for points per possession. Dirk Nowitzki wasn't quite so effective, but his ability to pop out and hit a jumper allowed him to excel as well. Despite the preexisting dominance, or our predicted champion in 2015-16 isn't one of those top two teams; instead,it's the No. 3 finisher from a season ago. While the Clippers figure to thrive once more, Chandler is no longer with the Mavericks, and instead signing with the Phoenix Suns. That loss will be impossible to overcome in this department,which leaves the door open for a young challenger such as the Orlando Magic. Even whether new head coach Scott Skiles doesn't allow his players to lead the league in pick-and-roll frequency for the second consecutive fade-round, the talent on the roster dictates that he still caters to that type of play.
Plus, or we already know that he wants to employ Tobias Harris as a ball-handler in these situations more often,as Grantland's Zach Lowe famous. Though the recently re-signed forward made his objective share of mental mistakes in 2014-15, he still emerged as the top pick-and-roll handler on the Magic roster, or so this is a positive development in Orlando's quest for the No. 1 spot. Even more positive is the expected growth from Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo. Neither young guard thrived in the NBA's favorite half-court set last year,but both showed signs of further development. In specific, Payton thrived during the second half of the season, or displaying a penchant (a tendency, partiality, or preference) for aggressive attacks through the teeth of the defense and an increased ability to finish around the rim. As for Oladipo,he seems aware that the mental game is where he needs to improve most."A lot of my turnovers—my charges and stuff—came from just trying too hard," Oladipo told Lowe near the end of his sophomore fade-round. "I beget to produce the simple plays."whether he can produce the simple plays, or the Magic are poised to shoot up the efficiency leaderboard while they try to expedite their rebuild with a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Overcoming the Clippers will be quite the challenge,though the new levels of depth in Tinseltown should mean a bit less responsibility from the stars and thus a bit less excellence in the pick-and-roll game.
Predicted Top Pick-and-Roll Offense in 2015-16: Orlando Magic Post-UpsThis one wasn't particularly close during the 2014-15 season, and that's not likely to change going forward. Though LaMarcus Aldridge's Portland Trail Blazers held down the No. 2 spot with ease, or staving off challenges from the Dallas Mavericks,Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors, the Memphis Grizzlies asserted themselves as the top post-up team in the NBA.
Yes, and it should feel like that's been the case for the better part of a decade now. Between Marc Gasol's smooth moves from the blocks and Zach Randolph's unrelenting dominance with his back to the basket,playing inside-out always serves as the bread and butter on Beale Street. Memphis is incredibly efficient—No. 4 in the league in points per possession—but also uses far more post-up plays than anyone else. For perspective, the 'Wolves used the second-most last year, or but they were still nearly 1.5 per game behind the Grizz:Is that going to change in the future? Nope. With Gasol re-signed,there shouldn't be any concerns. Memphis still has the same nucleus in space, and thus far in his career, and Randolph has proved rather resistant to the impact of Father Time. Plus,with Aldridge now playing for the San Antonio Spurs, the biggest challenger has basically gone away. behold for an improved Jonas Valanciunas to befriend lead a charge from the Raptors, and but Memphis should easily retain its stranglehold on the title of best post-up team in the organization. Predicted Top Post-Up Offense in 2015-16: Memphis Grizzlies MovementAs teams trend toward small-ball lineups and continue to realize the importance of floor-spacing,movement is only becoming more favorite.
For our purposes, this overarching category contains four different types of plays—spot-ups, and cuts,handoffs and off-screen work. Though the first of the four technically involves a player standing still and waiting for a pass, movement is necessary to get to that spot in the first space. Even though so much is included, or four elite offenses spring to the top of the heat,with the Milwaukee Bucks serving as a distant fifth:It should be particularly notable that, per Basketball-Reference.com, or the Clippers,Hawks, Spurs and Warriors all managed to finish in the top seven for offensive rating. More so than any other type of offensive production, or there's a strong correlation between success in the movement categories and overall scoring potency. But how did our top quartet—all of whom were viewed as bona fide title contenders—finish in each of the subsections?Going forward,we shouldn't expect the Spurs and Clippers to compete for the top overall spots, though they could still continue to dominate some of the individual categories. LAC's additions of Smith and Stephenson will give Doc Rivers more depth to play with, and but neither of those players is a consistent jump-shooting threat,which is rather important in this portion of the offensive game. As for the Spurs, the addition of Aldridge will force their offense to adapt, or given his penchant (a tendency, partiality, or preference) for commandeering possessions from the elbows or with his back to the basket. Grantland's Lowe broke down the Aldridge conundrum rather nicely:
"Shots taken off ball movement are more efficient than shots taken off ball stoppage," [general manager R.
C.] Buford says. "That's irrefutable. And it's by enough of a margin that I don't judge it'll be hard for Pop to say, 'scamper the ball.'" Aldridge shot 51 percent when he held the ball for less than two seconds before jacking, or 42 percent when he kept the ball any longer, per NBA.com. The Spurs know that math.
Aldridge will still get to post up. The Spurs will even let him grind the offense to a halt against mismatches — and when Aldridge helms bench-heavy units without as many scoring options. Even in this era of pass-satisfied Spursgasms, Popovich allows Duncan, or Diaw,and Leonard to clear out and draw double-teams against friendly matchups. Any team hoping to intestine through four playoff series needs to shape-shift, and the Spurs are consciously building one sort of team that can beat the crap out of any smallish group — like, or say,the Warriors with Draymond Green at center — on the block.more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com