Another week of NBA 2K League action has come and gone, bringing with it new tactical wrinkles, new breakout stars and new things for me to gripe about.
These Bucks have plays, not horns
Two really nice plays for Bucks Gaming here. They picked up a much-needed win over Warriors Gaming Squad, moving them to 5-5 on the year. RSG got his first start of the season, at the PF post scorer (what else), and played very well in BigMeek’s stead.
BucksInboundsOop (Week6)
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That’s a really nice play. The defense expects the inbound pass to go to Arooks, so Type plays high. That means he’s playing catchup when Plondo, after inbounding to RSG, sprints to the hoop. The defense expects (notice a theme?) RSG to slowly back down for a post fade, but instead he lobs up an alley-oop for Plondo, uncovered, to throw down.
PlondoDiveDime (Week6)
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This play is ever nastier. Plondo, operating from the wing, has most of the floor open (the strongside corner defender is made irrelevant by incepting from the wing). Chaddynick curls to the hoop, so BSmoove rotates over to help. Gradient sees his help come and anticipates Arooks will wrap fully, which he’s started to do, but instead Arooks cuts back for an open three.
It’s all about expectation, and creating false expectations for the defense is the best way to score points.
Ah, rotations
This is, simply put, great defense by Raptors Uprising.
RaptorsDefensiveRotations (Week6)
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KingQuai helps down on Detoxys, backing down Doza, in the post. Detoxys correctly kicks it out to a wrapping Kev, but Josh has already rotated over to cover him when he catches it. He passes to Kontrul, and bam, Sick is already there. Kontrul swings it to Vert in the corner, and KingQuai is already closing out on the shooter. Miss, rebound, fastbreak trey.
Sick has been insanely good these last two games with the Raptors. He’s great on the perimeter. But he’s stepped right in and been one of the best defensive players in the entire league these last two games.
SickSwitchDefense (Week6)
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That’s him playing excellent defense after halfcourt switch onto Mama. That’s no easy thing to do. The Raptors are 1-1 after acquiring him, losing only to Blazer5, who may well be the best team in the entire league. They’re looking good.
Patience, young grasshopper
Heat Check played unconscionably poorly in their loss to the Celtics, far below their usual standard. A lot of that had to do with a lack of patience.
HeatDoublePickBadRead (Week6)
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This is a pretty good play. Staggered high screens with Majestic fading and Hotshot diving. Really good defense by Mel East takes away the fade, but Hotshot is open on the dive. Hood is just a little overambitious, especially with Fab helping up from the corner. He needs to settle into his rhythm and find a little more balance.
DropoffStrongsideHelp (Week6)
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Whoa, Dropoff! That’s an over-eager help on Fab, who, yes, has been utterly destroying your defense—but still. Helping should be about containment, not about displacing the on-ball defender. Fab is too good a point guard not to exploit an opening created like that.
Dropoff is usually a very smart player, and the Heat are usually a much better team. They’ll fix a lot of mistakes with a week off.
Smart players, smart plays
It warms my heart to see smart players make smart plays.
One of the most annoying things in the entire league is when teams create mismatches and subsequently revert to pick-and-roll, switching away from their mismatch. So it’s good to see PeteBeBallin, badge and all, go to work against a smaller lock in the post.
PetePostMoveDunk (Week6)
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Fab, as noted above, is also one of those smart players. While he’s taken it to the next level in terms of dribble penetration and scoring this season, he’s remained an aware, smart passer.
FabQuickKick (Week6)
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Here, he gets the fastbreak outlet and, swarmed by defenders, has the presence of mind to quickly (note how speedily he makes this pass) to find the open man on the perimeter for three.
The Lakers’ offense needs a shot in the arm
It’s been a struggle for the Lakers, who sit 1-7 and find themselves knocking on the door of the basement halfway through the year. There are plenty of issues to remedy, but let’s look at some of the more innovative wrinkles their offense has tried.
LakersHornsMiss (Week6)
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I like when teams incorporate horns. I really do. But 7 seconds remaining in the half, when it looks like you’re trying to wrap or sell a wrap (see Detoxys’ movement on the right), is not the time. The Lakers have a great piece to run horns with in Kev, but a simple low-high handoff isn’t going to create the requisite space. I’d like to see Kontrul maybe cut in off that, and maybe Kev weave in and out of the horns a little more (with more time).
Against Raptors Uprising, the Lakers tried to work Detoxys (a former Raptor) in the post against Doza, not without success. He scored a team-high 16 points on efficient 7-11 shooting, and he played really well on the low block.
DetoxysPostOffense (Week6)
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But the Lakers, to make that work consistently, need more movement. Teams won’t necessarily always have their point guard defending Detoxys. Set some offball screens, have some cutters moving, get your dribble handoffs going there (fake a screen one way for a shooter, and then have him dex into the handoff for an open shot).
The Lakers have innovation to make their offense work. They just need to embrace it.
Dimez, facilitating on the fly
Dimez has been brilliant this year, and the Mavs are an unparalleled 9-0 because of it. His numbers haven’t always represented what he’s brought to the table.
MavsGGTrey (Week6)
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That late downscreen to free up Rux, on a badge no less, is beautiful. I’m not sure how set it is, but it’s phenomenal. I’ve always been an advocate for offball screens by smaller players, and this is a perfect example. It doesn’t have to be a bone-crunching screen: even a little clip is enough to free up a player for three.
If the gamertag didn’t give it away, he’s a playmaker at heart.
https://clips.twitch.tv/VastShortDolphinWTRuck
Last year’s Dimez doesn’t cut that hard. He’s been doing that this year more. This time, it enables him to find an open man after receiving the ball on the cut, which has collapsed the defense. He’s playing smarter this year. He’s winning more, too.
