Aldridge and Robinson miscellany
Can LaMarcus Aldridge switch? And Duncan Robinson embarrasses people.
From the Logo is still working back from a short stint offline. Until we get back to regular programming, two quick hitters that caught my eye in the short windows of NBA action that I tuned in for this past week.
LaMarcus Aldridge on the switch
By all accounts, LaMarcus Aldridge has looked fairly comfortable on the offensive end in his three games with the Nets so far. The biggest question many (yours truly included) had when the Nets signed Aldridge was on the other side of the ball. The Nets project to run a switch-heavy defense and Aldridge’s value as a center will be tied to his ability to hold up on switches. The Spurs didn’t switch Aldridge onto opposing guards too often and with Father Time limiting Aldridge’s mobility, one would be justified in being bearish.
The early returns have not been overly encouraging. First the good: Aldridge shows glimpses of holding his own on vanilla pick and rolls.
Aldridge anticipates Zach LaVine coming off the Nikola Vucevic pick, angles his body early and is able to slide his feet well to get in position and contest LaVine’s shot.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t take much for Aldridge to get out of position (again, this is very early days!) It looks like the Nets don’t want to switch here, with Joe Harris fighting over Taj Gibson’s pick to get back on to RJ Barrett. Aldridge seems to be stuck in no man’s land, neither stonewalling Barrett, nor tagging Gibson on the roll.
By the time Harris can get back in the play, Barrett has penetrated too deep and Gibson is allowed to walk to the rim. Not to read too much into one play, but gosh does Aldridge look a beat too slow and upright there.
That tendency to stay so upright in his stance compounds Aldridge’s already limited mobility. When he gets out of position, things can get ugly in a hurry.
Unlike in the LaVine clip above, Aldridge is facing the wrong way as the ballhandler (Derrick Rose here) comes off the pick. Aldridge’s stance and limited speed put him behind the eight ball and he is never able to recover. Watch the way his body is angled:
The good news is that the Nets have 20 games remaining to figure this out before the playoffs. Nic Claxton’s versatility looms large and that’s a good problem to have. Still, as cliche as it is, the playoffs are a different beast and being able to play a seasoned vet for 20 minutes a game could be a nice arrow to have in the quiver.
Duncan Robinson will embarrass you
The difference between a good 3-point shooter and an elite 3-point shooter isn’t just how many 3s they make (although that isn’t wholly unrelated.)
Elite shooters leverage the threat of their shot to find other shots for themselves and their teammates. It’s part gravity, part ingenuity.
I have already featured Robinson’s counters to being top locked and denied handoff from Bam Adebayo. He continues to make hay by faking towards handoffs before slamming the brakes and heading the other way for an open shot. Defenders who bite hard on those fakes can look especially foolish:
Robinson may never put a defender on skates with his handle, but he is able to use his off ball movement to similar effect. Surely Steph Curry, himself a master of these moves, got a little joy out of that.
The Heat lead the entire league in the frequency with which players cut per NBA advanced stats. Robinson is potent in catching defenders napping. Even someone as hyper aware as Draymond Green can’t catch his breath for a second.
Robinson is laying the ball up before Andrew Wiggins even realizes that he needs to switch. The subtlety of Jimmy Butler’s screen allows Robinson to seemingly stroll into an open look.
Even on the ball, Robinson is starting to spread his wings a little. Per NBA advanced stats, Robinson has nearly doubled his number of drives per game this season. When panicking defenders close out, Robinson pauses, surveys, and even takes the ball to the cup.
Record be damned, nobody wants to face these guys in the playoffs.