HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

Each week, HOOPSWORLD NBA analyst and coach Anthony Macri opens his notebook and offers an assortment of observations on games, players, and teams from throughout the league. Coach Macri serves as a player development consultant for the Pro Training Center and Coach David Thorpe, working with a variety of NBA players on their skills and game understanding. The Coach’s Notebook appears on HOOPSWORLD every Thursday.

The baseline is death

When most look at the success of the Boston Celtics it is easy to point to their defense (it is that good again).  The play of point guard Rajon Rondo has also been spectacular and having a top shelf orchestrator can go a long way.  However, one thing that really stuck out about the Celtics this week in their win over the Indiana Pacers - and really throughout their entire season - was how each player attacks off the dribble.  Specifically, the way they really focus on driving middle and avoiding the baseline.

One of the central points of emphasis when teaching players offensive theory is helping them to understand where trouble spots and premium spots on the floor are.  The Celtics do as good of a job as any team of pacing their attack and giving the defense a chance to open up as they attack middle.  Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Nate Robinson pick spots, often faking a drive baseline to set up their attack on the middle of the floor.  The benefits of this attack are immediate and obvious: finding shooters on the opposite side of the floor, hooking up with Shaq over the top, and having a wider variety of options on a finish.

Too many teams have players content to drive toward the baseline if that is what the defense gives However, most defenses in the NBA (and college and high school) are designed to push teams towards the sideline and baseline for a reason: it is easier to guard.  Strong, smart offensive teams are never content to fit into the defense’s plans for them and instead look to find ways to break down the opposing team’s gameplan.  By driving middle help defense is stretched and effective passing takes advantage of spacing much better.  A drive baseline, however, does the opposite, allowing the defense to collapse and giving them easier closeout angles and less distance to travel.

The Celtics may have encouraged this approach through gameplanning.  Boston runs a lot of pindowns and off-ball screens for spot ups where the receiver catches the ball on the high wing on the move toward the middle.  By simply continuing their momentum, they often find themselves attacking the high side instead of baseline.  In addition, the Celtics’ execution of the fundamental side pick-and-roll includes a noticeable over-the-top bias.  That is, the ball-handler dribbles off the high shoulder of the screener even when the defense attempts to prevent it.  It is almost as if the Boston offense is programmed to attack in this fashion, and while they do occasionally get pushed out higher than other teams might, they also find greater long-term success in attacking in this way.

Fulfilling your destiny…

Perhaps running a little under-the-radar is the improved production of late by forward Chris Bosh of the Miami HEAT.  Bosh has been extremely productive for Miami throughout the month of December, averaging just a few tenths of a point shy of a double-double since December 4th (and with his overall season averages of 18.5 points and 8.2 rebounds, that is a solid uptick).  While part of his increased production is directly attributable to just the normal adjustments associated with playing alongside new teammates, a far larger piece of Bosh’s progression is owed to his deepened commitment on the offensive glass.

Early in the season Bosh spent a lot of time floating around the perimeter offensively, a little uncertain of his role in Coach Erik Spoelstra’s system.  Now Bosh is visibly more dedicated to attacking the glass from a variety of angles.  He is competing for tips around the rim and spending time in and around the lane on shots taken by teammates.  Just the difference of being 3-4 feet closer to the rim results in more opportunities, and Bosh has converted those opportunities.

{AUTHOR_BOX}Bosh is not as strong physically as some of his peers at the power forward position.  However, he is every bit as quick and crafty as any of them, and his length gives other forwards major problems.  Being a left-handed player holds other advantages as well.  Most bigs are conditioned from a very early age on ways to disrupt, defend, and block the shots of right-handed players, but they are at a loss when a competent lefty enters the fray.  When a right-handed player attacks the glass they often must come down with the ball, gather, and then explode back up to finish with their left hand.  However, lefties can go for quick tip-ins and trampoline-style bouncy finishes with their left hand. This throws off defenders’ timing and makes the offensive rebounder harder to stop.  Chris Bosh has been exploiting this throughout his career, and he appears to be at it again in Miami of late.

Since December 4th, Bosh has more than doubled his offensive rebounds per game from 1.3 in his team’s first 20 games to 2.8 in the last 14.  Not surprisingly the HEAT are 13-1 in their last 14 after starting the season 12-8.  By starting to become the player he was in Toronto, Chris Bosh is quietly making the HEAT all they were expected to be.

Did you know?

The other day, Coach David Thorpe (my mentor and ESPN NBA analyst) asked me if I could name any player in league history that has led the NBA in both three-pointers made and in free throws made.  I asked him for a second to consider the possibilities.  My short list included Larry Bird, Reggie Miller, and Ray Allen.  No, no, and no.  In fact, it has never happened before.

But it might this year.

Houston Rockets guard Kevin Martin is on pace to do so according to the Elias Sports Bureau.  Consider for a moment how impressive that would be: it is essentially the kind of production one would want from a prototypical shooting guard.  By shooting so impressively, both by percentage and by volume, from both the three-point line and the free throw line, Martin has the Rockets aiming in the direction that many expected for them before the season, myself included.  Whether his current level of play will continue is obviously a question mark.  But for now, we should all enjoy a player who might be the league’s best two-guard, even if no one is noticing it.

Have questions for Coach Macri? Be sure and drop by HOOPSWORLD on Mondays at 2PM Eastern for the Coach’s weekly basketball chat!  You can also follow Coach Macri on Twitter @CoachMacri.