Offense in the Final Stretch

by Dante on Jan 22, 2009 8:34 PM PST Comment 1 comment

I might just be caught up in the post-game emotion of that thrilling, but uncomfortable victory over Wazzu ..... but it seems pretty clear by now that we have 2 different offenses - 1) our normal perimeter-oriented offense that features lots of screens, ball-movement, and spacing, and 2) our "5 minute drill" offense, in which, during the last 5 minutes of the game, DC dribbles for 25 seconds, gets a ball screen, then either gets separation for a jumper, or takes it to the hole.

I know the old adage is that you can afford to shoot jumpers at home, but should drive to the hole on the road .... not sure how much truth there is in that, but at least today, I was really glad DC took control of the game in the last 5 minutes.

My concern, however, is that when DC is playing 35+ minutes a game, it is not going to always work, having him take the whole burden of the offense at the end of games, especially when playing against more physical PG's (like Derrick Rose).

So ..... should the Bruins stick with the perimeter game, even as possessions grow scarce and the clock starts to run down? Maybe, but not necessarily. I think that to succeed, we must have both perimeter capabilities AND the ability to create off the dribble, and this is where JS and JH come in. Even though they are great offensive threats, MR and ND won't do much off of the dribble, and I think that in order to have a more diverse offensive attack, JS and JH need to step up, as DC has done, and create offense.

Not to denigrate MR and ND, as they are great offensive threats who can make big 3's as well as mid-range shots, and really help spread the floor. But in the end of certain games, especially in hostile environments, I would like to see JS and JH step up and take control of the offense (or at least take some of the burden off of DC)

JS and JH are both really unselfish, intelligent basketball players, who have shown the ability to score within the flow of the offense. But in certain situations, it seems, these guys could stand to be a little more assertive, a little more selfish.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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I think we need to change the strategy

In past years, our defense carried us. We could get a 10-point lead with 5 minutes to play and know that the other team would not score 10 more points if we played keep away. This year, our offense is carrying us. I think it would make more sense to continue playing offense like we do the first 35 minutes—attack, attack, attack—because we cannot rely on our defense to shut down our opponents.

This doesn’t mean that we should start jacking up 3s early in the shot clock in the last 5 minutes. Rather, we should take fast break opportunities and if they aren’t there, initiate the offense as we usually do with about 25 on the shot clock, and go until we get a good shot. Our guys rarely take bad shots and we often use up most of the shot clock, so I think continuing to run the offense will lead to good shots and working down a reasonable amount of the clock..

by BruinsRule on Jan 23, 2009 4:53 PM PST reply actions 0 recs