14 players in a new system: Where do they fit in? An introduction

by Mike Prada on Sep 6, 2009 3:01 PM EDT in Coaching Comment 4 comments

Winslow Townson - AP

For any team, a new coach brings questions of how the current crop of players will fit into the new coach's style of play. These questions can range from general (how will a defense-first coach fare with an offensive-first team?) to more specific (how will a half-court offensive coach fare with a team that pushes the ball more often than the new coach would like?), but they are always questions that eventually achieve some sort of resolution. (Unless you're the Phoenix Suns, in which case your failure with a half-court oriented coach leads you back to the 7SOL era).

The Wizards are no exception to this process. Flip Saunders and Eddie Jordan may be similar offensive-guru types, but there's still an adjustment in styles at play. In fact, doclinkin's thought-provoking comments on the Andray Blatche evaluation demonstrate that the Wizards' adjustment is even more pronounced than in most cases. The subtle differences between Eddie and Flip's offensive and defensive systems* mean the players that once fit in well with Eddie's system may not fit in well in Flip's. With lots of new players and several guys returning from injury, that'll make for an interesting training camp.

*(What are those differences? Doclinkin's comments give you a good idea, but I'll try to sum up their differences as best I can. On offense, Flip believes in the point guard doing the bulk of the handling, a multi-tooled big man who sets high screens, swings the ball, hits open jumpers and has an above-average basketball IQ, a wing who shoots without dribbling much and a big man who sets good screens and doesn't need many shots. Eddie believes in a bunch of guys who swing between positions -- in essence two guards who both can handle and pass, two forwards who can play inside and outside, and a center who can pass. Flip's big on positional specificity, Eddie is not. On defense, Eddie prefers a scrambling defense that pressures you into transition baskets, while Flip prefers having long guys who aren't necessarily quick guarding their man, but whose length allows everyone to help out in order to prevent penetration and force you to shoot over the top).

Therefore, in anticipation of what promises to be an interesting training camp, we're going to go through each player on the roster and discuss how they might fit into Flip's system. I'm going to throw out a few reasons and ways the player might fit in well and a few reasons he might not. Ultimately, we as a group will try to guess how often each player will play and in what roles we might see him.

We'll start after the weekend and continue throughout the month. In the meantime, in this thread, let's collectively brainstorm a way to sum up Flip's offensive and defensive systems so we have a common understanding. What do you guys think are the necessities in Flip's systems? How much potential do you see for Flip to adjust his system to the personnel rather than the personnel adjusting to the system?

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Flip did well with the Pistons

He made them better offensively while the Piston at times kept their defensive focus that was taught to them by Brown.

I think he will fit well the the Wizards because he has more offensively talented players at his disposal.

He was criticized for his emphasis of offense over defense in the past however. Saunders is better and more experienced than Jordan though. Overall I would consider him a coaching upgrade.

by 420man! on Sep 6, 2009 5:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

One knock on Flip that I've heard

Is that in training camp etc his drills were not only extremely complex but he didn’t explain himself all that thoroughly, especially to newcomers to the squad. You either learned quick or you didn’t play much.

Here he’ll need to take it slow, installing a new offense with new terminology and a completely different philosophy, an interdependent system where players set up the move that sets up the move that scores the bucket.

To the positive, I’m pretty sure Mike Miller for instance ran in a variant of the system under Hubie Brown in Memphis. Brendan already was breaking down the role fo players like Nick in this offense. Caron is both savvy enough to make the adjsutments and strong enough to set the offball picks and screens that help gunners get free. And many of the players on the roster should be natural fits for the system.

A guy like Nick Young no longer has to worry so much about when/if to pass to his floormates, and won’t receive the ball unless he’s actually open. All he needs to do is run, hug the screens tight and if someone gets him the ball: shoot rightnow. Make the bucket.

And heck, if Starbury can look like a true point guard in the system, and pop that ball around, then Gilbert can truly star.

The real question for me is who will teach the fundaMENTALS to our tall forwards, since the savvy play of guys like Sheed, McDyess, and KG has been a staple of Flip’s system. The high screen action above the free throw line is a key feature. I can see Jamison playing alright here on offense (though he doesn’t pass much and prefers to shoot unobstructed) though I see a reduced role for him on defense.

The maturation and wit of our two goliath youngsters is really the determinant of how well this system will play and how far this team will go. The raw materials are there, but there are a ton of veteran tricks and shifts that ought to be completely understood before the clockwork of this contraption really clicks in good time.

I counsel patience for Wiz fans if the team runs with Oberto early on while the young puppies get up to speed. OhBoy knows how to set the pick, how to pivot with his teammate to cut off the trailing defender, how to keep his hands open for the pass or drop to the bucket if they overcommit on a trap. And so on.

I’d urge Wiz faithful to actually enjoy some of the early season ups and downs while the line-ups shake themselves out and players pick up the intricacies. It will take some time to get things running smoothly. But if the team is ragged early just keep your lens on the long view. As skilled as our veterans have been, our future is even brighter when our youngsters find comfort in the roles outlined for them.

As far as raw talent is concerned, when we look at Bulletproof Andray Blatche (ready to claim his nickname) and his teammate The Real McGee— only Anthony Randolph has a better skillset to play the role of ‘The Next Kevin Garnett’.

If Flip (and Sammy) can teach the rudiments and finer points of the role, we’ll have something particularly special. Some of y’all have given up too soon on a reforming knucklehead like our boy Dray. That’s okay, here we’ve got opportunity for him to show you the ’Proof you demanding.

by doclinkin on Sep 6, 2009 7:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs