Miami vs. Memphis: Smallball had a real test in this game and smallball failed. As you know, Miami has abandoned traditional basketball, and they're playing exclusively smallball. Memphis on the other hand might be the most biggest skilled team in the league. Something had to give. Miami tried to keep the ball out of the post by fronting the block and pressuring the perimeter. Memphis countered this by running side pick and rolls and high-low action between Marc and Zach. There was nothing Miami could do to stop this.. Obviously once Zach or Marc got the ball in the sweet spot, Miami was cooked.
Cleveland vs. Oklahoma City: 95% of the plays Cleveland runs are picks set for Kyrie and Dion. The biggest problem with this is who is setting the screen. Whether is be Tristan Thompson or Andy Varajeo, this person is usually not a threat to score. This is what killed Cleveland today. Teams are now aware who is going to hurt them on this team, and they are doubling the ballhandler on the screen. When the ball is given back to Andy or Tristan they either shoot a shot they're not good at or move the ball to the other side, where Alonzo Gee and Boobie Gibson await their turn to hoist up a bad shot. As Harden has begun to struggle, Martin has begun to thrive. He may not be a better player, but he looks to be a better compliment to Russ and Kevin. With Harden, Russ and him would take turns making plays along with Durant. Martin doesn't need the ball to score, he much more effectively off of the creativity of Durant and Russ.
LA Lakers vs. Sacramento: The Lakers stopped running the Princeton. With no real head coach, they take turns isolating Kobe and Dwight. This proved to be too much for the last two bum teams they played. I'm really excited about what D'antoni can do for this team. People may complain about his defense, but I think he's got the defensive minded players to make up for that, but at the same time he has all the important parts to run his 7 seconds or less offense, including the real mccoy: Steve Nash to run it all through. Kobe will do his best Joe Johnson impression (ha!) and Dwight is a better all-around Amare. We shall see, regardless its an upgrade over Mike Brown.
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