Stat Check: Pick Your Pleasure

Now THIS would be HUGE! I was extremely tired of seeing those half-hearted "brush picks". Set a pick, hold the pick and make them go over, around or through you. If you're setting a pick at halfcourt, rock their world! It'll keep their heads on a swivel the next time they think of applying fullcourt pressure.


http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4698315/stat-check-pick-your-pleasure



WALTHAM, Mass. -- Pick-setting was a noteworthy topic at the Celtics'
practice on Friday [the team's website has a full story on the subject HERE]. Maybe most noteworthy was Jason Terry's proclamation that Boston is "the best pick-setting team in the league" and coach Doc Rivers echoed the excitement about the Celtics' ability to
set screens.


"I think we’re the best pick-setting team in the league," said Terry. "That goes not only with the best in [Kevin Garnett], but 1 through 5, whoever steps on the floor. We’ve made it an emphasis,
and it’s about sacrifice. It’s about giving up your body. You're
talking about setting picks, a lot of times you're not going to benefit
from it directly, but you're going to get your teammate open. And that’s
what Celtics basketball is about."


Added Rivers: "This may be the best pick-setting team.
Darko [Milicic] loves to pick; Kevin [Garnett] is the best picker in the league. Jared [Sullinger] is a good picker. [Terry], surprisingly, if he's not the best picker on the team, he’s right there with Kevin. He’s small, but he loves setting
picks. That’s what he did in Dallas with [Dirk] Nowitzki
a lot, so we’re going to do it here with him. So I like that, it’s a
lost art, obviously, in our league. And I think we have some guys that
enjoy doing it."


But how important is pick-setting in the Celtics' offense?



Last season, the Celtics ranked first in the NBA averaging 1.008
points per play off screens. While only 7.7 percent of their total plays
came off screens (it was Boston's seventh-most popular play type as
tracked by Synergy Sports data), Boston clearly benefited when it
utilized them. Not surprisingly, Ray Allen was the biggest beneficiary, accounting for 45 percent of all screen
plays (and averaging 1.08 points per play, which ranked him in the 81st
percentile, according to Synergy). But the shooting guard spot as a
whole benefited from screens, highlighted by Avery Bradley's averaging a whopping 1.412 points per play on a limited sample (17
total plays; ranked him in the 98th percentile, according to Synergy).


Early returns haven't been overwhelming. Boston ranked 26th in
points per play off screens during preseason play, averaging a mere
0.581 points per play and shooting 24.3 percent (9-of-37). Keep in mind,
all these numbers only track shots generated off picks, and it might be
a cut or an isolation that develops from the original screen that
ultimately leads to the shot opportunity.



Boston's offense will continue to lean heavily on picks to generate
easier looks, and Rivers likes the potential he sees thus far.



"[Pick-setting is] important to everybody’s offense," said Rivers.
"There’s no offense that doesn’t need pickers. And we’re pretty good at
it."




bob



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Bob,

This is the choir speaking. You're now our honorary preacher. Since all Ray needed was a split second of separation from his defender, and since Ray accounted for 45% of the plays off screens, my guess is that brush picks may often have been sufficient to gain him that split second. It will, indeed, be heartening to see a larger percentage solid picks out there, as I believe they'll benefit Rondo's penetration, Bradley's baseline romps, Bass's and KG's jumpers, JET's perimeter shooting, and Green's, Lee's and Pierces forays to the hoop. I assume Sully will be more the settER than the setEE, as he probably doesn't need a pick to go through people. But he might benefit even from a brush pick that throws off an opponent's timing when he's trying to block a Sully shot.

Everyone knows I'm an optimist at the slightest opportunity. But do you sometimes find that all things Celtic are going so smoothly that you're looking over your shoulder for the Great Leveler in the Sky?

Choir

sam wrote:Bob,

This is the choir speaking. You're now our honorary preacher. Since all Ray needed was a split second of separation from his defender, and since Ray accounted for 45% of the plays off screens, my guess is that brush picks may often have been sufficient to gain him that split second. It will, indeed, be heartening to see a larger percentage solid picks out there, as I believe they'll benefit Rondo's penetration, Bradley's baseline romps, Bass's and KG's jumpers, JET's perimeter shooting, and Green's, Lee's and Pierces forays to the hoop. I assume Sully will be more the settER than the setEE, as he probably doesn't need a pick to go through people. But he might benefit even from a brush pick that throws off an opponent's timing when he's trying to block a Sully shot.

Everyone knows I'm an optimist at the slightest opportunity. But do you sometimes find that all things Celtic are going so smoothly that you're looking over your shoulder for the Great Leveler in the Sky?

Choir

sam,


Praise the Lord and Pass the Rock!

I'm not sure Sully would gain from a pick since his problems come when he's under the basket and not when he's shooting from outside. If you set a pick that let's him roll to the hoop, then HELL YES! Give him a little space underneath and he's good.

EVERYBODY will benefit from better picks. Lee, Bradley, Terry, Barbosa, Pierce and perhaps, most importantly, Green. I can't wait to see Sully set his first pick on LeBum and watch JG take it right to their short baseline defense. Hell, why let Sully have all the fun? Set a double screen and really frustrate the crap out of LBJ. How about Sully and Darko? LeBum will have to hail a cab to get around them.


bob


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Taxi!

The best pick ever was when KG leveled Zaza. Too bad they couldn't keep stats on picks. They'd have to grade them like in the Olympics, KG's being a ten.

If setting picks is a lost art, using them has to be a lost art, too. It's another type of two-man game. In the preseason, watching Darko, you couldn't help noticing his enjoyment setting picks. One time, Rondo went right under his arm, so close he brushed his uniform, and never slowed down.

Besides setting picks, there seems to be another lost art that Jet has mastered: following up his shot. Often enough, the guy who shoots and misses has a clear path to his own rebound: all too often he backpedals instead. Jet is so old-school, he even follows up other people's shots. It's fitting that his flight path took him to Boston. It's another reason he's so much fun to watch.

Bob,

I can see them setting picks low for either Sully or Bradley. In those cases, the pick would be within five or six feet from the basket and would be designed to keep or slow a defender in the middle from backtracking to protect the basket.

I think Rondo's another excellent example of a guy who follows his shots well. The guy just has glue on his fingers, and the ball just seems to find his hand. I wish more Celtics did it.

Sam

sam wrote:Bob,

I can see them setting picks low for either Sully or Bradley. In those cases, the pick would be within five or six feet from the basket and would be designed to keep or slow a defender in the middle from backtracking to protect the basket.

I think Rondo's another excellent example of a guy who follows his shots well. The guy just has glue on his fingers, and the ball just seems to find his hand. I wish more Celtics did it.

Sam

sam,

Yeah, Rondo follows his shots really well and snares them with those Gecko hands of his.

Can you imagine KG setting a pick in the high post for Sully who rolls to the hoop and gets fed by Rondo?

Tuesday can't come quickly enough.


bob

.

Here's another article on how much better we are this year on setting picks. Setting and holding picks and running and uptempo game. Wow. I'm loving this team already and we haven't even started the season yet. The bold is mine.



WALTHAM — The Celtics under Doc Rivers have made no secret about the key to their success on offense.

Set screens and picks, get your teammate open and the points will follow.

Kevin Garnett is the supreme example and symbol of this philosophy.

Watch Garnett away from the ball during a game and you’ll realize that one of his greatest skills is setting picks. But it’s not just Garnett now. New faces like Darko Milicic, Jared Sullinger and even Jason Terry have been brought in this season. And every single one of them understand the first principle of Celtics offense – do whatever necessary to get your teammate open.

“This is maybe the best pick-setting team,” Rivers said Friday, when asked where this team ranks in terms of setting screens and picks. “Darko loves to pick. Kevin is the best picker in the league. Jared is a good picker.

“JET, surprisingly, if [he's] not the best picker on the team, he’s right there with Kevin. He’s a small, but he loves setting picks. That’s what he did in Dallas with [Dirk Nowitzki], so we’re going to do it here for him.”

Someone who was around last season is big man Chris Wilcox and he sees the value in having Garnett set such a strong, physical example.

“KG shows us every day what we need to do,” said Wilcox. “So all we’ve got to do is just follow his lead and everything else will fall into place. We’ve got to set picks. It’s going to open up everybody. We’ve got guys who can score, so our job is to get them open.”

Sacrifice. It’s one of the cornerstones of the Doc Rivers era and one of the founding principles of Ubuntu. It appears this new group of Celtics team is ready to embrace the age-old concept heading into the season – a good sign for a team looking for a way to get past Miami in the East.

“It’s about sacrifice,” Terry insisted Friday after practice. “It’s about giving up your body when you’re talking about setting picks. A lot of times you’re not going to benefit from it directly, but you’re going to get your teammate open, and that’s what Celtic basketball is all about.

“We’re the best pick-setting team in the league,” Terry proclaimed. “That’s the goal, not only with the best in KG, but 1 through 5, whoever steps on the floor. We’ve made it an emphasis.”



bob


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