CLEVELAND CAVS SCREEN ROLL DEFENSE
REPORT:
Cleveland gives you a lot of ball pressure on the perimeter forcing teams into tough shots. They are missing their best shot blocker in Mobley, but Allen is active in keeping in front of the ball handler in coverage. They Ice/Blue the ball handler in most cases to funnel you to Allen. They are active looking to get into the ball and get deflections. They thrive off teams that don’t move the ball and have ball handlers that unsure of themselves on their drives. Allen is an average shot blocker at best, but will make an effort to contest shots in the paint and try to protect the rim. Mitchell, Okoro, Strus, and LeVert provide a lot of energy getting into the ball. Here are examples of beating their pick and roll defense to get better looks.
WAYS TO ATTACK THEIR COVERAGE:
You have to be aggressive and attack them. Without great shot blocking you need to attack the rim and take it right at Allen. He’s active and contests shots, but very rarely does he impact shooters at the rim. He makes an effort but does very little , but contests and rebounds on the defensive end. If he is up in coverage and switches on to you waste little time and change speeds/directions and force him to move his feet. Attack the rim and get into his body. Other ways is on rejections to ball screens and keep their defenders guessing. You have to change speeds and be very aggressive with your attacks. Moving the ball early before they can set up can also help. Utah spaced out Allen by putting their 5 in the deep corner to isolate him out of the coverage and put Lauri in screen rolls. Also when they go with Tristian Thompson in coverage you have to line up and attack him as much as possible. He can’t keep anyone in front of him. Use your floater when attacking the rim if either Allen or Thompson.Use your body to initiate contact with on ball defenders as well as getting them on your back with snakes and keeping them guessing. This all starts with you to be aggressive and forcing them to scramble when you penetrate to make plays for yourself or your teammates.
CLEVELAND CAVS PERSONNEL REPORT
DONOVAN MITCHELL
REPORT:
Team’s best player will get the ball in screen rolls and Hand Offs up top and looking to pull up. Loves to take tough contested shots in screen roll situations. When he drives right he will look to pullback with the crossover or stepback for a jumper. He will pull up for 3PT if you go under or if he drives you back on screen roll/DHO. Solid finisher, shooting 61% at the rim. Stay close and connected , especially on his screen rolls. Stay on the ground on his jumper and just make sure you are contesting shots. Doesn’t cut a lot. If he is off the ball, he’s spotting up looking for a quick catch & shoot. Keep him to his left hand, when he drives left he is looking to get back to his right hand.
TURNOVER ZONES:
Not a strong ball handler, gets the ball stripped and tipped away when he tries to handle too much. He has a tough time with off ball defenders swiping at his ball. He can straight line drive, but when he tries to go too crazy with his handle gets himself in trouble. Loves to get to his right on his DHO, stay connected and show hands. Almost half of his shots will be 3PT shots.
WHERE HE FOULS:
Mitchell is a physical defender. A lot of times on drives he will hold with that inside arm. He tends to lose control of himself at times and makes contact with the ball handler. Bump him on drives at all times and sell the contact to the referee,. He isn’t very disciplined when it comes to his defensive technique on the ball. Doesn’t foul jump shooters on fakes too much. Be aggressive with him with your drives and force him to make contact.
STATS:
LAST 10 STATS
GAMES PLAYED:6
PTS | 27.8 | REB | 2.6 | AST | 7.2 |
FG% | 46.3% | FT% | 90.9% | 3PT% | 41.1% |
MINS | 35.0 | 3PT | 3.2 | 3PTA | |
TO'S | 2.2 | A/TO | 3.3 | USAGE | 31.6 |
MAX STRUS
REPORT:
Deep Ball threat from he wing position. Shooting 35% from 3PT. Has deep range and can make spot ups as well as shots on the move. You need to stay connected with him at all times and don’t give him daylight on the shot. Strus is an active cutter on the floor, especially out of the left corner. Only shooting 35% from 3PT, but it seems so much higher from watching his film. Watch him as he is always in movement to get a shot. Has the ability to make shots from deep. Stay connected on pin downs as he is looking to shoot quickly. They run him off staggers constantly, kept an eye out for that early. Force him to put the ball on the floor for an extended period of time. Attempting 8.1 3PT Shots a game. Stay connected and force him to put the ball on the floor. Only shooting 50% at the rim, not a strong finisher unless it is off cutting. Most of his damage will be done on that right wing, spotting up, or running him off screens/DHO’s
TURNOVER ZONES:
The biggest weakness for Strus is when he puts the ball on the floor and tries to be a decision maker. He tends to get the ball stolen from him, when he does anything that resembles to too much. You have to stay with him with active hands without fouling and force him to make plays. The more creative he gets off of hand offs, screen roll, etc the more he turns the ball over. Don’t get baited into fouling him, just play solid defense
WHERE HE FOULS:
When attacked on drives, Strus will use that inside arm to try to gain an advantage and make contact on drives. You need to be aggressive with your drives and DHO’s to force him to be physical and put fouls on the board. He lacks discipline with his technique of defending drivers at times.
STATS:
LAST 10 STATS
GAMES PLAYED:10
PTS | 14.4 | REB | 4.1 | AST | 4.0 |
FG% | 38.3% | FT% | 80.0% | 3PT% | 32.8% |
MINS | 34.1 | 3PT | 2.9 | 3PTA | 8.1 |
TO'S | 2.2 | A/TO | 1.8 | USAGE | 18.2 |
CRAIG PORTER
REPORT:
Aggressive guard, wild at times mostly trying to get to the mid range or to the rim. Plays hard, uses his body well to initiate contact to clear space for himself for his shot. Crafty, uses fakes in the paint to get you off balance. Stay on the ground with that and just show hands and contest his shots. Only shooting 58% from the Line in the last 10, but still don’t want to give him any advantage. Will take some tough off balance shots, but that’s just how he’s wired. Changes speeds and likes to bump on drives. Show hands on everything as he is a crafty player.
TURNOVER ZONES:
Even though his A/TO is over 2.5 in the last 10 he takes a lot of chances and gets a lot of his balls tipped. Stay on his hip and show hands as the more he dribbles and tries to make plays for others the more trouble he gets into with deflections and turnovers. You have to just keep him dribbling in screen roll. He will make mistakes and throw the ball away, he just can’t have wide open lanes to the rim. In my opinion he is not a high IQ player and will turn the ball over if he sees bodies, hands, and length around him.
WHERE HE FOULS:
He’s pretty solid with his on the ball defense. He will swipe at the ball at times or have low hands which forces him into holding calls, but nothing out of the ordinary. Be aggressive and drive him
STATS:
LAST 10 STATS
GAMES PLAYED:10
PTS | 7.9 | REB | 4.0 | AST | 4.6 |
FG% | 45.9% | FT% | 58.3% | 3PT% | 30.9% |
MINS | 19.4 | 3PT | 0.3 | 3PTA | 0.8 |
TO'S | 1.4 | A/TO | 2.8 | USAGE | 20.9 |
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