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Jalen Brunson is on an absolute tear in this year’s playoffs averaging 33.7 PTS and 7.3 ASTS for the New York Knicks going into game 7. There are so many things that you can look at and study as a player or a coach. Today, I want to take a look at some of his screen and rolls and breakdown not only his scoring, but also the passing reads that come from it. There are so many small skills to look at and emulate, but we will feature a few to take a look at. I’ve worked with a lot of talented rookies in my career, but Jalen could have been one of the most turn key Rookie that I have ever seen. His development in his ability to create space and score has been nothing short of brilliant in his first 5 years of his short NBA career. What is still developing is his vision in making passing reads in the half court.
Brunson is so good setting up his defender not the screener to put him at the advantage. When he buries his man into the screen it allows him to then make the read on the big to either drive to the rim if they are playing up, or pull up if they are in a drop. If there are multiple defenders that are sent to him, he then makes the pass to the open teammate, or continues to take the shot. He’s not overly explosive, but is extremely physical using his body to clear space and/or to draw fouls.
Pay attention to how he sets his defender up as well as how the defense reacts to him and what reads are open. Mastering the pick and roll is something that isn’t done over night, and Brunson is developing into one of the better screen and roll scorers in the league. Let’s take a look at some clips and break it down. Lets Go To Work…..
FINISHES AT THE RIM
Brunson is a solid finisher at the rim shooting about 56% when he gets there. He does a great job at changing speeds and attacking the big to get to the rim. Finishing at the rim is such an important shot because it is so valuable. Not counting Free Throws, if you can finish at the rim in the mid 60’s% you are looking at a 1.3 Points Per Shot, which besides Free Throws it is the most valuable shot in the game.
It is a game of chess reading his man, the screener’s man, and the help defenders coming at him to see what decision to make on the finish, pass, or pull up. It is so important that he keeps his dribble, continues to attack the defense, and make the best read possible for his team.
Finishing in the paint is like converting in the red zone in football. When you are that close to the basket, you have to be able to make a play to convert consistently. A very good finisher in the NBA shoots 63% or higher at the rim. A player who plays starter’s minutes should be able to get to the rim at least 4 times per game and even that is on the lower end. For example, Luka and Kyrie get to the rim 5.0 times(71%) and 4.5 times (60.6%) respectively.
LETS TAKE A LOOK AT A FEW EXAMPLES….
On this read, Brunson comes off the mid screen & roll. His defender hits the screen, but gets back in the play right before Brunson makes his drive. He gets his defender on his hip and makes the drive going right. Watch as Turner rotates just a second late to help on the drive. He does a smart thing and takes off an inch in from the pro lane line. This gives Turner less time to react to the drive giving him the finish at the rim…
In this next clip, Brunson comes off the side screen & roll. His screener slips out of the screen, making it easier for Brunson’s defender to stay attached, but his screener’s defender has to clear out to stay with him. As he dribbles off the screen, Brunson initiates contact with his defender waiting for him to commit to the middle drive. Jalen, after his defender shifts his weight to the middle drive changes direction to his right and uses his two steps after the gather to get to the rim going to his right.Because it happened so quickly his defender couldn’t make a play on the ball and Turner didn’t have enough time/space to react and make a play at the rim. Other things that I notice on this clip is how Brunson protects the ball once he gathers not giving defenders a chance to strip him as well as how he brings the ball to his left side of his body after the gather no Turner couldn’t make a play on it.
On the final clip of this section, Brunson comes off the slot screen and roll on the right side and drives to his right. This time his screener, Isaiah Hartenstein gets a hit on Brunson’s man. Hartenstein’s defender, Myles Turner hedges out to guard the ball to show 2 defender’s on the ball to stall Brunson from getting into the paint. After Turner gets back to his man, Jalen changes direction to his left to make the drive to the basket. With a little help from Hartenstein’s body block to Turner, Brunson drives to the left and finishes high off of the glass. Because of the Knick’s Left wing and Corner players spacing their men out of the play , this gives Brunson all the space he needs to get to the rim. Keeping his dribble alive and waiting for Turner to get back to his and being patient really impacted that play and allowed it to happen.
FLOATER OFFENSE
Jalen is number one in the league at Floater Attempts Per Game with 4.3 according to Synergy Sports. He does such a great job at reading the help defender to judge if he has a shot or not and being able to get it off before they can make a play on the ball. Brunson shoots 54.6% according to Synergy Sports which is top 3 in the NBA. Efficiency is key when you are in the paint. The floater in general isn’t a high percentage shot, but if you can shoot it in the mid 40’s percentage wise the shot on occasion is a good option. In the range of clips that I looked at for this breakdown, most of the clips
LETS TAKE A LOOK AT A FEW EXAMPLES….
In this clip, Indiana puts two defenders on the ball and jumps Brunson on the initial screen. Jalen doesn’t panic as he splits the defense and drives to the rim. The other 3 offensive players are flattened out on the baseline giving him a pocket of space for a pull up or floater. The only help defender that can make a play on the ball here is Pascal Siakam who is helping off of Josh Hart in the corner. Siakam doesnt get in front of the ball, giving Brunson the uncontested floater look. The floater is a tough shot, but when you are shooting 54% and there is no one putting a hand up to contest you the shot is a great option.
in this clip Brunson starts off the ball to receive the ball on the right side. Isaiah Hartenstein sets the side screen & roll. Jalen drives to the middle as TJ McConnell stays on his hip he initiators contact with his defender clear space to get the floater off. The trajectory of the floater is a little too forward, but gets the shooter’s bounce. Brunson isn’t the most explosive player at the position, but is one of the best in the league at using his body to initiate contact on his defender to create offense. He averages 6.5 Free Throw Attempts a game, which is 3rd in the NBA at the position.
In this clip, Jalen is coming off the mid screen & roll. He buries his man (TJ McConnell) into his screener (Mitchell Robinson). Robinson’s man (Myles Turner) is playing up instead of in a drop coverage deep in the paint. Brunson gets Turner to shift his weight not only back going towards the basket, but he also changes direction to get Turner moving side to side. This creates the space to shoot the floater on the move, before Turner can make a play on the ball.
PULLING UP FOR 3PT
Jalen shot 40.1% from 3pt this season. With his ability to not only make 3pt shots on a regular basis, but also be aggressiveness to penetrate the defense and get in the paint makes him one of the tougher pick & roll scorers to defend in the NBA. Since he can consistently make deep shots, it spreads the defense out on how they defend him. With other guards who can’t shoot from 3PT, the defense can pack the paint and dare them to shoot limiting the options for the ball handler. On his screen & roll 3PT shots, pay attention to the different ways he gets to the shot depending on how the defense plays him.
LETS TAKE A LOOK AT A FEW EXAMPLES….
For the past few years, NBA teams have been setting their ball screens in some situations closer and closer to half court. It makes the ball handler tougher to guard if not only his man engages and gets buried on the screen, as well as the big guarding the screener needs to be stretched out further from the basket, making it easier for the ball handler to attack the basket. In this situation Jalen’s man jumps the screen. The counter for Brunson, is to reject the screen and crossover opening up his left hand for a drive. Turner is far behind the screener (Isaiah Hartenstein), and starts to retreat on Brunson’s drive. Jaylen makes the read as Turner gives him more than enough space to shoot the ball he calms pulls up for the 3PT shot.
Sometimes setting your defender up on the first screen isn’t enough. In this clip, Jalen comes off the screen and there is no switch or no advantage for the offense. Instead of dribbling around and wasting the clock, he initiates another ball screen with Josh Hart. On the second try he buries his man (TJ McConnell) not the screen. Notice the physicality of McConnell guarding him, but also Brunson initiating contact to him to improves the angle of the screen. As he comes off the screen for the second time, the screener’s defender (Obi Toppin) backs up. With Toppin backing up to stay with Brunson on the drive that opens up more than enough space for Jalen to pull up for the 3PT shot.
In the final clip for 3PT shots, here is Jalen coming off the Mid Screen & Roll. As he drives to his left and comes off the screen, he changes direction to get back to his right. He does this to get his defender(Andrew Nembhard) on his back. As he does this, Nembhard fights through the screen and instead of getting to the inside he goes to the outside. Brunson then steps back going to his right to clear space and shoots the 3PT shot. Difficult shot, but one that he makes on a regular basis.
PASSING READS
In the final section of this Post, we will cover passing out of the Pick & Roll. Up to this point we have covered Finishes at the rim, Floaters, and 3PT Pull Ups. Passing reads of not only the roller, but also the other 3 players engaged in the set is what sets apart a player that is a tunnel visioned scorer and a player that is multi dimensional player. I think this is the part of Brunson’s game that will continue to improve with time Int his section we will take a look at 8 passing reads from Jalen’s Pick & Rolls.
LETS TAKE A LOOK AT A FEW EXAMPLES….
In this first clip, Jalen comes off the side screen/roll setting up his defender(Tyrese Maxey) with an in and out to get him angling into the screener(Precious Achiuwa). As he comes off the screen, the first thing that Jalen has to deal with is the help at the nail from Kelly Oubre. Pay attention to how he keeps the ball close to him to keep Oubre from stripping/stealing the ball. Once he gets past the Oubre help, Brunson engages Joel Embiid in the paint. Pay attention to his fake and the footwork while making the pass to Achiuwa. Achiuwa catches on the move and finishes at the rim.
In this clip, Brunson comes off the side screen and roll. Indiana sends two defenders to him to try to stop his drive. The ball side corner is filled with Donte Divincenzo. The screener (Mitchell Robinson) rolls hard to the rim and gets behind his man (Myles Turner). In usual cases the corner defender would leave his man to bump the roller to stop the lob. Since Robinson gets behind Turner and there is no corner defender bumping, Brunson throws the lob for the finish.
In this situation, Brunson rejects the side screen and roll and engages a second defender (Brook Lopez). When he engages Lopez, he drops the pocket pass to Isaiah Hartenstein who shoots the floater on the catch. Watch on the weak side where Bobby Portis drops down to help on the floater form Hartenstein. As Portis drops down see as there are two players open for spot ups on the wing and corner. Dame Lillard would take the next pass just in case one was thrown. Hartenstein’s floater catches the shooter’s roll on the rim.
In this clip, Jalen comes off the step up on the left side of the floor. The Sixers pulls the screener’s man (Joel Embiid) over to keep him on the sideline. Tyrese Maxey pulls up off of his man (Josh Hart) from the left corner to show help. Since Maxey is well off of Hart showing help on Brunson, Hart cuts to the rim where he receives the pass from Brunson for the finish. As a PG you need to scan the defense for red flags that you can use to your advantage. When the ball side corner man gets disconnected from his man and loses vision you need to try to make a play going to the rim.
In this clip, Jalen drives to his right off the Mid Screen & Roll. His screener (Mitchell Robinson) rolls hard to the rim forcing the weak side corner defender to pull over to bump the roller opening up an opportunity to throw the cross court pass to the shooter in the left corner. The Bulls defender(Coby White) guarding the right corner shooter (Donte Divincenzo). White loses vision of Divincenzo on the Brunson Drive and as this happens Donte makes the hard cut to the rim. Brunson makes the bounce pass to him for the finish at the rim.
In this clip, Jalen comes off the side screen & roll on the right side. He rejects the screen and drives baseline. As he drives , Precious Achiuwa makes a cut from ball side corner taking his defender (Kevin Love) with him. On the drive, Love pulls over to help leaving Jaime Jaquez to guard two Knick offensive players spotted up on the weak side of the floor. Jaquez took his eyes off of Miles McBride who cuts in the paint on the drive. Jalen makes the pass on the drive to McBride for the floater on the catch.
In this clip , Jalen drives off of the step up screen & roll on the left side of the floor. The Sixers pull over to keep him on theft side of the floor. Joel Embiid who is defending the screener (Isaiah Hartenstein) pulls over to almost outside of the paint and is in a drop. On the drive, Kelly Oubre Jr. pulls over far to ball side left wing. Brunson makes the drive and skips it across the floor on the pass to Donte Divincenze for the spot up 3PT on the right wing where he is shooting 45% from that spot. Great read of that off ball defender on the weak side.
In this last clip, Brunson comes off the step up on the right side of the floor. Joel Embiid is in drop to help stop him on the drive. Tobias Harris is pulled over from the weak side wing to the middle of the floor. Jalen makes the penetrating drive and kick to OG Anunoby who on the catch lifts Harris with a fake and takes the 1 dribble pull up jumper.
