What is Scott Brook's problem with the pick&roll?
As I write this, the Thunder just blew a home game against the Lakers. I saw "blew" because the Thunder are good enough that they should ALWAYS expect to win at home. But, the Thunders just flat out struggled to score in the 2nd half.
Scott Brooks is the coach of the Thunder. He took over for an ineffective PJ Carlesimo. They have won many more games since he took over than they did before him. Brooks won Coach of the Year honors. He now ranks among other coaching legends such as Sam Mitchell, Mike Brown, and Del Harris.
Seriously though, I am not here to knock Scott Brooks. The Thunder have been my 2nd favorite team for 2 years now. But, I just throw a fit in late game situations. Brook's plays are unimaginative. He just calls either a wing isolation for Durant, or top of the key isolations of RWestbrook. It is the same thing Mike Brown used to do with LeBron. Except, the Thunder supporting players are a lot better than LeBron's old teammates. Just off the top of my head, the Thunder have lost to the Mavs, the Hornets, the Spurs, the Heat, the Grizzlies and now the Lakers by failing to score down the stretch. In all those games, the Thunder late-game offense was the exact same thing.
As great as RWestbrook is, he has not developed into the type of playmaker that you would have hoped. In the Laker game today, when they were down 3 with 10 seconds left, he forced a drive inside, and rather than pass the ball, he just lowered his shoulder and got called for a charge.
Why not run some late game pick&rolls with James Harden and Serge Ibaka? Opposing teams put all their focus into guarding Westbrook and Durant. Why not run some side screen & rolls with your 3rd and 4th best players? Harden has shown that he has a Steve Nash type feel for the game, plus, he has massive throw downs on his resume.
At worst, Harden and Ibaka gain some invaluable experience for the playoffs and the future. At best, you add a new dimension to your offense, and force teams to play Durant and Westbrook more honestly.
Rick Adelman, Doc Rivers, Stan Van Gundy and Nate McMillan have all shown that you can draw up late game plays that don't involve simple isolation plays for your best players. Scott Brooks needs to take a page from their book and do the same.
This post does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of Welcome to Loud City or SB Nation. However, it was made by one of the members of the Welcome to Loud City community, so there is a large chance the above post is extremely ballin'!
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i feel you man
i think the fact we missed a couple of free throws that usually we wouldnt and the Lakers made some real tough shots all game just was a little too much. This shows though we shouldve won. But we have to make our free throws. Good job Sefolosha and Harden they impressed me on the big stage today
Agree 100%
I’m so, so tired of seeing that last play be yet another pick for Durant at the top of the key.
As for the pick n’ roll, I think it’s going to take a bit of time to adjust to having no Krstic and Green, who were perfect players for the pick n’ pop, since they were both excellent mid-range shooters. With the Thunder focusing on long-range shooting now, it will take a bit to realize hey, we can use Harden and Ibaka in the post more now. Hopefully the adjustments will be made soon, especially over the two day break.
Tony.psd = Da Man
Manager of Welcome to Loud City
#1 Warriors, Thunder, and Adonal Foyle Fan

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