We've finally reached the last of these, and the tone will change a bit along with it. Rather than look back on something a player succeeded on immensely, we'll look at something that we see OG Anunoby in a lot, but can use improvement. That play? The wide pin-down.
As many people know, the Raptors lean hard into the read and react principles on offense in an attempt to be fluid and unpredictable. They're often the latter, and rarely the former. Last year, their halfcourt offense ranked 26th in points per play. The weave and pistol actions they run usually kick off their offense, and the wide-pin is one of the first inflection points for a possession. One of the best aspects of Anunoby's game is his penchant for early work - the early post-seals in transition - but a lot of times he's starting out in the corner and coming off a wide-pin in early offense. Anunoby isn't maximizing this play for his own scoring.
The wide-pin is the playground for players who couple shooting and rim pressure. With good technique you can come off a screen, put your man in a trail position and create a 2-on-1 situation vs. a big, or encourage the defense to shift towards you. If your defender goes under, you can backtrack into space while your big flips the screen into a flare - there's lots of of opportunity. Norman Powell, for example, is one of the most explosive and efficient tertiary scorers in basketball (has been for years) and he does the bulk of his work off of wide-pins.
