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.
Of course, Anunoby is trying to balance egos as he moves the ball to its next destination, but he can stand to be significantly more selfish in these scenarios. I watched roughly 15 minutes of just wide-pins, and he rarely turns the corner. He transitions into a pitch play and funnels to the opposite corner, or he flattens out above-the-break and tries to engage his defender 1-on-1. Funneling elsewhere is a fine decision as he’s a tremendous spot-up shooter and provides spacing and play finishing, but it would be nice to see him press the defense in early offense a bit more.
Before I go into breaking down each play – every play has advantages passed up and you can nitpick virtually everything. I’m only going to point these out because I watched so many wide-pin possessions that I think these are representative of oft-made mistakes. Additionally, the read and react aspect we hear the players & Coach Nurse talk about matters here, because any player is supposed to be able to take any advantage at any time. If those are being passed up, they’re being passed up.
Here we have some of the benefits of that passivity:
Play 1: Filter through to the weak-side as the Raptors target an empty-side pick n’ roll. Hover in support as Boucher slides in to set to set a backscreen on Tobias Harris. Bang, triple.
Play 2: Another progression into an empty-side pick n’ roll, and forms up to hit the triple.
Play 3: Filter through to the weak-side corner, side-top-side ensues, and a corner triple.
Play 4: Filters into VanVleet’s pin-down, gets it back in a DHO and hits Barnes on the short-roll.
These are all good things, but none of them utilize the initial screen. These outcomes are fine, even good, but it does mean that Anunoby is posing very little threat to start these actions off. You want to be more dangerous in more places, and Anunoby wants to be responsible for more creation.
Passivity without good outcomes:
Play 1: Misses an opportunity to re-route the screen back, wherein a driving lane or 3-point shot would have been available. Turns the play into an iso against a set defense, against his primary defender (which they can get at anytime) and eventually turns it over.
Play 2: LeVert takes an awful angle around the screen, and had Anunoby been interested in catching a pass downhill, he could have turned the corner sharper and pressured the defense. Passed up an advantage.
Play 3: With Wood & Mathews lazily switching, there was a clear opportunity to backtrack the pin, let Achiuwa flip the screen, and either get an open 3, or an advantage off a closeout. Flows into a play the Raptors can get whenever they want.
Play 4: Comes out of the screen wide with Giddey trailing. Had an opportunity to catch going downhill with advantage.
These are the same types of plays as before, where Anunoby is handing off the creation load to someone else, only, good outcomes aren’t a part of it. Less dynamic reads mean a less dynamic offense.
Aggressive Decision Making:
Play 1: Harden cheats the screen, so Anunoby stops short and keeps the empty-side play for himself. Allows Achiuwa to get in the way, muscles downhill and gets to his spot for a shot. Aggressive, looking for his own and doing so in an action involving limited defenders. Great.
Play 2: Play is run really wide, so even though Burks shoots the gap, he can’t stop short. It’s his responsibility to get the ball from Achiuwa, he does, and engages in a DHO that flattens into an iso. Not the best shot, but it goes in. Early season, Boucher & Achiuwa are the only other players above the break, that was his possession and he made good on it.
Play 3: Comes off of the wide-pin into the handoff and takes control of the screening action. Beats Sengun on the hedge, muscles his way in for a bucket.
Play 4: Process wise, my favourite. Gets a step off the closeout and turns it downhill for a 2-on-1, that Okeke breaks up. Okeke is a really range-y defender and most players won’t catch up to that pocket pass. Ball goes out of bounds, but that’s the way to pressure a defense off a wide-pin. More of that process will mean more baskets.
Anunoby gets a lot of these possessions each game, and it’s well within his power to sharpen them a little bit with more attention to detail. As we saw in the final preseason game against the Celtics (truthfully, we’ve seen it for years) his strength and long strides make him really hard to keep up with going downhill, and he’s been a 40% catch-and-shoot option for years. This action is supposed to feature his talents a little more aggressively.
We’ll see how it shapes up this year. I can’t wait.
Have a blessed day.
