I've heard people say that we need a big who is a good "roll guy" in our offense. Is it really that hard to set a pick, roll to the basket, catch a pass, and make a layup? Someone educate me, b/c I do admit I don't know that much on the topic. Just seems like it takes a lot less skill to be able to roll to the basket than to hit an 18 foot jump shot or develop a low post game. Of the guys that we have, any of them good roll guys vs bad roll guys among our big men? Particularly interested in Marcus Morris and D-Mo... What about dudes we talk about getting (not the unattainable ones like K Love and LMA)? Particularly interested in Al Jefferson. Thanks!!!
Maybe I should have asked the question - "What makes a PF a bad roll guy?" I'll show my cards. One of the reasons I'm curious is I've read here that Al Jefferson, though gifted on offense as he is, is a bad "roll guy." What makes him that? What should I be looking for in a PF to see he'd be a good fit for our offense? What is lacking in our current bigs, if there is anything lacking, as roll guys? Not having played organized bball really handicaps in areas like this.
To lazy to type it out, here is some video This video isn't bad either https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ga49vPn2ao This video is probably the best one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPSpvdpnxUw&feature=related
To be bad roll guy is to have bad hands, not as agile, not a good finisher around the basket pretty much. A good roll guy can finish strong at the rim, can catch the ball at all sorts of angles (and get oops) and what not basically.
Are you sure they didn't mean a role guy? A "roll" guy has to have good hands. Not all players do. Just like not all receivers do. He must be able to turn to the basketball quickly enough. Again, not all guys can. Must be able to make a move after the catch, which may or may not include dribbling. He's not always going to be able to just catch and dunk. Its not hard to do these things alone. What's difficult is doing them at a high level, which beats the defense. The defense is obviously trying to stop or slow you down. It's like anything else. I can shoot from anywhere, it's easy for me, but with a 6'7 guy in my face? With a quick guard quickly picking me up? It's about doing things very well, this isn't high school, it's the NBA. <object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tOUPkKX-8-A?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tOUPkKX-8-A?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
Yes it is. You need timing, coordination, speed and most importantly the finish (Asik is a horrid finisher around the basket).
Roll man also needs to be able to read how the defense is playing the pick and roll and position himself so there is a passing angle from the pick and roll ball handler.
There's a lot of skills for a PnR big man. -Set solid picks without drawing a foul. -Timing of the roll to catch defenses off guard -Ability to shake/gain a step on defenders -Good footwork to establish position for scoring -Ability to catch the ball from a variety of angles including drop off passes, lobs, short back passes, around the body passes -Ability to protect the ball in traffic -Ability to finish in the air, off the dribble, above the rim, off the glass, etc. while contested Asik needs improvement in a number of areas including... -Catching the ball from unusual angles -Protecting the ball once it's in his hands -Vertical lift to get above the rim -Explosive finish when above the rim -Use of head fakes -Playing off the glass -Powering the shot through defenders and shot blockers -Timing of jumps on alley oops etc, etc On the bright side he can improve. On the down side, it's going to take time.
Yeah, that actually sounds like what I thought. Sounds like the hardest part is having the hands. Should be plenty of guys out there who could pull this off. And don't understand why Al Jefferson would not be any good at rolling. I appreciate the answers.
I don't think there's a strong reason why Jefferson gets killed for PnR here, he's pretty good. He's pretty good at all aspects of scoring. He has physical limitations, but his agility and footwork makes up for it. Now, if for some reason you want to use Al Jefferson exclusively as the roll guy offensively, you will likely get in trouble, in part because of his pass blindness -- he tends to pop for a 20 footer when the path isn't clear instead of finding a good pass. And an offense with a lot of 20 footers is rarely good. But he's useful in so many situations offensively, that PnR with him as the finisher is always going to be just one option. It's a legit tool in his game. I think people might often mean PnR defense when it comes to Jefferson, he's atrocious there.
Unfortunately the best roll man of all time was a despicable human being. <object width="560" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nSuoVeL7krE?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nSuoVeL7krE?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
The "roll guy" at the Potato Patch is pretty good. Fairly accurate, doesn't throw them too hard.. I'd sign him for 15 million, 3 years.
Something of a similar vein Setting screens http://www.coachesclipboard.net/Screens.html Great thread btw
