Steve Nash on Dwight and pick and roll...... “We’d like to get him in the pick and roll more,” Nash said Sunday. “I think that’s how he was really good in Orlando. He’d pick and he’d dive and they’d swing and put it in to him, so he could get deeper catches and the help side has a more difficult time coming to him. “I don’t know. It’s been difficult really to get him into that game — running into pick and rolls, diving hard, looking for the ball. We really haven’t found that rhythm from him yet.”
You can best believe Coach McHale will feed the big man in the post. He tried to post up Smith several times when he started him. This past season coach had to run just a basic read n react offense. He didn't have a low post threat to run other offensive plays like he would have like to.
Beyond that, he said they are ready to win, and particularly to win if Howard chooses to join them, listing among other things similarities to Howard’s Finals team in Orlando, with the added benefit of a second top All Star in Harden. “We have a great coach that is a Hall of Fame center that he can work with every single day,” Parsons said. “We have me and James who are really good wings. Put him in pick-and-roll, make him roll hard and they can’t double because we’re out there. Jeremy (Lin) can push the ball and control our offense. You have Omer (Asik) who is like (Marcin) Gortat you had in Orlando, a really good center. You guys can push each other in practice every day. “If you look at our roster and the Orlando, you have him, you have Omer as Gortat, you have me as (Hedo) Turkoglu. We have a lot of pieces similar to that that can be successful. And we have the best shooting guard in the NBA.”
Main issue is SVG's personality/demeanor. Wade & Shaq had him canned because they didn't believe they could win a c'ship with him on the sidelines.
I actually believe that an all pick and roll offense would be fool hardy. Dwight should be learning how to post up better and correctly. In games where Rockets started D-Mo and Smith, we always give them an initial post up to score easily and give more rooms to our shooters. While clearly Dwight is much more better at the pick and roll currently, adding a dominant post game is a must and he can't get that just by practicing. He needs to learn while in game.
That's why I love Riley as a GM, it was obvious the players didn't like him yet Riley copped all the blame on himself.
I think his main concern is that Harden is a similar player to Kobe. I'm sure the pitch will include a montage of Harden snapping sexy pocket passes to Asik/Smith/etc over and over, and then they would highlight how such a play would be much, much more effective and reliable with Howard there instead.
Wasn't Nash saying it was tough to adjust playing without the ball? And he was injured for quite a while last season. Dwight will be fine minus Kobe.
Just call pick n roll something else, he might not know the difference. "Statue of Liberty Dash and Bling" sounds pretty cool, Mikey might really like it.
gary washburn @GwashNBAGlobe 14h Danny Ainge said he made courtesy call to Dwight Howard's reps to see interest in coming to #celtics through s & t. Answer was no.
