As mentioned I don't want to take away from Tyreke's ability to run the floor and score in transition. You likened him to a mini-Lebron in transition and I don't disagree with that assessment.
The problem I have is focusing the offense on being a running team because of his ability in this area. The reason I have a problem with that is due strictly to playoff basketball. Having success in the regular season means nothing if you are not setting yourself up to succeed in the post season.
And here is the issue which really dominates my thought process. What percentage of LeBron's points came in transition against the Celtics in that fantastic 7 game series we just had?
I don't know the answer, but I'd guess maybe 15%, perhaps 20% as a high number just eye-balling the game. (If that is a stat which is tracked on a site somewhere, I'd love to get the true percentage.)
So if LeBron is considered the best in the league in being unstoppable in transition, and he just finished a grueling 7 game series where less than 25% of his points came in transition, why would you dedicate your offense to a scheme which isn't going to really work in the later portions of the play-offs?
The transition game can be an important piece to the puzzle, but if you're making it your primary piece you're never going to be good enough to win an NBA chamionship because it's just too easy for the opposing coach to take that away in a 7 game series.
The problem I have is focusing the offense on being a running team because of his ability in this area. The reason I have a problem with that is due strictly to playoff basketball. Having success in the regular season means nothing if you are not setting yourself up to succeed in the post season.
And here is the issue which really dominates my thought process. What percentage of LeBron's points came in transition against the Celtics in that fantastic 7 game series we just had?
I don't know the answer, but I'd guess maybe 15%, perhaps 20% as a high number just eye-balling the game. (If that is a stat which is tracked on a site somewhere, I'd love to get the true percentage.)
So if LeBron is considered the best in the league in being unstoppable in transition, and he just finished a grueling 7 game series where less than 25% of his points came in transition, why would you dedicate your offense to a scheme which isn't going to really work in the later portions of the play-offs?
The transition game can be an important piece to the puzzle, but if you're making it your primary piece you're never going to be good enough to win an NBA chamionship because it's just too easy for the opposing coach to take that away in a 7 game series.
PS I did find a silver lining last year: the Kings actually started running fast breaks pretty well. This was in part due to IT at the point, and I also think in part due to the coaching of Smart. And as an aside, the slow walk-up offense went away; very nice. Considering they were gawdawful in the previous few years running the break, I find that tidbit encouraging. At least it has been demonstrated that they can improve in one aspect of their game. So if they can improve in that one aspect maybe we can have hope that the same can occur in other aspects.
Last edited: