Cleveland should be able to generate quality inside and outside looks in Round Two.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been winning with their offense all season. That same offensive attack will determine whether they advance past the Indiana Pacers in the second round.
Indiana’s improved, but still mediocre defense, plays right into what Cleveland wants to do offensively. The Pacers’ preference not to switch on and off-ball screens should help the Cavs generate clean, easy looks for their bigs, guards, and off-ball shooters.
The Pacers have gone from one of the worst defenses in the league last year (24th) to the middle of the road this regular season (13th). Their defense last season was predicated on taking away the three-point shot (first in frequency against) in exchange for giving up looks at the rim (30th).
They’ve become a much more well-rounded defense this season. They still value protecting the three-point line over all else (fifth in defensive three-point shot frequency), but are doing a better job of keeping teams from getting to the rim (22nd in field attempts against at the rim). And when their opponent does get there, they’re contesting those shots well (eighth in defensive field goal percentage at the rim).
This showed through in Indiana’s first-round victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. They didn’t switch on or off-ball screens unless they absolutely had to or if the switch was between the power forward and center. This allowed them to keep their forwards attached to Giannis Antetokounmpo and help out on drives to the basket.
Switching screens is something we see often in the NBA, even when it feels like you don’t need to. The Pacers have been different in that regard all season. It works well when you’re going against an imposing forward like Antetokounmpo. It can get you into trouble when trying to defend a dynamic guard.
Damian Lillard understandably struggled in the few playoff games he played in Round One due to injuries. Even though he wasn’t his usual, on-and-off-ball threat, you could see how having a fully healthy version of Lillard could’ve changed the series.
Playing drop coverage with on-ball screens allowed Lillard to either attack or find his open teammates.
These three plays give a good example of how Lillard was able to generate efficient looks against the drop coverage even though he couldn’t convert some of these shots.
Not switching also opened up room for the big setting the screen to either pop out for an open three or roll to the basket depending on how Indiana defended the action.
We don’t need to guess how this type of defense would open up things for the Cavs because the regular season showed us. The Pacers did their best to avoid switching screens which allowed Cleveland’s dynamic offense to get Indiana into rotation early and often.
The best way to slow down an offense with a lot of player movement and off-ball screens is through switching everything. You will give up mismatches, but switching prevents the micro advantages and space that setting a solid screen gives.
Creating micro advantages is what Kenny Atkinson’s offense is based on. Playing drop coverage will help the Cavs get their bigs involved, allow their guards to score from the midrange and from distance, and make it easier for their off-ball shooters to get clean looks.
Let’s take a look at what I mean by that.
Getting the bigs involved in drop coverage
Playing drop coverage is a way to stay out of mismatches and protect the paint with your bigs. But that can be difficult to do in drop if you have dynamic guards that you have to contain on drives.
This is where Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley come into the picture. If you give them daylight on a roll because you have to contain one of Cleveland’s guards, they can make you pay as a playmaker or finisher.
This type of defense will also make you susceptible to pick-and-pop threes, which is something Mobley benefited from in the regular season.
Indiana’s defense essentially gave Mobley these looks with his defender staying in the paint on these screens. This shot is something Cleveland will gladly accept if he’s hitting them like he did in the first round (8-17, 47.1%).
While this section is mostly about the bigs, everything said above applies to using Isaac Okoro in these actions. He can create for himself and others off of screens.
Okoro’s defense is only useful if he can stay on the court offensively. Using him as a screener against a team that plays drop coverage is a way for him to do so.
Guards are asked to score from the midrange and from three
One of the purposes of this kind of defense is to keep guards from getting downhill and converting inside. Fortunately for Cleveland, that’s not necessarily the only area their guards look to attack when they’re coming around screens.
Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, and Ty Jerome are all elite midrange players. Playing drop coverage almost encourages them to get to their floater.
It also permits clean, pull-up threes if they can get a good screen. That’s a shot Atkinson wants his guards to take.
Off-ball shooting
Collapsing defenders into the paint naturally leads to more opportunities for drive-and-kick threes.
The following plays are good examples of this. Each of these clean three-point looks was created because of how the defense had to rotate due to the initial defenders not being able to contain the pick-and-roll.
Not switching these screens also provides additional room for movement shooters like Max Strus and Sam Merrill. There’s a reason Merrill was able to score 12 fourth-quarter points in Cleveland’s most recent loss in Indiana.
The Pacers have to play this way because they don’t have the interior or exterior defenders who can hold up in isolation. The play below shows why. Merrill shouldn’t be blowing by your big this easily on a switch.
Playing drop coverage prevents things like this from happening. But there’s a limit to how far this defensive philosophy can take you.
While that strategy can allow you to get by in the regular season, it likely won’t work against a high-octane offense like the Cavs. Cleveland has the tools to make Indiana pay offensively for playing drop coverage in a way no other team can.