Dutch Dehnert of the Original Celtics

Throughout the evolution of the game, posting up was vital, to ensure good shots at the basket down the stretch of pressure filled, playoff games. Recently, there has been a move away from posting up, as less and less players move up through the ranks learning back-to-the-basket moves.

According to Synergy Sports, the Los Angeles Lakers post up the highest percentage of the time at 20.1%. However, their 5th seed in the West and 15th ranked offense indicates that not only is posting up so much not working for them in terms of wins and losses, but it also isn’t helping their offensive efficiency.

The Dallas Mavericks post up 11% of the time, good for 11th most in the league. Yet, their offensive efficiency ranks 18th, below average. They are ranked 13th in the league in points per possession, a very average mark for a team that relies on posting up as much as they do.

Dirk Nowitzki

Interestingly, the New York Knicks only rank 20th in percentage of time they run the pick and roll. However, since Jeremy Lin penetrated the lineup, that percentage has skyrocketed. Their efficiency has also hovered around the league average at 13th (1.124 PPP), but again these overall numbers are skewed by the absence of Jeremy Lin earlier in the season.

As the primary ball handler in pick and roll situations, Jeremy Lin executes 26.7% of all Knicks’ pick and rolls. While his efficiency is merely average at .75 PPP, his decision making and ball handling ability so overshadows anyone else on the Knicks, that he is almost singlehandedly responsible for their turnaround. The high pick and roll is responsible for 62.4% of all of his offensive possessions, and enables him to emulate Steve Nash since he can choose to take the screen, or cross over and go away from it – making him an extremely tough cover. Against single coverage, where there is no high hedge by the screener’s man, Lin is rated Very Good at .914 PPP, with his highest rating when he dribbles and pulls up for a jump shot. His rating drops to average when the defense hedges high, clearly the impetus for the Mavericks’ strategy of doubling Lin on all screen and rolls.

Jeremy Lin of the Resurgent New York Knicks

In the end, the spacing allowed huge shots from both Steve Novak and Jeremy Lin – two unheralded players relegated to the bench as recently as 2 weeks ago. This resurgence has sparked championship talk in New York. This may be premature, but it is clear that Jeremy Lin has earned his spot on the team and it will take a complete and unlikely collapse to remove him from that spot.

Written By: Coach Nick

Jeremy Lin is a 6-3 point guard from Palo Alto, CA. He played four years of college basketball at Harvard University and signed with the Golden State Warriors as an undrafted free agent in 2010. With the Warriors Lin averaged 2.6 points in 14 games while playing only 9 minutes/game. After being cut by the Warriors, and a brief stint with the Houston Rockets, the New York Knicks signed Lin on December 24th.
Image Credit: Chris Chambers/ Getty Images

Jeremy's Linfluence on the New York Knicks

Jeremy Lin is a legitimate NBA player who should be in the NBA for many years. He’s athletic, makes great decisions and is improving his perimeter shooting. What makes this scenario more fascinating is not just how opponents will adjust to his scoring and assist outburst. His team will also have to adjust when they add the two biggest components they have: Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. With the offense humming along at a more efficient clip, and with Jeremy Lin’s energy and enthusiasm lighting up Madison Square Garden, Melo will have to shift his focus to being more of a catch and shoot threat – something he did to devastating effect in Denver.

And with both Tyson Chandler and Amare Stoudemire setting those ball screens for Jeremy Lin, it creates a two headed monster that opponents will have extreme difficulty stopping. While Jeremy Lin may not be the piece that gets the Knicks a championship, his play can certainly vault them to the upper division of the Eastern Conference.

by Arun Chikyarappa & Coach Nick


Through 25 games, the Lakers record is a mediocre 14-11, compared to last year’s 18-7 mark at the point of the season. One look at their offensive production, and it’s clear this is a major culprit. Overall, the Lakers offense produces 93.2 points per game, a steep drop of 8.3 points from last year’s mark. One key reason is pace, measured by the number of possessions used. The Lakers have gone from just below average last year at 93.4 to 25th in the league at 91.7. As a result, they are attempting 4 fewer shots per game (82.4/game to 78.4/game).

While this lack of offensive production can be attributed to a shortened training camp and a compressed schedule, the Lakers have made a radical departure from the Triangle offense and adopted Mike Brown’s pro style system. As a result, the scoring balance has changed:

The Lakers Big Three of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum have accounted for 65% of the offense, up from 51% the previous year. Bynum has made the biggest jump, scoring 8% more from the post, while Kobe has also increased his load 6%. Gasol has remained consistent.

Interestingly, the Big Three’s increase matches the percentage Lamar Odom contributed last year. His production has been absorbed completely by them, yet no other Laker has produced more than 7% of the offense this year. In comparison, Lamar Odom, Shannon Brown, and Ron Artest each scored at least 8% of the points last year.

While the number of shot attempts from the Big Three have increased, Kobe’s second half aggressiveness has been taken up a notch. Last year, he averaged 5.7 shots per 3rd quarter and 5.1 shots per 4th. This year, he is averaging 6.7 shots each per 3rd and 4th quarters. Most importantly, his field goal percentage has dipped from 47% to 44% in 3rd quarters, and remained at 40% in the 4th. Not only is Kobe taking more shots in the second half, but he’s scoring less efficiently.

One of the benefits of the Triangle Offense is the likelihood of getting a good shot in the 4th quarter in a hostile arena. Without the Triangle’s structure, and given the utter lack of production by any other Laker, the Big Three take much more difficult shots in crunch time. As it’s constructed now, the Lakers are set up to be an average team that hovers around the .500 mark and could very well find themselves looking up at the top 8 teams in the conference come playoff time.

All statistics culled from:
Synergy Sports
NBA Advanced Stats
Basketball-Reference.com