| Inside Out Authored by Matthew Gordon - December 29, 2007 - 8:19 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
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One can’t help but think that Bargnani has a lot more natural offensive skill than either of those two and that his performances in Euroleague play have given him a far more exalted reputation. He’s shown that he can shoot the three better than almost any NBA big man, he’s made massive improvements in the way of positional man defense since he entered the league and he’s put on some bulk in order to play the pivot, so there’s a lot to say that’s good. Seeing him recently, one has to question how much is resulting from all of it.
If he’s truly injured and exhausted from a summer of international play, there’s not much that can be done besides giving him a rest and leaning on incumbent centre Rasho Nesterovic for the next little while. The other scenario is that Bargnani is suffering from a lack of confidence at times. This is reflected in his tendency to have games that are either extremely hot or extremely cold; while most players achieve their average shooting percentages through posting many average nights, Bargnani is a constant X-factor. As teams figure out his offensive game, which is becoming more and more predictable as teams plan ahead for him, the cold seems to be prevailing. Other than a decent shooting night (6 for 13) against Phoenix, he’s hit nine of his forty-three shots in the month of December and had games where’s been 1-for-7, 1-for-11 and 2-for-13.
Players won’t be hot forever. Even watching Bargnani open the season with consecutive 20-point performances in Raptor wins, it could only be assumed that he wouldn’t spend the rest of the season shooting 60% from the field. Even the best shooters only tend to shoot around 50% from the field, meaning that for each 70% torch-fest, there’s probably a 30% stinker to balance it. The trick isn’t to get hot, as any good shooter can do it. The trick is what to do when you’re cold.
Conventional wisdom might dictate that to raise a player’s confidence, it’s best to keep him in his comfort zone. In Bargnani’s case, that would be in a place where he can get open shots. The Raptors already have two great shooters in Anthony Parker (50% from three this season) and offseason acquisition Jason Kapono (51.2% from three this season and 52.1% in total field-goal percentage). Putting Bargnani out at the three-point line has two major drawbacks in that it takes help away from superstar power forward Chris Bosh, allowing opposing teams to put extra focus on him in the paint, and in that it really does nothing to take advantage of Bargnani’s imposing stature. Parker and Kapono, at 6’6” and 6’8” respectively, have the height necessary to shoot over smaller defenders anyway. Why put a seven-footer with a 250-pound frame out there when his size would be a big help to Bosh closer to the basket?
There’s another school of conventional wisdom that I’m far more likely to accept in this situation, and it dictates that a seven-foot tall man should do what Larry Brown told a rookie Darko Milicic to do: “Go after every rebound and block every shot.” Bargnani is gifted with very good mobility for his size, something that the big-man busts of previous years tended not to share. Bargnani’s athleticism and co-ordination can be huge assets to the Raptors.
Post moves can take a lot of time to learn and I think it’s accurate to say that giving Bargnani a lethal back-to-the-basket is a long-term project. The fundamentals of boxing out aren’t that difficult though, and are very easy to practice. Bosh and Nesterovic, both of whom have come a long way in this league, have taken very well to them, and Bargnani would do well to look at the examples they set. Bosh, who’s got the making of an all-world player, is at his best when he’s pulling in double-digit rebounds, and Nesterovic, who’s excelled despite lacking incredible athleticism because of his dedication to the game, is a player who can either pull down the ball or who can redirect it to teammates. Not to say that Bargnani isn’t doing this all the time already, because I’m sure he is, but getting physical in the paint against these two guys in practice is the kind of thing that will help Bargnani’s development far more than drifting out to the perimeter during a game.
Defense is another area where Bargnani’s combination of size and mobility gives him a lot of promise. He’s already made improvements in learning how to stop opposing centers in the post but he needs to work on his timing so that he can be a better weak-side help defender. While Bargnani’s man defense may be incredibly useful against the teams who like to dump it into big centers, there are a lot of teams in the league with skinny, agile power forwards as their main post options. When Bosh has the tougher defensive assignment, Bargnani will need to have a very good idea of when to leave his man and go for the block.
The great thing about rebounding and defense is that they’re almost always there. If a shooter loses confidence in his shot, as we might be starting to see with Bargnani, he can easily miss the next five in a row. A rebounder believes he can snare every rebound and a shot-blocker believes he can get his palm on every ball, without fail. There’s no such thing as a cold streak on defense or on the glass, meaning that when Bargnani utilizes these skills, he can be assured that his self-esteem won’t be crushed. If he misses a shot, he can make up for it by making an opponent miss his, and maybe that’ll translate into a healthier attitude toward the next one.
An added bonus of getting inside is that it can boost a player’s scoring average. An offensive rebound can be an easy bucket and even just standing around near the hoop can result in an open five-foot shot if the other team has a defensive lapse. These types of plays are great at getting players – and their heads – involved in the game. For a 22-year old who’s often the tallest player on the court, a little encouragement in the way of high-percentage opportunities could restore the type of mentality that can make him amazing.
The solution to improving Bargnani’s play is not to give him confidence so he can eventually go inside but to get him going inside so he can build confidence. It’s a simple formula that’s worked since the game was born: have your biggest guy get in nice and close where he can collect rebounds, block shots and get easy looks. It’s something that an athlete like Bargnani has the potential to do well, with his soft hands and feel for the game. If Bargnani focuses on the dirty work, the stuff that rarely escapes a player who’s committed to it, he can take that progress outward. Maybe then, his signature threes will fall at an even higher clip because no one will see them coming. |
