A single interior drafted in the top 15 of the last vintage in the person of Evan Mobley, only 3 real pivots in the first round between Alperen Sengun, Kai Jones and Day’Ron Sharpe. It is an understatement to say that the great have not really the coast in recent years in the NBA. Between the reluctance of the Suns front office to offer the max to Deandre Ayton or the lack of interest received by a player like Andre Drummond during the summer, the attraction for the pivots has dwindled year after year.
Despite everything, teams like Cleveland, Los Angeles or Milwaukee take the problem upside down and carve out their success on their greats. Is this enough to instill a “new” fashion in the next decade?
The Small Ball, a complex trend
First of all, what do we mean by “Small Ball”? By abuse of language or simply confusing what is happening on the field, the majority of observers tend to confuse the practice of Small Ball with, as the name suggests, the fact of placing a much smaller 5 post of what we are used to seeing in the classic understanding of basketball. The tendency is therefore to cry Small Ball when a classic post 4 happens to be the largest on the field.
This practice, which exploded during the second part of the 2010s, refers to three main axes:
- The tendency to shoot at 3 points
This axis is what pushes NBA coaches to prefer a skilful forward rather than a classic pivot on the field. Keeping the spaces open has become essential to favor a game that is increasingly heliocentric around ball-dominant outside players who need clean drive lines. We can see on the following graph the importance taken in three-point shots from the 2010 decade.
LeBron James, Ben Simmons, Draymond Green or Luka Doncic, so many players who do not have the physique of classic playmakers, but who perform well on the field. If we add to that the wingers who dominate by their creative faculties in Leonard, Durant, George or Tatum, the role of the small creators decreases and it is a whole workforce which sees itself jostled.
- Be able to switch on everything
It is often thought that the new use of 3-point shooting has pushed the pivots out of the rotations. However, these adults have made real efforts to adapt to contemporary play as can be seen in the following graph which shows us the taking of award-winning shots for players over 2.08m.
What pushes the greats off the field is their inability to defend against all the players opposite. With this tendency to favor the fast pace, the shoot and the creation around the stars, the line ups are shrinking and the grown-ups find themselves defending against players who are far too fast. This inexorably causes monstrous shifts.
The objective of coaches is to promote the defensive base of their team by allowing each player to defend against any type of attacker without being targeted in return.
A strategy that has paid off in recent years
When we look at these axes in detail, we inevitably notice the influence of the Golden State Warriors of the second half of the decade: a dominant guard who takes advantage of switches with Curry; shooters all over the place with Thompson and Barnes (then Durant); a “great” creator in Draymond Green and the famous death line up by lining up the same Green at station 5 to switch at all costs.
It is on this principle that Daryl Morrey tried his ultra Small Ball poker move in 2020 with a five Westbrook, Harden, House Jr, Covington and Tucker.
Faced with the resounding success of the Bay players, this Small Ball has become commonplace in the NBA and continues to endure today. We saw it during the last playoffs where Tyronn Lue, faced with the problems of his Pivot Ivica Zubac, decided to resort to it outrageously. The Croatian pivot is a great NBA player, but was targeted by the Slovenian star from Dallas on every action where his mobility did not allow him to stay against Doncic. Lue preferred to exchange it with Nicolas Batum, which was the strategy that paid off to overthrow the series.
This detail is only one example among many others today. The Hornets mainly play with a PJ Washington of 2m01 in pivot while the champions of Milwaukee take advantage of the physique of their Greek winger in Giannis Antetokounmpo to sometimes train him in post 5 at the end of the meeting.
These options have remained entrenched in NBA rotations. The main conclusion of this trend is to see the popularity and therefore the presence of versatile wingers on the ground where the coaches do not hesitate to play with three or even four forwards at the same time:
- The Clippers of Leonard, George, Morris and Batum
- Durant, Harris and Bembry / Brown’s grandchildren
- Les Celtics de la doublette Jaylen Brown / Jayson Tatum
- Les Raptors du trio Barnes / Anunoby / Siakam
So many examples that show that the game has changed to the great despair of the greats, the same greats who are the essence of basketball, but is this really true?
Isn’t the Tall Ball actually on the verge of becoming the new fashion in the NBA to impose itself there durably.
Indeed, is not Golden State who wants, its option of “Small Ball” is not reproducible at will. Since his last title, we also notice that it is a much more “classic” vision of positions that has asserted itself:
- Raptors from the Siakam / Gasol interior doublet in 2019
- Lakers strong with an Anthony Davis in post 4 supported by Mcgee or Howard
- Bucks from a strong winger MVP accompanied by a former All-Star pivot in Lopez
The emergence of the tall ball
Should we see here a change of fashion or simple exceptions? We notice today that many franchises rehabilitate the “Tall Ball”, and those for various reasons:
Double the “strong defenders” interiors
More and more teams allow themselves to play with an indoor doublet because of the versatility of their post 4. This same post 4 which would play 100% pivot in a “small ball” device.
We see this case in particular in Memphis or even in Orlando. As for the Grizzlies, we take advantage of the impressive defensive versatility of Jaren Jackson alongside Adams and his 3-point reliability. For the Magic, J. Mosley did not hesitate to play the Carter Jr. / Bamba tandem with the possibility of defending the former on smaller jigs.
Protect positions 4 “weak defenders”
Contrary to the previous case, some coaches forget the idea of the Small Ball because of the defensive weakness displayed by their strong winger, thus unable to play position 5. Some players like Porzingis, Randle or Williamson could pose enormous concerns to the team. position 5 opponents by their speed, shoot and power near the circle. Despite everything, their respective coaches are forced to associate them with a strong position 5 in defense as a cover-up.
Lighten the load of star wingers
Certain strong wingers dominate the scene so much that one could imagine them playing at post 5 and thus pose even more worries to the opposing defenses. We think here of the Bucks of Antetokounmpo or the Lakers of Anthony Davis. Players who combine scale, size and power then create havoc in a “Small Ball” device. Despite everything, the coaches often decide to associate them with a second “big” to relieve them of the intense combat of the NBA rackets and thus save them for the offensive sector.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, symbol of this renewal of the big league
If more and more specialists are tackling this question of the Tall Ball, JB Bickerstaff has a lot to do with it. Remaining closed to the criticisms of the summer on the too large number of interiors of his workforce, the coach succeeded in imposing an effective system where three players of more than 2m10 cross in his five major.
If we look at the Cavaliers season version 2021-22, three factors explain the success of the Ohio players:
The first detail that jumps out in the eyes of NBA observers remains their racquet: a duo made up of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, respectively measured at 2m13 and 2m11. Far from the usual standards of post 4 in the NBA, the rookie Mobley is causing a sensation by his ability to play alongside his pivotal friend extended for $ 100 million this summer.
With its Twin Towers, the Cavs went from 25e NBA defense last year in second place with just 101.4 points conceded per game. By aligning his two greats, JB Bickerstaff allows himself to take advantage of Allen’s circle protection, but also of the hallucinating defensive versatility of his rookie. The latter impresses as rarely. It aligns circle protection, arm length, defensive IQ, foot speed and mobility perhaps never before seen for such a young interior. Cleveland is the team that terrorizes every NBA racquet the most. They are 3e best defensive rating in the league with an evolution of -10% two-point attempt for opponents compared to last year. The duo of the future from Ohio are big and aim for the top.
By signing Markkanen during the offseason, many wondered about its use. Again, the coach surprised more than one by placing him on the wing. 2m13 under the gauge, the Finn feels like a fish in the water in post 3. In attack, Markkanen does what he can do, clear the field thanks to his shoot and allows himself to reassure in defense by being more mobile than last year. With Kevin Love or Markkanen seeing Dean Wade used on the wing, all three over 2m07, Bickerstaff asks his big wingers to be very aggressive.
Each night, opponents take 4% less offensive rebounds than last year in the Cavs racket. Tall players who impose a permanent physical combat and who respect a defensive funnel strategy towards two scarecrows.
An offensive game led by two geniuses
Okoro, Markkanen, Allen, Mobley, Love or Wade, as many players with qualities best exploited by the coach of the Cavaliers, but who remain unable to create, by themselves, shooting positions. Cleveland was 28e NBA attack last year, today they are 18e. Far from the top attacks of the league, the Cavaliers rely, especially since the injury of Sexton, on a duo of leaders of geniuses in Garland and Rubio.
It should be understood that this strategy “Tall Ball” is today a success because of the talent at the creation of their playmakers. Darius Garland allows all this large group, not necessarily very skilful on the offensive side to exploit at the better its potential. The future success of this model will depend on the progress of its hub, a serious MIP candidate.
Cleveland is now shedding light on a model that is in the process of proving its worth, a Tall Ball that manages to function thanks to two essential reasons: a genius at creation and an indoor duo powerful and versatile enough defensively to catch up. any error.
Still, the NBA is at a crossroads in understanding the game, stuck between two tactical schemes. As in 2015 with the success of the Warriors, the success of the next teams will surely influence the next model.
Ultimately, it may be the stars of tomorrow who will determine the strategies to be followed.
The NBA adapted to resist the Shaq during the 2000s, and then turned to speed and three-point shooting with the emergence of the Curry, Lillard or Irving.
With the return to the foreground of pivots like Embiid, Jokic or Adebayo, the explosion of nuggets like Mobley or even the future arrival of superstars during the next drafts like Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith, Paolo Banchero or on Victor Wembanyama, the ” Tall Ball ”is back on his feet.
