On the announcement of Cam Johnson’s tenure in position 4 for the upcoming season, Monty Williams revealed that Chris Paul and Devin Booker would have less of the ball in their hands this season. The idea is to entrust the creation of the game more to Mikal Bridges and precisely Cam Johnson to empower them, allow the Paul-Booker tandem to play without the ball, and of course be less predictable.
On the side of the players, we accept the idea, starting with Chris Paul. ” It satisfies me a lot he reacted. ” It’s something we’ve been talking about for a few years. The only way to improve in an area like this is to incorporate it into your game. Mikal (Bridges) talked about it. Booker too. Obviously there will be situations where I will always play as a playmaker, but there will be ways to play without the ball and change things up a bit.. »
Same satisfaction at Mikal Bridges that we should therefore see more to bring the ball up after a rebound or at the head of the racket to distribute the game.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had the ball in my hand so much” he admitted after Friday’s session. “I can’t keep it too much because we have guys like Chris and Book, but it’s already good. »
“We told our guys a thousand times that it was about creating games, not launching systems”
For Cam Johnson, it’s part of a player’s natural progression. ” I think Mikal has improved in all areas. In dribbling, shooting, creating, physically… I think we haven’t progressed in one area in particular. We’re just better players, and he plays really well. »
A precision all the same brought by Monty Williams.
« When you go up the pitch, it’s not just about dribbling. We’ve told our guys a thousand times that it’s about making games, not launching systems. When you go up the field, you want to be able to create play, especially when the defense is pressing you. It’s like a good old school rule: ‘if someone is pressuring you all over the pitch, forget the system, innovate and something good will happen’. »
