Cliff this year

[RedTeamUpstream94]

[forgive me if this has been discussed but I honestly havent seen it]

Last year our style of play didnt really put Cliff in a position to highlight his skills - playing a slow half-court offense. Repeatedly we tried to get it into Cliff in the post but frequently he was way too far away from the bucket and with his lack of post-up moves he would put up a less-than-ideal shot.

but this year: with a more up-tempo offense + guards that can penetrate + (hopefully) a few more shooting threats = does the set it up for an offense that is more suited to an uber-athletic big like Cliff?

I assume so.

thoughts?

 

[NightKnight]

In my experience, a flow offense means the center has to do a lot of running to be relevant. Penetrating guards kick the ball to the outside or take their own shot. Inside feed off dribble penetration is not great. Takes a lot more skill. Center has to play two steps out to not clog the middle for penetrating guards. Two steps out is Cliff's weakest spot. Mulcahy was a very good passer and McConnell was pretty good. Both were more than willing to pass up their shot for teammate in better position.

No guarantee this is a better spot for Cliff. It can be, but it is up to him to run down court and convert more dynamically than the one step dunk. Personally I've never been a believer in Cliff taking the occasional outside shot to loosen up the interior and make them play him away from the basket.

 

[Shelby65]

Cliff is not an efficient low-post player. He's at his best running the floor, setting picks and cutting and occupying the short corner/dunker spot and catching lobs or easy passes for dunks.

Total speculation but it seemed like he came back last season with the promise of more low post touches and that he could try shooting 3's. Neither worked out well but at least he stopped shooting 3's. The half court offense was so bad it's almost hard to tell if we were worse after he got a post-touch or not.

He went from low 60's FG% his first 2 years to about 50% last season - that's a big difference. He took more shots but not THAT many more.

I think you're right that this year's offense will be a much better fit for him. It should be fun to watch.

No, I don’t think up tempo serves Cliff well. He can’t score unless in the low post, and getting him the ball in a position to score would require deliberate offense like we saw last year. I just hope getting him touches doesn’t totally bog down the offense.

Most 5s can’t play up tempo or shoot well, which is why they are less common in the NBA today.

 

[Scarlet Blind_rivals]

Freshman Rim 26-39 66.7%(Dunk 17-22) Mid 9-16
Sophomore Rim 131-177 74%(Dunk 93-107) Mid 29-75 38.7%
Junior Rim 146-229 63.8%(Dunk 73-82) Mid 29-102 28.4%

I think the major drop in production last year were the guards not giving Cliff the ball when and where he wanted to get to the spots he needed for his shot. It would be interesting to see if there was a way to know what he shot and who the PG or guards were that fed him the ball for the drop.

 

[SBP]

Cliff needs better hands in general … many bobbles and missed bunnies that are not dunks. Hopefully that has been addressed.

 

[RedTeamUpstream94]

He's at his best running the floor, setting picks and cutting and occupying the short corner/dunker spot and catching lobs or easy passes for dunks.

and thats what I am assuming he will see more of this year

 

[RU_Travesty]

Cliff will have an easier time this year. Last year he was the focal point of opposing defenses. This year with Noah + Gavin we *should* be a much better 3pt shooting team which will help space the floor for Cliff

 

[Nycrusupporter]

The benefit of getting the ball up faster is that Cliff should get some easy shots before the defense is set, especially if the opposing center hasn’t gotten up the floor. I also think Noah is the type of point guard who will be playing pick and roll with Cliff, and will also be looking for him when he drives to the basket.

 

[Shelby65]

The benefit of getting the ball up faster is that Cliff should get some easy shots before the defense is set, especially if the opposing center hasn’t gotten up the floor. I also think Noah is the type of point guard who will be playing pick and roll with Cliff, and will also be looking for him when he drives to the basket.

I agree with some of that. Two-man game with Noah isn’t up tempo ball, which this thread is about.

It’s what they did with Mulcahy.

 

[Yeah Baby]

Cliff is at his best jumping out on the PNR and stifling quick guards and then getting back to the low post in a blur and stifling top Centers while rebounding at an elite level. Anything we get on Offense is gravy. Last year with him, Mag and Caleb we had a very elite team Defense and a very good team.

 

[NickRU714]

Don't forget about Point Clif bringing up the ball.

I do worry that Clif tries a little too hard to "showcase" his dribbling ability - specifically mentioned he was working on that after pro feedback.

Similar to him "showcasing" his deep mid-range to 3pt shooting ability this past year.

Ideally the less time the ball is in his hands, the better.

 

[Rokodesh]

This offense will be light years better than the slow grinding one we've seen the past few years. Cliff is more athletic than most of the centers guarding him, and he'll be able to exploit that in transition. With Noah, Simpson and Gavin, we have offense everywhere. I expect a much faster pace overall