Utilizing Bigs as Playmakers
An emphasis of Kerr’s system has been to get the ball to the bigs in half-court sets and take advantage of Bogut and Lee’s talents as playmakers. We’ve seen glimpses off their passing abilities in previous seasons, however it was never a staple of the offense.
Throughout the preseason, the Warriors have run a variety of sets, getting the ball to bigs in the high post and creating motion through back cuts and screens:
Additional to the passing out of the high post, both Bogut and Lee have been more aggressive off the pick and roll. Last season Bogut particularly, was largely just a screen setter to get Curry and Thompson open shots. In preseason, Bogut has looked to get the ball and attack the basket, both trying to score:
Or set up a cutting teammate:
Preseason stats are largely irrelevant. The sample size is small, the rotations are often experimental. Still when your main 4 big mens are averaging the follow many assists per 36 minutes, it’s hard to ignore at minimum, a changed approach on offense:
NEXT: Big man stepping up