March 31, 2015
If Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who sat out due to left shoulder soreness, plays his regular 28 minutes last night, the Sixers in all likelihood knock off the Los Angeles Lakers in some way, shape, or form.
When Mbah a Moute was acquired in the Kevin Love trade, the 28-year old was primarily believed to be brought in by Sam Hinkie to help mentor fellow Cameroonian Joel Embiid during his first year in Philadelphia. In many ways, he became the team’s linchpin. Even though it’s no secret Mbah a Moute is a below-average offensive player, his versatile work on the other end of the floor has proven instrumental in turning the Sixers into the league’s 11th-best defense. Unfortunately for the 6-foot-8 forward, there’s a new organizational directive for the season’s last nine games, one he may or may not fit into the plans of.
Nerlens at the four.
A team in the Sixers’ situation, out of the playoffs and basically searching for ways to stay entertained through the middle of April, can try stuff. The coaching staff possesses the freedom to experiment and force its players out of their comfort zones for the sake of individual improvement, even (or especially) if it comes at the expense of winning games. That is precisely what Brown is doing, forcing Noel away from the basket by having him guard stretch 4s on the defensive end.
Noel didn’t do a good job last night against Ryan Kelly, who shot 5-9 for 16 points (including three triples), which is interesting in its own right. Noel is a better defender than Kelly is an offensive player, and he has consistently harassed players with much more firepower into mistake after mistake this season. Kelly succeeded last night because he has a skill set (moving without the ball, which negates the 6-foot-11 rookie’s turnover-forcing prowess) that for Noel is the equivalent of Pedro Cerrano trying to hit a breaking ball.
Here’s some video of each of Kelly’s 3s, with what I feel is a corresponding quote from Brett Brown on what the adjustment is like for Noel after a rookie season spent patrolling the defensive paint:
Kelly 1 from Rich Hofmann on Vimeo.
“I think it was a real eye-opener defensively where he’s got to look and find perimeter scorers,” Brown said of his first game against Cleveland. “I think having to run down the floor and usually go to the rim and make plays at the rim and then have to worry where Kevin Love [in this case, Kelly] was foreign to him.”Kelly 2 from Rich Hofmann on Vimeo.
“I think there were times he just didn’t know,” Brown said. “’Do I go [double the ball-handler]?’ or Kelly’s slipping out of [the screen] and he’s a hell of a shooter… He hasn’t been in that situation maybe all year, and so for him to be in that situation is just another good learning situation for him.”Kelly 3 from Rich Hofmann on Vimeo.
“He’s aware of Kelly,” Brown said. “In our schemes, I thought their guards were that good where we were trying to force blitzes, double teams a lot. And when you’re worried about the separation of Kelly, you water down the blitz or the hedge or whatever. And that’s not his responsibility, it’s somebody on the second side [Isaiah Canaan here], the back side. You’ve got to be all-in. You can’t half-ass it.”
