Pre-season in sports is the time for unbridled optimism. Players and coaches play the greatest hits — everyone’s in shape, everyone’s feeling great, everyone gets along, the coach’s system is smart and innovative. The team is committed to defense and playing the right way.
Sometimes, the players and coaches mean what they’re saying. Sometimes it’s merely a recitation of The Cliches.
Here’s my advice — pay less attention to what they’re saying and more to what you see happen on the court. If the two match, great. When they don’t, believe what you see.
With all that in mind, here’s a quick guide to watching a game and understanding what you see:
- Don’t focus on the ball. You may have heard this before, and it’s not easy to do — especially if you’re more on the casual side. But it’s good to do because most of the action is off-ball. Plus, you’re going to notice the ball with your peripheral vision — it won’t vanish on you. Watch the other guys — who’s setting screens? Who are they setting screens for? Where are they setting screens? Simplest way to get started: begin your focus on the center, who’s usually used as a screener on or off-ball, and often will serve as a hand-off hub.
- Watch for patterns and then breaks in those patterns. We haven’t seen Brian Keefe’s “unconventional” offense yet, so pay attention to how players and ball are moving and interacting with each other on the offensive end. Most NBA teams are running offensive systems — a design that empowers players to read and react based on the defensive coverage — rather than a set-by-set playbook. What actions will the Wizards run under Keefe to initiate the offense? What will the players do when the first action is stymied? What happens when the shot clock is running down?
- Pay attention to The Specials — in this case, meaning out-of-bounds plays, end of quarter and end of game sets. These typically are actions designed by the coach, and contrary to the “he drew up a great play in that timeout” narrative, they’re planned and practiced. What the Wizards do in preseason is very likely to show up throughout the season.
- Want to know what the defense is doing, watch the big man. Even better — pump up the volume and see if you can isolate his voice. The big is usually closest to the basket and the last line of defense, and part of his job is to YELL out screens, actions, and cutters. Where the defensive big man goes will usually let you know what the offense is trying to do, as well as the defensive scheme.
- Keep an eye on what perimeter defenders are doing to address dribble penetration. Every team uses some form of force rules, in the vast majority of cases trying to force penetration away from the middle. The most basic NBA defensive concept is to force the ball to the sideline and then to the baseline. That’s because the offense has fewer options when the ball is in those spots. Most NBA teams want to make the offense take shots against their big men, because bigs generally do a better job of lowering opponent shooting efficiency. And as I’ve written a gazillion times before, the best way to have a good defense in the NBA is to lower opponent shooting efficiency.
- Pay attention to body language and facial expressions. Are guys rooting for each other? Are they working together to understand, strategize and correct? Is someone throwing up his hands in disgust when a teammate takes a shot? Are they arguing during timeouts?
Those are some general tips. Here are a few things I’ll be looking for specifically during preseason:
- The Wizards claimed Bilal Coulibaly grew and is now 6-9, and that he added 10 pounds of muscle. Does he look bigger? Does he play stronger?
- On the offensive end, are the Wizards going to put Coulibaly in position to make plays? Meaning, are they going to run sets for him? Will they put the ball in his hands and ask him to be a decision-maker in pick-and-roll — even if it’s just a few times per game?
- Alex Sarr was okay defensively in summer league, and his offense was atrocious. Will he be able to hold his ground on the defensive end against the biggest, strongest, fastest players he’s ever faced? Can he contribute on the offensive end — even if it’s just setting screens and grabbing offensive rebounds?
- Will Jordan Poole’s better play over the last quarter of the previous season carry over? Will he harness the skills to make positive basketball plays, or will he devolve into the guy who flashed a million moves that made fans ooh-and-ahh but ultimately went nowhere? Can he make good decisions as the lead ball-handler?
- Can Bub Carrington make shots? Can Carrington hold his own defensively, or will he need more time to gain strength and experience?
- Just what the heck is Keefe’s “unconventional” offense?