On Jordan Nwora and the rarely bad, very good play

Diagramming Indiana's chin set and the implications of why it almost always works

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

Like a knowing smile, spanning from ear-to-ear, this is the "yes, this is it!" of plays -- a sign that the Xs and Os are about to align, providing reason for intrigue as to what's about to happen, at a micro-level, even as the intrigue as to what is yet to happen this season, from a macro-perspective, winds to a close. 

The moment of anticipation begins without much fanfare. Jordan Nwora simply catches a pass from the point guard, be it Andrew Nembhard or T.J. McConnell.

Riveting stuff, right? Just wait, it's all part of the magic. Once that enthralling pass is made, the point guard receives a backscreen from Jalen Smith for a cut that usually doesn't result in an easy layup (because, heck yes, this is *obviously* entertainment at its finest). Well, guess what? That actually is fine and partially explains why the action works. Just look at Evan Mobley, who has inserted himself into the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year. See how the backscreen is causing him to sag off from Smith in order to protect against the cut? 

Now, watch what happens when Smith goes to screen for the ball. As a result of the cut, Mobley is trialing behind by a few steps with his coverage.

That backscreen-ball-screen combination is the first key. From there, the next critical component is where Nembhard goes next. Rather than spacing to the same side of the floor as Mathurin, he clears strongside, forcing old friend Caris LeVert to make a choice between tagging the roll-man and staying home on the shooter as the only available help defender on the weakside. 

Then, to put even more strain on LeVert, when he sinks in to tag, Mathurin shakes up from the corner, which lengthens the closeout. 

Granted, with Mobley and Stevens switching the ball screen, Mathurin has to do Mathurin things in order to finish at the rim, but that's also sort of the point. After all, the design of the play sets up Mathurin to do Mathurin things. And the same can be said for Nesmith, apparently, who also can be seen attacking out of the shake cut, hitting Giannis with a Rajon Rondo-style ball fake. 

Meanwhile, most teams don't have a big who can swallow up space like Mobley, and if the switch doesn't actually occur, as is the case here with DeWayne Dedmon and Tobias Harris, then the tag becomes more imperative, likely opening the shot. 

All of this reflects well on Nwora, who in showing he can do more with more variety of opportunity, has already used 49 possessions as the pick-and-roll ball-handler including passes through 21 games with the Pacers, compared to 58 over 38 appearances with Milwaukee. Plus, he isn't just finding the player shaking up from the corner. For example, Isaiah Jackson loses track of the plot here momentarily and Nwora still manages to get downhill, challenging the drop coverage and tossing the lob with Wesley Matthews favoring Mathurin over the tag. 

And yet, with all due respect to Nwora and what he offers as far as being someone with whom the Pacers can actually run 4-5 spread pick-and-roll, the fact that this play works as often as it does also poses a larger question with regard to the way that defenses are oriented. As in, rather than thinking of the pick-and-roll in terms of "weak" and "strong" side, why isn't more consideration given to the direction in which the ball-handler is attacking and whether there is one (single) or multiple players on that side of the floor? To that point, in most of those instances, look at who is standing in the corner on the side of the floor with multiple players.

In all fairness, McConnell has made some modest strides as a shooter this season, even launching a few attempts off movement and in transition, but he rarely fires from the corners and generally still needs time to wind up. So again, with how easy it is for the Pacers to create advantages with "shake" action, as demonstrated by Mathurin, Nesmith, and Nembhard, wouldn't it be preferable to help from the side of the floor with multiple players (i.e. strength in numbers) -- even if that is the "strong" side? Think of it this way, which is worse: potentially giving up a three to T.J. McConnell or forcing the single-side defender to choose between tagging the roll and staying home on the better shooter? Moreover, with McConnell and Nesmith both standing below the break, how likely is it that either would get a quick shot, with one defender easily being able to zone up two? 

Up to now, OKC is the only team that has tried something of that ilk, with Jalen Williams making the read to switch the chin cut before coming off the corner to meet Jalen Smith at the basket -- albeit, belatedly. 

Still, with Lu Dort also approaching to kick Lindy Waters III out of the mismatch on the roll, it doesn't appear as though that was an intentionally coordinated effort. Hypothetically speaking, if that was the coverage over a larger sample size and became more timely, one potential counter would be for Smith to roll diagonally toward the single-side and away from Williams, making the distance to tag longer.

Then again, the defense could counter for that counter by jump-switching onto the ball from the next nearest defender with the on-ball defender peeling to the nearest player on the perimeter. That way, the big could stay attached to the screener while still bringing help, if need be, from a position of strength -- in terms of numbers.

Whatever the case, there is a larger conversation to be had about keeping the single-side defender out of pick-and-roll coverages, while also highlighting some of what Nwora has flashed with the ball in his hands -- like when he rendered all of this moot by going away from the action and preempting the need for help.

For that reason, what might seem like some small play from games that are lacking in stakes actually provides something cool to watch for, eliciting a knowing smile, both as it pertains to Jordan Nwora's game and the broader implications for how both sides of the floor, within the game, are viewed.