At its roots, the Princeton offense uses several basic tenets. It de-emphasizes the notion of true positions such as point guard and small forward. It opens the area beneath the basket by using a high post player who should be a good passer. It relies on constant movement, off-the-ball screens and back cuts, ideally breaking down defenses with patience and precision.
Think about the overwhelming personnel on the Lakers and ask yourself if this sounds like a good fit.
It de-emphasizes the notion of true positions such as point guard. Nash has won two MVP awards – one more than Bryant, by the way – as a true point guard. At 38, he remains one of the most effective playmakers in the game because his dominance of the basketball is belied by his selfless willingness to surrender it at the ideal time.
Nash also is one of the best pure shooters in the game, making him virtually unguardable in the pick-and-roll. And with the Lakers, he can have twice the fun in Howard and Pau Gasol, both of whom are strong pick-and-roll big men in their own ways. But Jordan’s offense calls for an overt sharing of the ball, which minimizes Nash’s effectiveness.
It opens the area beneath the basket by using a high post player who should be a good passer. Gasol is an ideal fit for this role; he is among the most intelligent and best-passing 7-footers in NBA history. He also is a threat to knock down an elbow jumper.
The Lakers also have Howard, generally regarded as the most dominant low-post player in the game. The offense moves him away from where he is most lethal – providing unexpected relief to opposing defenses – and puts him at the high post, where his effectiveness is somewhat limited to the initiation of the pick-and-roll. And while years of facing double-teams has made Howard an acceptable passer, no one would ever confuse him for a good passer, which also makes things easier for opposing defenses.
It relies on constant movement, off-the-ball screens and back cuts. Does constant movement sound like a good idea for a lineup with four players 32 or older? Should Bryant only be getting the ball after a precision back cut? Should clearly defined positional players such as Nash and Howard be screening away for Metta World Peace, who stops the ball as often as he moves it?
The trivia answer is actually incorrect. Joel Anthony is a Canadian national and has played for their national team.
CMS,
That is a great job by you and an awful job by me, which I will explain when I give you a shout-out in my column next week. The correct answer is in there now. Thanks for reading.
CB
This article is poorly written for a few reasons; the most glaring one is the premise that the Princeton offense relies on constant movement and thus is a bad fit because the Lakers have older players. All good offenses have good player and ball movement. All…without exception in other words, function based upon ball and player movement. To suggest a team shouldn’t run an offense because there is too much movement is silly. Especially considering just last year Nash played in a system where they ran every possession and he used 3 to 4 pick and rolls per game. I would say that using ball screens continuously and pushing tempo as a PG is tougher than what the Lakers are asking him to do. Also, to suggest that Dwight is away from the basket and it minimizes his effectiveness is not looking at the offense as a whole. He may start on the elbow but they run actions that allow the ball to be swung with Dwight ceiling his man on the reversal. The issue with the Lakers is not offense. Kobe is shooting 60% from the field. Dwight is getting dunks and layups at will. Artest looks rejuvenated. The issue is they cannot guard anyone. The talk and focus on the offense has been too much and the excuses as to why it hasn’t worked has been ignorant at best. All offenses work when executed correctly and where belief remains. No one will remember this silliness when the Lakers have won 60+ games.
Should read Nash uses 3 to 4 P&R’s per possession.
Cornelius,
Thanks for reading. I did say it was a simplistic view, but I just don’t think it’s what’s best for the Lakers and their star personnel. I think there is a difference between movement and constant movement; my HS team runs a Read and React which involves constant movement and conditioning is a HUGE part of our season prep. Yes Nash ran constant P/R in Phoenix; he also was limited to 32 minutes per game and was an absolute mess when he played more. And while Dwight is not a disaster at the elbow (he often started there in Orlando’s sets), I think Pau is more suited. I do think all of this will have an adverse effect on the other end, which you and I both mentioned is an issue with this team. Having said all that, these are really good veterans who will figure out something to get between 55-62 wins. The panic is in LA, not in this space. CB