Top Five Plays of the NBA 2012-13 Season

Mar 4, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Hornets forward Ryan Anderson (33) shoots a foul shot against the Orlando Magic during the second half of the game. The Magic won 105-102. Mandatory Credit: Tyler Kaufman-USA TODAY Sports

4) Ryan Anderson Weak Side Decoys/Stretch Fours are Awesome

This is a much harder play to follow because what makes this set so effective is not what is happening on the strong side of the court (the side with the ball) but whats happening on the weak side (side without the ball). When you watch the clips, pay attention to Ryan Anderson (he’s the goofy looking white guy) and how Anderson’s defender reacts to his movements. This is a play that beautifully exemplifies one of the many uses a stretch four can serve in an offense, even when they do nothing but cut from baseline to the three point line.

This play begins with a typical high pick and roll featuring Greivis Vasquez and Anthony Davis, where Davis is currently attempting (and mostly succeeding) to swallow poor Steve Blake whole. Eric Gordon is moving along the baseline to free up Davis’ lane to the basket and Anderson is about to cut to the three point line.

Pau attempts to trap Vasquez, thinking he will have help behind him to stop the sprinting Davis. This is usually Antawn Jamison’s job but because Anderson is such a deadly three point shooter (38% on nearly 7 threes a game), Jamison is forced into the impossible choice of either covering a rolling big or a sharpshooting forward. Antawn may have rationalized that giving up three points is worse than two, but in my humble opinion he chose to stick with Anderson because he didn’t want to end up on a poster.

And really, could you blame him?

This play is not as exciting or even aesthetically pleasing as say, a Josh Smith-Al Horford pick and roll, but if you love stretch fours as much as I do then this play is something of basketball poetry. Anderson doesn’t have to exert himself in any way, it’s just his mere presence on the court that turns a simple pick and roll into an unstoppable machine. The Hornets had a pedestrian offense last year but their pick and roll roll men were seventh in the league, and much of that credit goes to Ryan Anderson.