Domantas Sabuckets

6Gifs Pacers v. Bucks

February 3rd, 2021

Domantas Sabonis is a team player. He sets the table for his teammates to feast on open looks with stout screens and unselfish passing. When Domas scores, he does so on a smaller portion of shots. He’s one of two players (the other being DeMar DeRozan) this season to average 20 points a contest on only 14 field goal attempts. 

In this game, however, he was Domantas Sabuckets, dropping a then career-high 33 points in three quarters. More important than the great individual performance, Domas faced and overcame the next hurdle in his development: punishing teams from the outside. 

Before we look at how he did it, know this: Domas is a heavyweight who dominates his weight class. Here this slight nudge against the 6’10 250 pound Bobby Portis creates space for the fadeaway.  

Now check out this play. It’s the same move. Only this time, he’s going up against a super heavyweight in Brook Lopez. With a running start, Domas slams into Lopez but can’t dislodge him. He’s forced to barf up an airball after nearly snapping his neck.

This season, coaches are siccing their centers onto Domas to neutralize his bruising postgame. In this three-game sample, that strategy worked. He shot 42% against Lopez (his nickname, Splash Mountain, more aptly describes his size and love of Disney than his stroke this season), Steven Adams, and Rudy Gobert. 

Domas is strong enough to post up against bigger, longer players, but he has to diversify his game to stay efficient.

One method is to exploit his speed advantage. Here Domas faces up and gets a screen before spinning and scoring. Notice how he keeps the ball high on the spin move to avoid getting stripped.

Domas is also adept at these quick shots in the lane. He flips them up before Lopez’s length can get to them. Also, excellent awareness to find the pocket of space and be an escape valve for the ball handler.

In the 3rd quarter, Domas was degantis (Lithuanian word for “on fire”), scoring 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Even his maligned jumper was wet. Here he makes Lopez pay for abandoning him to help on the drive. 

This make may seem meaningless in a midseason blowout loss, but this shot is critical going forward. Centers big enough to battle Domas down low are not nimble enough to guard out high. If Domas can punish slow-footed bigs with enough shooting and off-the-bounce verve from the outside, opposing coaches may be forced to put smaller, more agile players onto him. Players who will have to be peeled off the court once Domas steamrolls them.

Domas also picked apart the defense as a passer from the elbow. This backdoor cut works so well because Domas is a dribble hand-off hub. Defenders expect players to come up to receive quick pitches around Domas’s massive screens. 

Every strategy has a tradeoff. In the previous clip, it’s obvious that the Bucks are content to sacrifice outside shots in exchange for choking off the paint. But look at that pass again. 

Sweet dish, right? It’s on time and on target, but it’s only possible because Lopez is playing off Domas. There are consequences to punting on a pass rush: clear passing lanes and an unpressured quarterback with all day to throw.