How to Alienate Teammates in Six GIFs
6Gifs Rockets v. Thunder
February 3rd, 2021
Victor Oladipo went down shooting in this Thunder 104-87 victory, finishing 8-for-24 on the night. Short jumpers and fadeaways dropped in for him, but results were mixed around the rim.
What really cratered his percentage was his 1-for-8 3 point shooting. Until he finds his stroke, he needs to shelve off the dribble 3’s.
It's hard to determine whether it’s rust from only playing 72 games in the last two and half seasons or unfamiliarity with his new teammates that's affecting his play. On a night when both John Wall and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were out, he failed to step up his playmaking and produce enough points to compete with the offensively challenged Thunder team. He totaled just three assists as the stand-in point guard. That’s not all on Vic — assists are a function of teammates drilling shots. But this penchant to go for his own (often contested) shot instead of making simple passes capped the team’s offensive ceiling.
Deliberative drive
Vic attacks straight off the pitch and rejects the screen to wrong-foot his defender.
Give him some space
Vic is struggling from 3 point land this season — canning only 30% of his attempts — so his defender can sag off him to cut off the drive.
He decelerates and pushes the defender with his off arm but still can’t create enough space to get off a clean shot.
Selfish in transition
With this miss, Vic is shooting:
4-for-15 from the field.
0-for-5 from beyond the arc.
29% on pull-up 3’s for the season.
What is he even taking this monstrosity? The Rockets have a 5-on-4 advantage — the lone Thunder player is sprawled under the opposite basket — with Eric Gordon on the right ready to launch behind a screen and a teammate on the left with a wide-open driving lane.
Plays like these aren’t going to endear him to his new teammates. Swing the ball!
Faded
Only a few seconds later during the next possession, Vic attacks off the catch. Again, the defender sags off so he can’t blow past him. He decelerates and transitions into the fadeaway.
Triple teamed with no one to pass to
Basketball is a simple game. Offensive players create advantages by initiating a play. Defenders rotate off their marks to try to quell advantages. When help arrives, players must pass the ball ahead of rotating defenses to maintain the advantage.
Vic creates an advantage — he penetrates off the pick and roll and draws three defenders into the paint. Unfortunately, he misses the simple pass to the left corner.
Missing (or ignoring) this read is especially disappointing because the corner shooter’s defender was playing way off his man, barely moving the whole possession. Against stationary defenders, Vic needs to better anticipate where the pass openings will be.
And 1!
Rookie Mason Jones is thirsty. He played his 11 minutes with his arms up the whole time.