Victor Oladipo and the No Good, Really Bad Game
Game Recap Spurs v. Rockets
February 6th, 2021
Vic played poorly in this 111-106 loss to the Spurs. He shot 4-for-14 and finished with nine points, six rebounds, five assists, and four turnovers. Down the stretch of this tight game, he barely touched the ball. He was relegated to the role of floor spacer, which, considering his shooting struggles, does not put him or his team in a position to succeed.
Vic had more than just a bad shooting night. He lost track of shooters off the ball, struggled to secure rebounds, and was comically inaccurate on select passes. We tend to focus on the positives, and subtle aspects of player development, but in this edition of game recap, let’s dissect Vic’s performance to better understand the anatomy of a bad game.
Botched pick and roll
This play is tricky — the Spurs run a pick and roll with two wings. Oladipo is set to switch onto a like-sized player, while Cousins is in his customary drop-back coverage.
DeMarcus Cousins and Vic miscommunicate here. The Rockets switch all pick and rolls with the exception of actions involving the center. Vic must have missed the memo.
Leroy Jenkins!
There’s nowhere for Vic to go. He charges into the defense at a 2-on-3 disadvantage. His defender is backed off him ready to swallow up his drive.
Vic doesn’t have the power or length of a Giannis Antetokounmpo or LeBron James to deploy in transition here — he needs to wait for the cavalry to arrive and run the half-court offense.
Vic Wants No Part of It
This pass is maddening for several reasons:
There’s no value gained by swinging the ball.
Vic passes up a wide-open above the break 3 to set Cousins up for… a wide open above the break 3. Cousins is not a markedly better shooter than Vic.
This is the type of shot he should be taking – not passing.
He shoots eight percentage points higher on catch-and-shoot 3’s than the off-the-dribble variety.
This look is a golden opportunity to establish a shooting rhythm.
He forgoes this organically-created open look, but will force contested early shot clock off-the-dribble 3’s with no hesitation? How can he expect to find his stroke with such an unhealthy shot selection?
If you’re going to stand there, shoot!
The purpose of Vic’s positioning is to clear a lane for dives to the basket, but it only works if the defense thinks he will shoot.
Why is Vic stationed at the 3 point line if he’s not going to pull the trigger when the ball reaches him?
If he’s not comfortable shooting from there, he needs to position himself where he’ll be a credible threat to score.
Missing the Broad Side of a Barn
The idea is smart — hit the weakside corner as the low man enters the paint. But Victor is off-balance and too far away to deliver an on-target pass. He needs to take another dribble and get deeper into the lane before whipping the ball cross-court like this.
Getting caught ball-watching
Vic lingers in the lane to scope out the pick and roll. That’s fine. But he needs to tell Eric Gordon (on the wing) to switch onto the sweet-shooting Patty Mills.
When it rains…
An active off arm gets him by the over-aggressive defender. The help defense appears but doesn’t impact the play.
This is encouraging — he blows past his man in isolation.
The on-ball defender needs to take three giant steps backward. He should be inviting Vic to shoot at all times.
Make It Stop!
Vic just checked back into the game. First offensive possession, shooting 4-for-13, 19 seconds left on the shot clock, and he takes this abomination? Why? Does he not want to succeed?
The pocket of space is there, but he’s not shooting well enough to warrant this off-the-dribble pull-up 3. He needs to attack the dropped defender to get to the rim or draw a foul.
Please…
Once again, the idea is solid but the execution is off. The Rockets arrange the pieces to set up a hammer screen for a corner 3. Vic skirts past the Spurs big man but hurls the ball into literally the seventh row.
Vic was apparently fouled on this play, but after a game like this, he’s not getting the benefit of the doubt from me.