Fantastic observation from Sebastian Pruiti of Grantland on how Sacramento Kings rookie Jimmer Fredette moves without the basketball:
Think about how Ray Allen and Rip Hamilton use screens. You can get dizzy watching them, let alone trying to defend them. When Fredette moves without the ball, he runs in straight lines, rarely changes his pace, and almost never creates contact with his defender. This allows his defenders to “lock and trail” him, so when Fredette receives a pass the defense is already smothering him. With the defense too close for a catch-and-shoot, Fredette is forced to create a shot using his dribble. Once that happens, the defense has already won – they’ve forced Fredette away from his strength, which is shooting, and right back to his weakness, which is creating his own shot with the dribble.
Read more of Sebastian’s breakdown of Jimmer’s season so far over at Grantland.
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