Freeze Frame: Is It Time For a New “Tweak” In Kentucky’s Offense?
Posted by Brian Joyce on January 8th, 2016During the 2013-14 season, John Calipari’s team lost six games in SEC play (including three of its last four) on its way to a 22-9 regular season mark. Kentucky, which had entered the season at No. 1 in the country, was considered a huge disappointment at the time. Calipari knew that something had to change if his team was going to turn things around, so heading into the 2014 SEC Tournament, he introduced “the tweak.” The beauty of his strategy was that Calipari wouldn’t say what he actually tweaked.
Calipari’s tweak in 2014 was another public relations masterpiece to deflect attention away from his struggling juggernaut. (Getty)
Calipari’s tweak became a national story as media and fans searched for the mystery in every game. “If you know anything about basketball, you’ll know exactly what I did,” he explained. Yet despite thousands of rumors swirling around, nobody could pinpoint precisely what it was. As Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com (who, as a beat writer for the Memphis Commercial-Appeal, has followed the head coach’s career longer than most) wrote after Calipari revealed the tweak (he asked point guard Andrew Harrison to pass more), the brilliance of the strategy was that it shifted the conversation away from the play of his struggling Wildcats. This year’s team could certainly use a distraction from its disappointing play on the road, but it could also use a substantial tweak to its offensive approach. In this edition of Freeze Frame, we look at Kentucky’s recent loss to LSU and analyze a strategic tweak that could change the Wildcats’ season.
Nobody has taken it easy on Skal Labissiere this season. The freshman center has struggled to find his way, getting criticized for his lack of physical play. An NBA scout did not mince words to SNY’s Adam Zagoria when talking about the potential #1 pick in this summer’s NBA Draft. “Big Skal, no strength, no toughness, no game,” he said. “Comes off the bench, plays 10 minutes, had two points, three rebounds, 0-of-3 from the floor. Shot an airball on an easy hook… he’s not No. 1, he’s not No. 5, he’s not No. 51. That’s a joke.” While those statements may have been harsh, Labissiere’s impact certainly has not yet reached the expected level. The 6’11” big man started the season well by averaging 14.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in his first six outings, but over the next eight games he dropped to only 4.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. With his top prospect struggling, Calipari has increasingly turned to Marcus Lee and Alex Poythress at the frontcourt spots. With that lineup, Kentucky frequently runs a horns offensive set that lines up both big men at the top of the key with the wings starting out in the corners. See the frame below.
The horns offensive set, frequently run by the Kentucky offense when Poythress and Lee are in the lineup.
Calipari even played Poythress at the five position against LSU (when several of his other bigs were in foul trouble), and continued to pull his frontcourt players out of the paint to provide better spacing for his guards to penetrate to the basket. In the below frame, spot-up shooter, Derek Willis is playing the four, but Calipari caters to his strength by putting him in the corner instead of using Poythress or Willis in a post-up position.
Calipari puts Willis in position to hit corner threes while using Poythress at the top of the key.
However, when Labissiere entered the game, he only played one possession in the same offensive set. For the rest of the game, Calipari set up the offense with Labissiere in the post, as in the next frame.
As soon as Labissiere enters, Kentucky changes to a four out one in offensive set.
Matched up with LSU star freshman Ben Simmons, Labissiere posts up on the low block. By the time he receives the pass, however, Simmons had already pushed him half-way out to the three-point line.
Simmons pushes Labissiere completely out of the paint.
Labissiere has great footwork and post moves, but it seems fair to question his strength against more physically imposing big men. In looking at how the Kentucky offense can perform at its best, could Labissiere be better utilized in a different role? We have not seen much from him posting up simply because he is getting pushed around. His skill set might be more useful operating around the free throw line as a pick-and-pop option to spread the floor. Labissiere has a nice mid-range jump shot, and appears to work better in space than he does strictly as a post-up option.
Calipari has proven flexible in his offense before, changing center Josh Harrellson’s role (a less-publicized tweak back in 2011), for example, to pull him out of the paint for more pick-and-pop action off of high-ball screens with Brandon Knight. Even this year’s offense utilizes Lee and Poythress much differently than Labissiere. The fact is that Calipari needs Labissiere playing his best for another deep run in March, so why not tweak his role to better showcase his offensive skills and provide the Wildcats an opportunity to maximize their potential? Perhaps this is not the final answer to some the Wildcats’ woes, but a change on the inside is needed to replicate the turnaround like Kentucky experienced in two seasons ago. And when it comes to making such a tweak — even in the middle of a season — there is nobody better at it than Calipari.
Brian Joyce is an advanced metrics enthusiast, college hoops junkie, and writer for the SEC basketball microsite for Rush the Court.
