WE’RE GOING to see this matchup again.
And I don’t mean the Pinelands-Sonics second-round fixture.
St John’s really aren’t as good as advertised right now, but that’s to be expected considering how few games they’ve played so far and the number of new parts they’re trying to incorporate.
I’m not sure why anyone would think they would be better than the champs immediately, or at all for that matter, as Pinelands still have the game’s best player in Jeremy Gill surrounded by at least two national level-type talents.
We should not need to see the Pine’s wire-to-wire victory on Sunday to understand that either.
Make no mistake, though, Sonics have the talent to win it all. It’s just not being deployed well right now.
The main problem is the spacing, or lack thereof, especially for a starting unit that should rely heavily on the scoring of forwards Akeem Marsh and Charles Vanderpool.
I love that they’re using a high-low, with Marsh being the one to make the pass, but opponents appear willing to help on Vanderpool in the paint and ignore St John’s perimeter players for the most part.
Weak side guard
That happened a lot in their first game against Hawks, as time and again the weak side guard crashed down hard in the paint and either stole or disrupted that entry pass.
And that’s because defences will not be made to pay for helping off perimeter players as Sonics have strangely inserted two non-shooters in Decino Corbin and Dwayne Kellman into the starting line-up.
Gill all but ignored Corbin in the Pinelands game, while defenders seem inclined to back off Kellman to stay in passing lanes and dare him to shoot.
The line-up is puzzling to say the least when you take into account that St John’s have known deep threats like Ramon Simmons and Jamar King coming off the bench.
Maybe they’re nervous about Simmons’ trigger-happy nature resulting in fewer shots for Marsh and Vanderpool, but there’s no reason why King should not accompany Stefan Clarke on the wing instead of Kellman if they don’t want to start Simmons.
Although Stefan Yard isn’t exactly a knockdown shooter, he too has to bea better fit than Corbin in the starting unit as the point guard, as I’m sure defenders will at least honour him as a scoring threat.
Line-up changes
These line-up changes won’t just improve Sonics’ offensive efficiency, but more importantly, they will increase the productivity and effectiveness of key role players like Kellman, particularly.
His pure stats were always going to suffer with the addition of Vanderpool, but that doesn’t mean his role should as well, once head coach Charles Griffith remembers what Kellman does well.
As a “small-ball” power forward and part-time ball-handler, the fleet-footed Kellman was able to take advantage of slower defenders by beating them to the offensive and defensive glass.
But deploying him out on the wing takes him off the boards at both ends because now he will be too busy containing dribblers and contesting shots on one side and then he has to be considering getting back in transition off a missed shot.
Now if Kellman was used as a backup “4” alongside the reserves, then he can get back to doing what he does best.
Sure he won’t average a league-best 13 rebounds anymore by coming off the bench, but he won’t come close to do that playing next to Marsh and Vanderpool either.
And if you want evidence that Kellman’s effectiveness is being hampered in that starting unit, then look no further than his dreadful plus-minus of -22 against Pinelands.
Moving Kellman into the front court where he belongs, also frees up the logjam in a crowded wing rotation where he, Clarke, Simmons, King and Kevin Robinson all have to fight for minutes.
Then Griffith will have a great backup for either Marsh or Vanderpool, and won’t have to worry about his bench unit as a line-up with Kellman and Romaine Lovell can battle with any team’s reserve front court.
Corbin’s move to the bench helps his productivity too, as he can be more aggressive attacking off the dribble instead of just being a pointless statue trying to appease superstars.
Thankfully, they have the time, and the depth that most teams don’t have to eventually make all of the necessary adjustments.
Make no mistake, we’re going to see this matchup against the champs again. And not just in the second round.