[OC] why Ant getting on-ball PnR reps is good for the offense, and makes life easier for everyone else.

Last year I wrote a [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/ripcity/comments/z8l7be/oc_film_study_why_antiheroball_not_heroball_cost/) detailing why we need more Ant on-ball reps for our offense without Dame (at the time Dame was hurt, but now Dame is gone so…).

I think a lot of the points from back then are still worth discussing today so I’ll rehash them and give some new examples as well:

Last year Ant was in the 82nd percentile of all PnR ballhandlers, generating 1.01 points per possession (by comparison, Dame was in the 94th percentile, with 1.13 points per possession). Ant was also in the 96th percentile of all NBA players in efficiency shooting off dribble handoffs, generating 1.34 points per possession.

Basically, if Ant comes cleanly off a screen either in a DHO or a conventional PnR, he will burn you. I’m sure we’ve seen enough example of this, but here are some video clips of this to illustrate my point.

[In this clip](https://streamable.com/bmxem9) look how far back Plumlee is playing trying to cover the handoff. It’s way too clean of a look to give Ant and he just makes you pay. [Here’s a still image](https://imgur.com/KCdIQ2n) that really illustrates how much room Plumlee is giving up. You just can’t do that.

Similarly, [here’s another example from a conventional PnR.](https://streamable.com/5bmnse) Sengun drops back way too far and Ant burns him with an open three.

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Anyways since it’s been established that Ant is such a deadly shooter coming off screens, defenses have started to blitz him to take away all those shots. This leads to a lot of opportunities elsewhere in the offense. Take this play from last year against the Clippers:

[Ant attracts 2 defenders, and Nurk has a lob to Sharpe or a layup over 6’3 Powell](https://streamable.com/se2img) (Nurk has a Nurk moment and misses the layup but this is still good offense).

[Here, Ant attracts 2 defenders, and Winslow slips.](https://streamable.com/y3jxw8) The low man, Powell, has to guard the rim which leaves Covington guarding 2 Blazers on the weakside. Wide open three. [Look at this still image that really shows how discombobulated the defense is](https://imgur.com/a/VmyBfMG), just because of the threat of Ant coming off a screen.

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Let’s jump to tonight, because a lot of good things were happening as well with Ant’s PnR touches.

[First play](https://streamable.com/3mnp1q): not much to describe here, but Nurk has to play at the level of the screen because of the threat of Ant’s shot, Ayton slips and gets 2 FTs.

[Second play: more of the same, except Ayton gets a dunk](https://streamable.com/kbp149). Eric Gordon messes up and fails to recognize that Nurk is trapping and that it’s his job to stop the roll (maybe he doesn’t want to take a charge in a preseason game?), but then again this is great offense to force guys like Eric Gordon to try to stop Ayton going full speed.

[Third play: bad play by Ayton here, he misses the lob to Sharpe](https://streamable.com/umtgsf) but this is still great offense from the Blazers to generate these looks, even if they don’t take advantage of it. It’s wide open! this is exactly the look Sharpe thrives on. I’m not too worried that Ayton missed this read as it’s only game 2 of preseason, [but look! teams are so afraid of Ant shooting the ball that they would rather give up this than an open three from Ant](https://imgur.com/a/CE04iik).

[Fourth play: Here Ayton makes a tremendous play to freeze Watanabe](https://streamable.com/4f1guf) acting like he will throw the lob to Sharpe before kicking it out to Scoot for the wide open three. Tremendous play by Ayton and clearly something they worked on at halftime after he misplayed this exact read in the first half. [Just look how much space Ayton creates for Scoot just by LOOKING in Sharpe’s direction as if he will throw the lob.](https://imgur.com/a/Gsv7Koq)

[Finally, here’s another play where Ant PnR generates another wide open three](https://streamable.com/eoexye) if Ayton had thrown the pass a bit more precisely. Again, not too worried about the pass being off target, but just great spacing here and good process if the pass can get cleaned up a little bit.

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[By contrast, look at how the Suns guarded these actions when Scoot had the ball.](https://streamable.com/e3144j) Nurk is basically playing with two feet in the paint, and easily contains the drive by Scoot. Scoot makes the right read to Ayton, but it ends in a contested 13 footer.

[Again, look at where Nurk is standing](https://streamable.com/4n4opb) – he quite literally has two feet in the paint and Booker doesn’t even bother contesting the jumper. It’s a good shot (and the right shot for Scoot to take) but just look at how the Suns are guarding it.

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In conclusion, Ant being able to create with the ball in his hands is great for the offense and makes life easier for everyone else. FOR THE RECORD I’m not arguing that Ant is a great passer, or even that Ant should play PG. However Ant getting on-ball reps is great, and hopefully some of these clips illustrates the value of a true movement shooter in getting everyone else involved. Showcasing him will also help his trade value, and help Scoot learn to play off the ball (which is a really valuable skill for a young guard to learn).

by Piano9717