cutewizard
04-01-2016, 01:39 PM
http://www.todaysfastbreak.com/nba-west/san-antonio-spurs/rosen-patty-mills-best-backup-point-guard-nba/
This was written by Charley Rosen
complete story:
Rosen: Patty Mills is the best backup point guard in the NBA
Career backup players are among the most anonymous individuals in the NBA. And especially with headliners like Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker garnering virtually all of the media attention on the San Antonio Spurs, Patty Mills’s contributions are too often overlooked.
Even so, it says here that Mills is not only a significant factor in the Spurs’ recent successes, but he’s also the very best backup point guard in the league.
Here’s an appraisal of Mills’ game as demonstrated in the Spurs 100-92 victory over the Pelicans.
Mills is both fast (up-and-down the court) and quick (within limited spaces). Plus he’s nothing less than an incredible passer, especially when he’s on the move and off-balance. Still, his slickest pass came on an underneath inbounds play with 1.6 seconds left in the first quarter. That’s when Mills tossed a perfect lob to Boris Diaw who canned a fadeaway jumper. The ball had to be perfectly placed to avoid the backboard plus the efforts of two defenders.
This was Mills’ only assist, only because several teammates missed makeable shots that his passes created. Moreover, Mills’ primary duty was to keep the ball moving, thereby allowing the inevitable unfolding of the offense to uncover open shots. It’s no surprise that, no matter who had the ball, there was always somebody available to pass the ball to — and somebody else, and somebody else, for 24 seconds.
That’s one of the beauties of the Spurs’ offense.
Indeed, at both ends of the court, Mills’ game plan was virtually perfect. In 20 minutes he only made two legitimate miscues, none of which were costly.
Whereas Tony Parker can still drive into the lane, then spin and/or twist his way into layups, Mills mostly scores from the perimeter. (He was 2-5 from downtown, which accounted for the six points he scored). One of Mills’ two turnovers occurred when he forced his way among the trees into the paint with nowhere to go — and his dribble was snatched away.
Mills was discredited with another turnover when his perfect pass bounced off Diaw’s hands and was recovered by the Pelicans.
And Mills also missed a rushed three-pointer.
Otherwise, Mills was in perfectly timed perpetual motion on offense — moving the ball with snappy passes, unafraid to set sturdy picks on bigs, passing away and cutting through the middle, protecting the ball with his body on crossovers and spins and, like every member of the Spurs, always making the extra pass.
The only occasions where Mills wasn’t moving when the Spurs had possession was when he briefly stood in one corner or the other while Manu Ginobili, LaMarcus Aldridge or Kevin Martin went one-on-one.
Mills did play a perfect game on defense. He dealt with screens in various ways — overplaying and beating his man to the contact, tailgating and recovering, squeezing his way through or switching. Whichever maneuver Mills executed, he received timely help from his teammates.
Even when he was forced to switch onto the massive Kendrick Perkins, Mills aggressively fronted him when taken into the low post, denying any entry pass.
Mills was rarely challenged in one-on-one situations. When Tim Frazier tried to take him, Mills sealed the baseline. Otherwise, Mills forced his erstwhile iso-minded opponents to help spots.
Mills’ ability to read the Pelicans’ offense also enabled him to record a pair of steals — both coming along the baseline from the weak side.
Pop showed his trust in Mills by leaving him in the game late in the third and early in the fourth quarter when New Orleans had mini-rallies. Indeed, with the Spurs up by only six and just over a minute left in the game, Pop had five subs on the floor.
Mills is the almost perfect cog in the Spurs’ almost perfect basketball machine. He’s one of the most significant reasons why San Antonio’s subs can compete on almost equal terms with opponents’ starters, as well as routinely outplay opponents’ second-stringers.
And, it also says here, that Patty Mills will be an important factor when the Spurs overcome the Warriors in the Western Conference finals.
This was written by Charley Rosen
complete story:
Rosen: Patty Mills is the best backup point guard in the NBA
Career backup players are among the most anonymous individuals in the NBA. And especially with headliners like Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker garnering virtually all of the media attention on the San Antonio Spurs, Patty Mills’s contributions are too often overlooked.
Even so, it says here that Mills is not only a significant factor in the Spurs’ recent successes, but he’s also the very best backup point guard in the league.
Here’s an appraisal of Mills’ game as demonstrated in the Spurs 100-92 victory over the Pelicans.
Mills is both fast (up-and-down the court) and quick (within limited spaces). Plus he’s nothing less than an incredible passer, especially when he’s on the move and off-balance. Still, his slickest pass came on an underneath inbounds play with 1.6 seconds left in the first quarter. That’s when Mills tossed a perfect lob to Boris Diaw who canned a fadeaway jumper. The ball had to be perfectly placed to avoid the backboard plus the efforts of two defenders.
This was Mills’ only assist, only because several teammates missed makeable shots that his passes created. Moreover, Mills’ primary duty was to keep the ball moving, thereby allowing the inevitable unfolding of the offense to uncover open shots. It’s no surprise that, no matter who had the ball, there was always somebody available to pass the ball to — and somebody else, and somebody else, for 24 seconds.
That’s one of the beauties of the Spurs’ offense.
Indeed, at both ends of the court, Mills’ game plan was virtually perfect. In 20 minutes he only made two legitimate miscues, none of which were costly.
Whereas Tony Parker can still drive into the lane, then spin and/or twist his way into layups, Mills mostly scores from the perimeter. (He was 2-5 from downtown, which accounted for the six points he scored). One of Mills’ two turnovers occurred when he forced his way among the trees into the paint with nowhere to go — and his dribble was snatched away.
Mills was discredited with another turnover when his perfect pass bounced off Diaw’s hands and was recovered by the Pelicans.
And Mills also missed a rushed three-pointer.
Otherwise, Mills was in perfectly timed perpetual motion on offense — moving the ball with snappy passes, unafraid to set sturdy picks on bigs, passing away and cutting through the middle, protecting the ball with his body on crossovers and spins and, like every member of the Spurs, always making the extra pass.
The only occasions where Mills wasn’t moving when the Spurs had possession was when he briefly stood in one corner or the other while Manu Ginobili, LaMarcus Aldridge or Kevin Martin went one-on-one.
Mills did play a perfect game on defense. He dealt with screens in various ways — overplaying and beating his man to the contact, tailgating and recovering, squeezing his way through or switching. Whichever maneuver Mills executed, he received timely help from his teammates.
Even when he was forced to switch onto the massive Kendrick Perkins, Mills aggressively fronted him when taken into the low post, denying any entry pass.
Mills was rarely challenged in one-on-one situations. When Tim Frazier tried to take him, Mills sealed the baseline. Otherwise, Mills forced his erstwhile iso-minded opponents to help spots.
Mills’ ability to read the Pelicans’ offense also enabled him to record a pair of steals — both coming along the baseline from the weak side.
Pop showed his trust in Mills by leaving him in the game late in the third and early in the fourth quarter when New Orleans had mini-rallies. Indeed, with the Spurs up by only six and just over a minute left in the game, Pop had five subs on the floor.
Mills is the almost perfect cog in the Spurs’ almost perfect basketball machine. He’s one of the most significant reasons why San Antonio’s subs can compete on almost equal terms with opponents’ starters, as well as routinely outplay opponents’ second-stringers.
And, it also says here, that Patty Mills will be an important factor when the Spurs overcome the Warriors in the Western Conference finals.