UNLV struggled to generate points in Saturday's overtime loss to Kansas State, and after the game coach T.J. Otzelberger fielded questions about whether his team relied too much on isolation play down the stretch.
Otzelberger said Kansas State's switching defense dampened the Rebels' ball movement, and that forced players to go 1-on-1 more than he would have liked.
A rewatch of the contest revealed an interesting trend: It wasn't necessarily isolation ball that killed the Rebels, it was isolation ball when performed by anyone other than Amauri Hardy.
For the game, UNLV scored 19 points on the 19 offensive possessions that ended with isolation plays. When Hardy attacked the defense in 1-on-1 situations, he carved up Kansas State to the tune of 17 points on 11 possessions; the rest of the team managed just two points on eight isolation plays.
Isolation is defined as a halfcourt play in which an offensive player attacks a defender in a 1-on-1 situation; both players are set before the initial move is made, and there are no ball screens or other offensive actions on the ball.
On those plays, Hardy was phenomenal. The junior used hesitation and change-of-direction moves to get to the basket, where he either finished himself or dished to open teammates (Mbacke Diong finished off two of Hardy's drives with assisted dunks). He also found Bryce Hamilton for an open 3-pointer, which Hamilton made, but the shot clock expired just before the ball left his hand. (For this story, that was counted as an iso turnover against Hardy.)
Surprisingly, despite the initial post-game impression that UNLV relied heavily on isolation against Kansas State, only two other players went into isolation mode on Saturday, as guards Bryce Hamilton and Elijah Mitrou-Long combined for the other eight possessions.
Neither had any success when taking on the Kansas State defense by themselves. Hamilton made 1-of-4 from the field and committed two turnovers (both charges). Mitrou-Long pulled up for 3 twice and missed both times.
The numbers:
One of the biggest questions heading into the season was Hardy's ability to fit into Otzelberger's system, which is based on ball-movement and spread concepts. As a player who has always relied on making things happen off the dribble, Hardy's strengths seemed to be at odds with what the new system requires. But with the way he played against Kansas State — all told, 30.4% of UNLV's scoring was produced by Hardy in 1-on-1 situations — it appears as though UNLV can have the best of both worlds.
It's unlikely Hardy can keep up that kind of pace for an entire season. Last year he averaged 0.852 points per possession on isolation plays, according to Synergy Sports data; that number is good, but not as scorching hot as his 1.545 PPP against Kansas State. But if UNLV can get Otzelberger's offense clicking, the Rebels can have an efficient, modern offense spearheaded by a player who can make good things happen on his own when the situation calls for it.
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
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