Roles within Positionless Basketball

[I wrote this on 13 Nov 2020. It was first published on wongyann.wordpress.com]

The term “positionless basketball” has been around for a while now, and it generally means the ditching of the traditional positions – Point Guard (PG), Shooting Guard (SG), Small Forward (SF), Power Forward (PF), Center(C) – for something a bit more fluid. Although the videogame NBA2K has yet to catch up, the NBA has already recognized this (partially) by changing its All-Star Team Selections only 2 categories (2 guards, 3 frontcourt players). How the league evolved to this state is interesting (and is perhaps worth an article in itself), but what I hope to write here is to discuss roles, and how to think about roster construction when we don’t think in terms of traditional positions anymore.

I will be discussing 12 different skill-sets or “Roles” (as shown in the table above), but before that I will briefly talk about player height. Height of players matters much less in the modern NBA and 2 teams just proved that recently: the Houston Rockets with their ultra-small ball (with 6’5 PJ Tucker at center), and the super tall lineup the Denver Nuggets briefly rolled out (with Nikoa Jokic at Point Guard and all players above 6’8). That said, height still matters for a few reasons: you need tall players to get rebounds, but tall players tend to have feet which are too slow to play perimeter defense, and not to mention really tall players (7 feet and above) tend to get feet and knee injuries easily (due to stress and pressure on their legs). That’s why the rows in the table above is divided by player height, and in particular, small guards have it difficult now, since their smaller bodies tend to make them defensive liabilities.

Roles

Ball-handler

Ball-handlers are simply players who can “handle the ball”, or can be trusted to be given the possession of the ball at the start of the shot-clock. Ball-handlers can be further broken down into 2 sub-categories: shot-creators and playmakers.A shot-creator is someone who is able to “create his own shot”, which means he is able to score reliably if he’s just defended by a single regular defender (how he scores is not important). Shot-creators are important because when a play is broken and the clock is running down, they are often seen as a “bail-out” – a fall back option which is still pretty reliable to score even though the play broke down. Examples of elite shot-creators include Damian Lillard (small guard), James Harden (wing) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (a big), although they score in different ways.A playmaker is someone who “makes plays” and this involves dribbling, passing and decision-making. The most typical situation would be the ball-handler of a pick and roll (PnR). The PnR ball-handler has to make split second decision to shoot, drive or pass the ball depending on how the defense plays the PnR. If he drives and the help-defense comes, he also needs to be able to pass to the open man. Examples of elite playmakers include Chris Paul (small guard), Luka Doncic (wing) and Ben Simmons (big).Most ball-handlers have some capacity to play both roles, but usually not equally well. If your playmaker is also an good shot creator (like Lebron James), then you give big problems to your opponent’s defense. Modern NBA defenses will crowd the ball-handler if the rest of the team isn’t good at handling the ball (refer to Milwaukee Bucks in the 2020 playoffs), which is why having 2 (or 3) ball-handlers on the court at the same time is a more and more commonly seen thing in the modern NBA.One new development in modern NBA is the emergence of several big men ball-handlers, which includes names like DeMarcus Cousins (when healthy), Kevin Durant, Pascal Siakam, Karl Anthony-Towns, Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis and Nikola Jokic in addition to the aforementioned Antetokounmpo and Simmons.

Off-ball shooter

The modern style of NBA is often called “pace and space”, referring to a importance of up-tempo basketball as well as floor spacing. To have good floor spacing, teams either play 4-out or 5-out (4 or 5 shooters respectively behind the 3-point line at the same time). This pulls the defenders away from the basket towards the 3-point line, allowing the ball-handler more space to drive into the paint. Thus, off-ball shooters have become valuable commodities in the NBA, even if they are occasionally defensive liabilities. Elite off-ball shooters include Seth Curry (small guard), Joe Harris (wing) and Davis Bertans (big).

Small-guard defender

At one time, most ball handlers are quick small guards, and they needed to be guarded by another quick small guard who has good defensive skills. However, in the modern NBA, a small-guard defender has become less and less important for two reasons. One, the ball-handlers are not necessarily the small guards anymore. Two, because of floor spacing, modern NBA defenses are forced to switch on PnRs often, and therefore team defense becomes more important than one-on-one defense. Elite small-guard defenders in the NBA today include Marcus Smart, Eric Bledsoe, Patrick Beverley and Jrue Holiday.

On-ball wing defender

Because so many of the best NBA ball-handlers are wings, an on-ball wing defender is still extremely valuable, better still if they are tall enough to guard stretch bigs. Long arms help, but on-ball defenders primarily need quick feet, fast reactions and defensive smarts. Elite on-ball defenders include Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Klay Thompson and Ben Simmons (even though he’s tall enough to be a big). Marcus Smart and Jrue Holiday are tall enough to guard smaller wings, but will struggle against bigger wings or stretch bigs.

Help defender

A help defender is someone who leaves the man he is guarding to come over to “help” against the current ball-handler. As mentioned above team defense is more important than one-on-one defense in the modern NBA, which increases the need for good help defenders. You need many things to be a good help defender, most importantly the awareness and instincts to know when to come over and help (and not be too early or too late), but you also need foot speed to cover distance, and height and arm length also helps significantly to contest or block shots. Big men who are good help defenders have a category of their own (i.e. Rim Protector), but having wings who are good help defenders are essential to a strong defense. Elite help defenders in the current NBA include Lebron James, Robert Covington, Draymond Green and Matisse Thybulle.

3 & D Wing

A 3&D Wing is a role-player who lacks elite ball-handing skills, but is a good 3 point shooter as well as a good on-ball wing defender. Because they lack shot-making skills, they are on cheaper contracts compared to the offensive stars of the league, but they are no less important for their defense and floor-spacing. 3&D wings have grown in importance over the past few years, and every team is always looking to find the next bargain 3&D Wing. Two 3&D players who just helped the Lakers to win the 2020 NBA championship are Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Danny Green.

Rim Runner

A rim runner is a big man screener who runs towards the rim after the pick. One kind of rim runner is a “lob threat”, which is a big who has enough height and hops to finish an ally-opp reliably. A lob threat poses a problem for the defense because they cannot hedge the PnR ball-handler too hard and allow the rim runner to score easily on a lob. This allows the PnR ball-handler more space to operate and attack the rim. This concept is sometimes called “vertical spacing”. A good rim runner needs to be able to set good strong screens as well as make good decisions after the pick. Even if they are not elite lob threats, a good rim runner can still score skillfully under the basket or make a smart pass out of the post. Elite rim runners in the NBA now include Anthony Davis, Domantas Sabonis, Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Stretch Big

A stretch big is a big man who can shoot the 3 pointer and provide floor spacing on offense. Sometimes this term is used for bigger wings who play the 4 position, so there is definitely some overlap with the off-ball shooter role. This is increasingly a necessity in the NBA, as being unable to provide floor spacing just handicaps your team too much on offense. Davis Bertans (as mentioned above), Danillo Gallinari, Nemanja Bjelica, Kelly Olynyk and Karl Anthony Towns are the big men with the highest 3-point shooting percentages in 2019-2020. Other notable names include Kristaps Porzingis, Jaren Jackson Jr and Kevin Love.

Post Facilitator

An uncommon role, a post facilitator (or “post playmaker”) is a big man who acts as a playmaker not from above the 3-point line, but in the high post. Few big men have the skill to play this role. A post facilitator is used by teams who adopt more complex offenses instead of running a high PnR. First, there is usually a PnR or some off-ball screens to get the post facilitator free enough to receive the pass in the post. Next, the post facilitator needs to be able to make good decisions on either to shoot over or attack his defender (who is likely switched to be a shorter defender), to pass to a cutting teammate running to the basket, or (especially if he draws a double team) an open teammate at the perimeter. A post facilitator is more often employed in the past where there is less spacing, but a few teams still employs a post facilitator today, such as Miami with Bam Adebayo, Indiana with Domatas Sabonis, and Denver with Nikola Jokic.

Rim Protector

As mentioned above, the Rim Protector is a big man who is a good help defender. Usually they also have the height, arm length and hops to contest and block shots. In the modern NBA, more and more ball-handlers are able to penetrate into the paint, which make rim protectors even more valuable than before. Elite rim protectors include Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kristaps Porzingis, Jonathan Issac and Kevin Durant.

Post Scorer

The last two positions are dying breeds in the modern NBA. A post scorer is someone (usually a big man) who receives the ball in the post and is able to score against their defender using post moves like drop-steps or turnaround fadeaways. Although many shot-creators have these skills in their arsenal, the only current player in the NBA who is a consistently elite post scorer is Joel Embiid (of the 76ers). The aging LaMarcus Aldrigde is the next most player who posts ups, but he’s not as potent as Embiid. Other notable players who post up (but not as regularly) include Nikola Jokic, Andre Drummond, Anthony Davis and Karl Anthony-Towns.

Post Defender

A role which nobody talks about nowadays, a post defender is big man you bring on your team to defend against post scorers. Since post scorers are a dying breed, specialist post defenders are no longer employed anymore.

Roster Construction

Truth to be told, there are many different philosophies to think about roster construction, and in a real life NBA context, there are other additional restraints such as chemistry issues, salary cap rules and the preferences and abilities of your coaching staff. But from a purely theoretical perspective, most people subscribe to the Daryl Morey school of roster construction – do whatever you can to get (at least) 2 elite stars on the same team, and only after that build the rest of the roster around them. Therefore there’s a need to think in term of complementary roles (to your main stars) when it comes to roster construction.

Considerations on Defense

A quick note about “transition defense”, or defending against the fast break. The current trend has the NBA valuing transition offense more and more, and as a result, there is less emphasis now on getting offensive rebounds, and more emphasis on running back to defend against your opponent running a fast break. The greatest impact of this is that slow-footed big men are now less favored and big men who can run up and down the court are more favored. Centres therefore are either shorter (e.g. P.J. Tucker and Draymond Green) or lean if they are taller. Gone are the days of tall and bruising centres who are good at banging in the post and grabbing offensive rebounds, but are too slow, like a Shaquille O Neal.

In the half-court, what is valuable now is the ability to guard multiple positions, or “switchability”. This is because most teams run a high PnR with 3 other shooters, and the best defense against that is usually to switch defenders. A role-player defender who is quick enough to defend small guards while tall, long and strong enough to defend bigs has become something every team is looking for – provided they can also shoot the 3-pointer. Increasingly, these role players also play the role of “small-ball 4” on offense (i.e. the next tallest player after the center). Primary examples of such 3&D defenders include P.J. Tucker (who plays center for the Rockets), Robert Covington, Mikal Bridges & Dorian Finny-Smith. It is important to remember that these are role-players and not stars. Commit too much money to them (see: Harrison Barnes), and you hamper your cap space to build the rest of your team.In the past, some teams employ specialist wing defenders who are limited on offense (most notably Tony Allen) but they are increasingly unplayable in today’s NBA, which emphasizes the need for floor spacing. This means players such as Eric Bledsoe, Andre Roberson and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist are less valuable then before.

Finally, rim protectors are quite essential to “anchor” a strong defense. The last 10 teams in defense in 2020 (Hawks, Wizards, Timberwolves, Pelicans, Trailblazers, Spurs, Warriors, Rockets, Cavaliers & Grizzlies) are all teams without an elite rim protector (although for some it is due to injuries). That said, defense is a team endeavor, and a rim protector paired with 4 bad defenders can’t do much. Much of good defense is also coaching, team communication as well as player motivation.

Considerations on Offense

Prevailing wisdom says to build your offense around how your stars score. This lead to some variety in the types of NBA offenses seen, but most teams subscribe to a “pace-and-space” system which prioritizes speed, ball-handling and spacing.

Speed is needed for transition offense, or fast break opportunities. Although fast ball-handling guards (e.g. De’Aaron Fox, Russell Westbrook, a healthy John Wall) are important, also useful are quick running bigs which can outrun the opposing bigs on defense and act as the “trailer” on fast breaks (most notably, Zion Williamson). It is important to note that transition offense is only as good as your defense, since it is defensive stops which create fast break opportunities.

In the half court, spacing is king. You can run off-ball sets and cutters to make non-shooters useful, but it is always easier to defend a team which doesn’t space the floor. This has resulted in the need for bigs to have three-point shooting, and some older bigs (e.g. Serge Ibaka, Marc Gasol, Brook Lopez) have adapted by developing a shooting range absent in their early careers. Bigs which can shoot and defend the rim are especially valuable and are sometimes referred to as “unicorns” for this rare skill pairing (most notably Kristaps Prozingis, but also names like Myles Turner, Jaren Jackson Jr, Joel Embiid and Kevin Durant).

Finally ball-handling is sometimes underrated as a key factor to a good offense. Teams such as the Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic consistently under-perform because they lack good playmakers to unlock the potential of their talented wings and bigs. Some playmaking stars are so transformative that they distort defenses all by themselves and elevate their teammates to peform way better than expected. These include Lebron James, Luka Doncic and (in the past) Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Magic Johnson and Pete Maravich. This is why talented playmakers such as LaMelo Ball (like his brother Lonzo before him) are so tantalizing as draft prospects despite their other flaws.

Some teams employ the use of a “spark plug” shot-creator off the bench, someone who isn’t well suited to play in the starting 5 (possibly because of lack of defense or passing ability) but provide valuable scoring in the reserve lineup. Jamal Crawford is the most famous example of this, but current iterations include Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson.

As mentioned above, as NBA defenses adapt, it has become more important to have multiple ball handlers on the court at the same time. This increases the value of ball-handling bigs, as well as role players with some ball-handling skills. Rick Carlisle of the Dallas Mavericks is known for rolling out lineups with 3 small guards at once because having 3 ball-handlers improves the offense so much it can offset the disadvantages on defense and rebounding (at least against opposing reserves).

Conclusion

Nobody really know if “pace and space” is here to last. Some people believe the pendulum will swing back to post-centric systems when bigger teams start winning by out-rebounding and out-defending the current smaller and quicker teams (the champion Lakers is arguably the start of this trend). Whatever the case, it appears when skill sets become less and less correlated to player size, positionless basketball will be here to stay, and likewise thinking in terms of roles (and skill sets) instead of merely position.