The worst pick up players.

[turty11]

Never heard of anyone form of this tips version of 21 growing up in vegas.


I miss playing 21 on the school court where I could just let the other 2 or 3 people defend eachother while my out of shape *** gets some air

[VDusen04]

Resurrecting this thread in honor of Devin Booker, who recently got salty after getting doubled in open gym (by Joakim Noah's team, naturally).

https://streamable.com/xofbr

Quote: Originally Posted by Devin Booker

"Hey bro we not doubling in open gym, bro. I see that **** all season, bro. Come on man, let's work on our game.

Feel like I've run into plenty of dudes with Booker's attitude over the years so this clip gave me PTSD. It's one thing if someone's objecting to play that has a significant risk of injury (hard fouls, undercutting, trying to take a charge on blacktop) but another to complain that an opponent is trying too hard to stop you.

The other side, I reckon, would be that Booker's trying to say he doesn't want to spend open gym having to become a passer instead of being able to work on his one-on-one game. I think there's worse things in the world than working on how to react to double teams and optimizing those opportunities. But basketball is literally how he makes his living, so maybe his plan for how to improve does not include seeing double teams in open gym settings. His circumstances are different than 99.999 percent of all other basketball players.

So for the rest of the world, open gym double teams, fair game?

[Hassan Darkside]

Fair. And they trapped him in a corner, it wasn't like they had two on him every time he touched the ball.

We're so basketball starved that Devin Booker getting trapped in the corner in a pickup game is news-worthy and controversial.

[VDusen04]

Quote: Originally Posted by Hassan Darkside

Fair. And they trapped him in a corner, it wasn't like they had two on him every time he touched the ball. We're so basketball starved that Devin Booker getting trapped in the corner in a pickup game is news-worthy and controversial.

Dude I love this thread so you know I've just been waiting for a viable excuse to resuscitate it.

Also, the content of this particular event struck a nerve as I thought back to all those pick-up moments throughout the years where a guy would start cooking against a lazy defender then get caught up in his feelings once folks actually exerted some semblance of defensive effort or impromptu gameplan. Turns out teams, even in pick-up, don't like getting roasted and subsequently, they're liable to come up with potential solutions.

[ojandpizza]

I see no issue with it, I understand what he is saying from his point of view but in general pickup ball I don't see doubling someone an issue.. Especially if it's in the corner or off a ball screen or something like that. The post guys get doubled all the time, don't see why a guard should be different.

That said, I understand a bit where he is coming from in his point specifically, he's trying to work on his game.. But, ironically, something he needs to improve on is his vision and passing ability, being able to handle the ball more and make those combo guard like plays.. He's already elite at getting his shot, so it's somewhat humorous that he's upset about not begin able to improve his game when plays like that might actually help him in areas he needs improvement.

[ehh]

Double-teaming is whatever, it's common enough in pickup when someone is getting roasted. Far, far worse is the occasional five who gets on the court and decides to run a 2-3 zone.

I understand both sides of the fence here though. No one is wrong. Booker probably isn't getting much out of that pickup anyway.

[VDusen04]

Quote: Originally Posted by ehh

Far, far worse is the occasional five who gets on the court and decides to run a 2-3 zone.

I usually see this pop up a couple times a year and I've never really sweated it, mostly because it's most often implemented as a half-baked desperation move for teams trying to take shortcuts on defense. Usually ends up looking like the type of 2-3 your coach would make your entire team run sprints all practice for on account of lack of effort and execution. Gaps everywhere, zero boxing out, awful rebounding, lots of standing around, etc.

That said, I do remember one two or three week span about 10 years ago when a group of five guys we'd never seen before started showing up to the courts insisting on only playing together on the same team all night. They were solid players and ran an effective 2-3 scheme. In that case, a well-rehearsed 2-3 spelled trouble for folks on account of the wind and double rims that made it difficult to crack. Just as soon as they arrived, they were gone, leaving behind a really odd moment in local pick-up history.

[ehh]

Quote: Originally Posted by VDusen04

I usually see this pop up a couple times a year and I've never really sweated it, mostly because it's most often implemented as a half-baked desperation move for teams trying to take shortcuts on defense. Usually ends up looking like the type of 2-3 your coach would make your entire team run sprints all practice for on account of lack of effort and execution. Gaps everywhere, zero boxing out, awful rebounding, lots of standing around, etc.

I guess it depends on who you're playing with. The downside is that enough knuckleheads I team up with haven't the slightest idea on how to beat a zone, plus ball movement is usually a rare thing at most of the run I find. They still try to take turns isoing even though there are two defenders at the elbow and there are zero driving lanes. That or they do nothing but jack up threes since a defender isn't pressuring them right away. There is inevitably one guy on my team who thinks a 2-3 zone is his license to not pass the ball the entire game.