So it is becoming apparent that Brook seems to struggle (granted his struggle still leads to a 20/10 game – he takes too many shots though) a bit against centers who can push him out of the lane. Roy Hibbert was able to do this against Brook successfully in two games against the Pacers. Look where he caught the ball in Chicago (a game where he was very effective):
Now look where he catches it against the Pacers:
It’s not that he is catching it out of the paint (you catch it directly out of the paint to avoid getting called for three seconds), but look how high he caught it against the Pacers than he did against the Bulls. When you catch it along the baseline, it takes away an option from the defense. They can’t send a double that way, so Brook doesn’t have to worry about it, and that makes his move simpler.
Look at where he caught it against the Pacers though. The Pacers can send double teams from either direction, plus he is a little farther out, so he needs to take another dribble, and that throws his whole move off.
As I showed you in my scout of the Cavs, you can get position on Shaq by catching him off guard. If Brook does that early, it is going to be up to his teammates to get him the ball. If he doesn’t get a catch in close early, get used to him taking jumpers, because that is when he starts floating.
