Why Is One of the NBA's Most Effective Plays a Dying Art?
NBA teams are constantly looking for an edge on the offensive end to attack defenses. One aspect of the game that teams have not taken full advantage of is off-ball cutting, which has a way of forcing defenses to react, bend and at times break down completely.
There is an art to cutting. It requires precise timing, spacial awareness and understanding where the defense is most vulnerable. There are times when cuts are designed—some offenses have automatic reads that trigger cuts—and other instances when they come from players' instinct. Cuts can lead to easy baskets for the cutter or create for others.
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Unfortunately, cutting is a dying art. With more and more teams playing 5-out and embracing space-and-pace, offenses are becoming more stagnant. Less movement on offense has allowed defenses to load up on the ball.
Just look at this play from the Philadelphia 76ers-Boston Celtics playoff series. The ball enters the post to Joel Embiid, and his teammates barely move for the next four seconds. It results in Jaylen Brown forcing a turnover.
A timed cut could have given Embiid a passing outlet. A simple cut from Harris after making the pass would have made it more difficult for Brown to dig. Philadelphia's stagnation on this play led to its failure. The Sixers cut on 6.7 percent of possessions in the regular season—which was about league average—but their frequency dropped to a league-low 2.9 percent in the playoffs.
An anonymous scout for a bubble team tells Bleacher Report that cuts can help battle stagnation. "It is good to have cuts built into your offense if you feel things are getting too stagnant." For the Sixers, nobody made up for Ben Simmons' cutting acumen in their series against the Celtics, which contributed to their poor showing.
How cutting opens up offenses
Cuts from the weak side, the slot, the baseline and the top of the key can unlock opportunities all over the court for offenses.
Bleacher Report spoke with former Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons head coach and current TNT analyst Stan Van Gundy about what cutting means for offenses. "Obviously, number one, you get a chance to get easy baskets." Finding easy buckets against half-court defenses will open up other options for teams.
The Los Angeles Lakers' Kyle Kuzma gets one of those easy layups off a weak-side cut against the Denver Nuggets in the clip below. With the defense watching and shading over to LeBron James and the floor spread, Kuzma cuts into the open space. His man, Paul Millsap, loses sight of him, and when James makes the pass, Millsap actually jumps in the wrong direction.
A common defensive principle is to point at both your assignment and the ball to make sure you never lose sight of either. Van Gundy makes an important note, though. "That's pretty easy to do if the man is standing in place, but when he's cutting it is very difficult."
Kemba Walker loses sight of Matisse Thybulle on this possession as he is entirely focused on Embiid in the high post.
Thybulle does a great job timing the cut just before Walker starts to work back toward him. The anonymous scout says timing is the key to cuts. "If you time it right, you can really put the defense at a disadvantage because you catch them basically sleeping, and they are playing catch-up and recovery on those cuts."
Another time players should look to cut is when they are on the weak side while the ball-handler is in a pick-and-roll action. The anonymous scout says "to cut from the slot is when there is a pick-and-roll or drive from the opposite slot. I think that's a great time to slot-cut."
The Dallas Mavericks' Kristaps Porzingis has made quite a few cuts from the slot when Luka Doncic is driving to the rim off the pick-and-roll. Against the Milwaukee Bucks, as Doncic drives, Giannis Antetokounmpo is caught watching the ball and not keeping track of Porzingis, who cuts behind him for a monster dunk.
It is pretty clear on the second angle that Antetokounmpo is beginning to retreat where he last saw Porzingis.
The Miami Heat led the league in frequency of cuts at 9.4 percent during the regular season and scored 1.31 points per possession on them. Van Gundy believes it makes sense for the Heat since they are a good three-point shooting team (second in three-point percentage): "[Teams] want to extend their defense so much to get out on any three-point shooting teams that you get opportunities to cut."
This is not just a weapon for three-point shooting teams. Even the few post-up teams that are still around can take advantage. Especially with baseline cuts when teams double the post. Watch as Al Horford gets doubled by the Toronto Raptors and finds Tobias Harris taking advantage of the open baseline to make the cut for an easy basket.
Cuts tend to yield high points per possession because more often than not they are leading to a layup. During the regular season, the league average PPP was 1.28 off cuts compared to the 1.11 in transition, 1.01 off spot-ups and 0.91 in isolation. It is important to note that cutting can take place while any of those actions are happening and could enhance the scoring opportunities of those plays.
So why aren't teams cutting more?
Both Van Gundy and the anonymous scout believe that the way the game is played now is a big reason there are not a lot of cuts.
Van Gundy says, "People are so used to guys spotting up that I think cuts are even more open now than they've ever been." Van Gundy adds, "There is a balance, though, because spacing is important."
The keyword is balance. The best teams in the NBA are able to keep the floor spread so their best players can operate in open space. For example, the Houston Rockets don't play a center so they can play 5-out. Offensive systems are built to keep players in the corners and at the slots to make it more difficult to help.
And as Van Gundy says, defenses are more used to guys camping out at the three-point line than diving into the lane.
The anonymous scout adds another reason teams might not cut as much: "The other thing is coaches feel that cutting can get in the way of the roll or the penetrating guard." That is a very valid concern. A cutter is occupying an open space and will be bringing another defender with them.
To avoid that confusion, teams need to invest time with their players to discuss when to cut and when not to. It all comes back to the balance Van Gundy mentioned.
Cut assists
Just like in screening, sometimes the best cuts do not result in a basket for the cutter but open an opportunity elsewhere. These should be considered screen assists—or perhaps their own category called cut assists.
The act of cutting forces defenses to react, as Van Gundy describes. "If you put pressure on the basket and they've got to account for you, now you open space for drives and things like that, but also it makes it harder to help."
In transition against the Orlando Magic, Pat Connaughton gets a cut assist. His running of the lane applies the pressure Van Gundy is talking about and opens up a pass to Kyle Korver for three.
On a critical possession, the Nuggets get a cut assist from Michael Porter Jr. against the Utah Jazz. With Jamal Murray in isolation and beginning to attack the rim, Rudy Gobert slides from the weak-side corner to help on the drive. Joe Ingles now is responsible for the first pass to either Porter or Nikola Jokic on the weak side. Porter cuts from the slot, forcing Ingles to drop down, and Murray finds Jokic for a three.
And then the last example is quite impressive. Jayson Tatum has the ball in the post with a double-team coming. Daniel Theis cuts down the lane, and it forces Harris to peel out of the trap to take him. This cut paves the way for Tatum to get an and-1 on Shake Milton.
That last play happens because of the Theis cut. Van Gundy says, "Somebody cuts and takes a defender with him and he opens up space drives and keeps people occupied."
A cut assist is not an official statistic, but the act can lead to points.
There is a time to cut and a time to not, but teams that are not cutting much off the ball are putting themselves in a tough position. As teams are looking for new ways to take advantage of defense switching constantly and zoning, cutting can be the answer.
Unfortunately, as Van Gundy notes, "It's been something that has really sort of died in the NBA." But it might be time to bring it back.
Stats via NBA.com unless otherwise noted.
Mo Dakhil spent six years with the Los Angeles Clippers and two years with the San Antonio Spurs as a video coordinator, as well as three years with the Australian men's national team. Follow him on Twitter, @MoDakhil_NBA.
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