2020-21 ohio state

Mike Smith Starts Putting It Together

increasingly dangerous [Campredon]

As opposing defenses have placed a greater emphasis on stopping Hunter Dickinson, the court has opened up for other Wolverines to step forward. The primary beneficiary has been point guard Mike Smith, who's increasing his shot attempts from beyond the arc while slicing his previously problematic turnover numbers in half.

After removing the season-opening cupcakes, the statistical comparison between early-season Smith and the version we've seen since the Minnesota loss is stark. Everything has stayed level except for missing a couple more two-pointers (almost certainly a sample size issue), attempting an extra three-pointer per 100 possessions (given his numbers, great!), and trading off an assist or two per game to cut out an equal number of turnovers, which has been a very worthwhile swap. The result is an 11-point jump in O-Rating, per Bart Torvik:

The increased attention on Dickinson has helped Smith. The more important factor, though, is his improved comfort level against the size and speed of Big Ten defenses. A lot of his turnovers earlier in the year were passes that didn't make it through the crowd.

You can see the game slowing down for him. The little hesitation move on this pick-and-roll drive forces the defense to commit before Smith makes the pass, which allows him time to make the correct read to find the right angle to get the ball through clean:

Over the full season, Smith is posting strong numbers as a pick-and-roll ballhandler when you include his passes. He’s slightly above-average as a scorer but his passing puts him in the 85th percentile overall as a P&R ballhandler anyway. If he keeps the turnovers down, the efficiency of these plays will take a substantial leap, too:

Smith has done a nice job of spreading his passes between kickouts to shooters, dumpoffs to the roll man, and quick-hitters to the occasional cutter. Finding the big man on the roll is generally the most efficient way to end a ball screen for any team—save for hitting cutters, because when that happens the other team usually fell asleep, and that happens far less often—and Michigan is no exception with Hunter Dickinson usually on the receiving end of those plays.

Only two Big Ten players, D’Mitrik Trice and Marcus Carr, have hit the roll man more than the 44 times Smith’s posted this season and neither crack a point per possession on those plays while Smith’s in elite territory at 1.23:

Smith has increasingly gone to the bounce pass, which turns his height (or lack thereof) into an asset instead of a detriment as he threads the needle between taller defenders:

His skip passes are getting through more often, too.

[Hit THE JUMP for Smith's P&R scoring and lethal transition work, plus updates on the BTT, an injury to Ayo Dosonmu, and more.]

Things discussed:

• Ohio State: Like playing a Beilein team except…
• At 5:35 we finally talk about the officiating (I said 6:35 because we were on for a minute before going on air and told the guys I was setting a timer). It wasn’t a “ref show” but the block/charge calls were almost all wrong and almost all for Ohio State. The push-off was ludicrous. Please call that Hunter Dickinson player control foul on Luka Garza.
• Michigan’s three-point shooting was very much deserved: quality looks both halves.
• Illinois? Michigan has length to guard Ayo, Cockburn does not pass out of the post.
• Rutgers vs Indiana: Rutgers has an identity, IU has a lot of guys who do things well but watch their teammates not do those things well.
• Hockey: record does not reflect the quality of their play. Portillo plays the puck all the time, just happened to misplay one in the 3-2 game not the 6-0 game.

[Hit the JUMP for the player, and video and stuff]

This episode, as always, is brought to you by the law offices of E. Jason Blankenship, who may be socially distanced from the courthouse but is still taking on clients. You can find his new website here.

You can follow Connor on Twitter and subscribe to his newsletter, A Lonely Impulse of Delight, that includes literary analysis of Calvin & Hobbes and, blissfully, nothing about Michigan athletics. Dan is not a writer but he is @ThiccStauskas on Twitter. If you’d like to hear more, the two co-host the newly titled Yet Another Michigan Football Podcast. Alex Cook you know from his writings here, and his blog about The Grand Castle.

[Writeup after the jump]