Lastimosa's 'small ball' lineup making wonders for TNT
Published Apr 13, 2023 10:13 am
TNT may have struggled with its lean frontline in the first two games so far in the Finals but the coaching wits of Jojo Lastimosa and his staff have made the inevitable weakness into a strength come Game 2.
*Jojo Lastimosa's small ball TNT lineup working wonders so far in the Finals (PBA Images)*
With Justin Chua out with a knee injury, Kelly Williams still sidelined, and the erratic plays of lone big man remaining JP Erram, the Tropang Giga were forced to play a "small ball" lineup which surprisingly worked wonders in the 95-82 win over the Kings. With a relatively smaller lineup that featured Rondae Hollis-Jefferson at the center, Calvin Oftana at the power forward and Glen Khobuntin at the small forward positions, TNT managed to utilize its speed which caught Ginebra flat footed especially on the defensive end. While the lineup was formed out of necessity, Lastimosa said that the small ball play will certainly be an option for TNT heading into the rest of the series. “We’re ready to play with our small lineup with Calvin on the four, Glenn on the three so I think Tim (Cone) said that is the lineup that he has problems with because he will have to extend C-Stan (Christian Standhardinger) to guard our power forward,” explained Lastimosa. “Calvin is a shooter so that takes them away from what they do best. So let's see how it goes but I still have a big lineup to put in,” he added. With the lineup, TNT was able to spread the floor with Hollis-Jefferson serving as the initial point of attack to attract the defense, leaving his shooters like Oftana, RR Pogoy and Mikey Williams with space from beyond the arc. Even Cone pointed out how dangerous that lineup could be as early as Game 1, even comparing it to the NBA champion team Golden State Warriors. The results of Game 2 just further validated that observation. “They're tough to defend. They can spread the court like they do. That's something we're going to have to try to continue to figure out as this series goes along. They've given people problems all conference long with Calvin playing in the 4 position,” commented Cone. As much as effective as that lineup could get, Lastimosa said it would be a gamble to stick to that lineup all-game long, that’s why the return of Kelly and a much composed Erram would still be heavily needed in the series. "For the times that Poy was there in the middle, we didn't leave Rondae by himself to man the middle. He's 6-foot-6 and I know he has a seven-foot wingspan (but) another 6-6, 6-7 guy can help us in the middle and Poy helped us in the times that he wasn't in foul trouble,” explained Lastimosa.
*Jojo Lastimosa's small ball TNT lineup working wonders so far in the Finals (PBA Images)*
With Justin Chua out with a knee injury, Kelly Williams still sidelined, and the erratic plays of lone big man remaining JP Erram, the Tropang Giga were forced to play a "small ball" lineup which surprisingly worked wonders in the 95-82 win over the Kings. With a relatively smaller lineup that featured Rondae Hollis-Jefferson at the center, Calvin Oftana at the power forward and Glen Khobuntin at the small forward positions, TNT managed to utilize its speed which caught Ginebra flat footed especially on the defensive end. While the lineup was formed out of necessity, Lastimosa said that the small ball play will certainly be an option for TNT heading into the rest of the series. “We’re ready to play with our small lineup with Calvin on the four, Glenn on the three so I think Tim (Cone) said that is the lineup that he has problems with because he will have to extend C-Stan (Christian Standhardinger) to guard our power forward,” explained Lastimosa. “Calvin is a shooter so that takes them away from what they do best. So let's see how it goes but I still have a big lineup to put in,” he added. With the lineup, TNT was able to spread the floor with Hollis-Jefferson serving as the initial point of attack to attract the defense, leaving his shooters like Oftana, RR Pogoy and Mikey Williams with space from beyond the arc. Even Cone pointed out how dangerous that lineup could be as early as Game 1, even comparing it to the NBA champion team Golden State Warriors. The results of Game 2 just further validated that observation. “They're tough to defend. They can spread the court like they do. That's something we're going to have to try to continue to figure out as this series goes along. They've given people problems all conference long with Calvin playing in the 4 position,” commented Cone. As much as effective as that lineup could get, Lastimosa said it would be a gamble to stick to that lineup all-game long, that’s why the return of Kelly and a much composed Erram would still be heavily needed in the series. "For the times that Poy was there in the middle, we didn't leave Rondae by himself to man the middle. He's 6-foot-6 and I know he has a seven-foot wingspan (but) another 6-6, 6-7 guy can help us in the middle and Poy helped us in the times that he wasn't in foul trouble,” explained Lastimosa.