When you think of basketball's greats, you think of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Lebron James, and when you do picture them, colored by nostalgia, it is probably them in isolation, sizing up their opponents and prepared to insist their size, skill, and advantage on an underqualified defender.
It's quite the opposite when you picture Purdue's offense. Something that is stylized by its motion away from the ball, and more lately, lit on fire and driven by Purdue's pick and roll.
That's proably how you picture Braden Smith, quietly dribbling, feeling out his angles as he waits for Zach Edey last year or Trey Kaufman-Renn this year to come up and screen his man.
This is the heart of Purdue's offense. It's the bread and the butter, and Smith's possessions have ended half the time this season in that pick and roll.
But isolations, pure tests of one players skill versus another, are quintessential in judging greatness. Last year, Edey was Purdue's answer late in the clock, when defenses were playing well and the ball had nowhere else to go.
Smith's isolation numbers were miniscule last year. Under 3% of his possessions were isolation, feeding into some of the narratives that Smith was a player dependent on Edey and others around him.
That narrative, though a little quieter, still existed into this season. Then the last few weeks have happened and Smith has catapulted back into the player of the year conversation. While Cooper Flagg and Johni Broome continue having all-time great seasons, Smith's play and numbers are starting to lag not far behind.
Smith, standing at best six feet tall, doesn't look like a guy that can take on all comers. He's crafty, a shooter, more like someone there to make plays for others.
In the last five games Smith is averaging: 20 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 8.4 assists per game.
And Smith isn't just a pick and roll merchant, he's Purdue's go to player when defenses get tough. His isolation possessions have almost quadrupled from last season. He's now isolating on 10% of his possessions, but as simple as man on man might seem, Purdue's isolation offense hasn't just come out of desperation or because the shot clock is dwindling down.
Instead, it's as carefully crafted and orchestrated as every off ball screen and motion set.
