Sergio Rodríguez: Three Acts to One Season
Last Tuesday, Sergio Rodríguez put an end to his second season in the Spanish ACB, the best domestic league in Europe. It was a tough campaign, both for him and his team Adecco Estudiantes.
Sophomore seasons are rarely easy for youngsters, particularly after a successful rookie debut. The first year kids are virtually unknown, as theres no heavily-followed competition in Europe such as the NCAA to expose them, so everything they show is welcomed and celebrated. Theres little pressure, mistakes are forgiven and success over-hyped. But for the following year, expectations start to play their part: these players are not only expected to repeat achievements, but to improve like most young players usually do. Besides, these kids are better known by their rivals, which leads to added attention from the defensive scouting report, and even the motivation might not be at the same level from what an excited rookie displays playing their first year of high-competition basketball.
The first act of Sergios 2005/06 campaign, the Sophomore Hangover, lasted throughout the first half of the regular season, with a transition period going into the first games of the second half. It was an extension of what had been an awful summer for him, collapsing with Spain in the U-20 European Championships and not being given any chance to play at the Eurobasket with the Senior National Team.
That version of Sergio Rodríguez displayed a hesitant playmaker that no longer looked comfortable on the court, a player with a certain lack of confidence and not enough focus on the game. His shots werent falling, he wasnt succeeding in setting the pace of the game, he was struggling even to create easy baskets for his teammates. Besides, Sergio was overwhelmed by the awful early results of the tea--five consecutive losses to open the season as a direct consequence of missing Carlos Jiménez, one of the centerpieces in the squad--being punished with less playing time by coach Juan Antonio Orenga for the following games.
The first sign of change came near the equator of the regular season. Coach Orenga was replaced by Pedro Martínez, who quickly gave Sergio more minutes on the court. He went from averaging 21 minutes per game in the first half of the season to 26 in the second. The move quickly paid off, as the young playmaker again found the confidence in his game and started looking much more in control of the situation. His shooting touch was still missing in action, but his effectiveness distributing the ball improved dramatically, with his typical inconsistency evolving into an increasing steadiness. Good decisions tended to outnumber bad ones, and even if Sergio kept on taking risks (its the nature of his game), he became more aware of when it was appropriate to pull the trigger and when it was time to play safe. This way, he progressively entered into his second act: Assist Redemption.
In the second half of the regular season, Sergio exactly doubled his assist figures from the first half (6.6 to 3.3), even enjoying an excellent 8.3 average during a nine-game stretch near the end of the campaign. Struggling with his shot, he devoted himself to the pass, being helped by some very productive pick-and-roll chemistry with big man Will McDonald. Defense was another area where he showed improvements, particularly better ability to contain his matchup in one-on-one situations.
Something changed in this dynamic near the end of the regular season. To be more precise, it happened in the second to last game of the season, against Forum Valladolid, where Estudiantes desperately needed a victory in order to advance to the playoffs. Missing Carlos Jiménez (as aforementioned, an offensive centerpiece in the team), Sergio stepped up with a 25-point performance (going 9/16 from the field), and a 4/5 effort from the three-point line in the following (and last) game. Confidence is a basic ingredient for Rodríguezs shooting stroke, and he just found it back. Suddenly, Sergio was nailing off-the-dribble jumpers effortlessly, entering in the third and last act of our saga, The Scoring Epiphany, just in time to face the ACB playoffs.
Only two weeks separate the Sergio who faced Unicaja Málaga in the regular season to the one that has appeared in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs against the very same team. It was just two weeks, and the same rival; it was the same guy, but quite a different player.
The relative soberness that he had showed in the first encounter was replaced by a voracious offensive display. For some stretches, it was like watching that same junior kid that used to dominate the ball and create offense at will, all over again. Sergio was virtually unstoppable whenever he decided to step into the lane, delivering spectacular finishes around the rim, time after time. He consistently knocked down his shots, not hesitating one bit if he had an open look to pull the trigger. The assists kept coming, mostly in the form of pick and roll plays, and passes to teammates on the perimeter-- although in a lower number than previous games due to his increased scoring role. In the three games that Estudiantes lasted in the playoffs, Rodríguez averaged an outstanding 18.7 points and 5.3 assists, with only 1.6 turnovers. Since that aforementioned game against Forum, his averages went up to 19 points (54% from the field, 52% from the three-point line) and 6.2 assists in the 5-game span that closed the season.
The result? Just as impressive for the viewers as inconsistent for his team. Sergio tried to run, to set a high-tempo rhythm to overcome the stability of Unicaja Málaga. It worked for some stretches, but eventually the team collapsed. Sergio abused the ball a bit, forgetting to involve his teammates on offense, and Estudiantes didnt play well as a team. Besides, he delivered a poor defensive effort, particularly in the first game. It seems like, having his scoring power back, he sometimes forgot to do the little things.
Ironically, what might have hurt his team up to a certain degree (its not by coincidence that Unicaja is the top-seeded team in the ACB League), has surely helped his draft stock. Scoring in general, and shooting in particular, had become a serious concern that hes helped to minimize to some extent.
All in all, he has showed that he is an immature, but utterly intriguing player. Of course he needs to get stronger, play better defense, keep improving his shooting, control his turnovers and distribute the ball better (which in this case obviously doesnt equal to getting more assists), meaning that he would likely and significantly struggle next season playing in the NBA. But hes oozing with so much talent that its hard not to overlook his flaws, especially in these days when fast paced basketball seems to be in vogue again in the NBA.
Rodríguez arrived in the States on Monday and had his first private NBA workout on Tuesday with the Chicago Bulls, alongside Alexander Johnson, Maurice Ager, Quincy Douby and Hassan Adams, where he reportedly played very well. His agent Herb Rudoy informed us that Rodríguez will be conducting 5 workouts before the NBA pre-draft camp, with Chicago, Phoenix, Memphis Washington and a team that has yet to be determined.