Film Study: “INDIANA!”
By Joe Keegan
PLL Analyst
Aug 3, 2022
Chaos initiated a league-low 7.0 shots per game from X in 2021. That number had dipped even lower (3.8 per game) thru six games.
But in Dallas, Chaos turned to their invert set – “Indiana” – with Dhane Smith (1G, 6A) running the show.
“We were changing our offense up quite a bit so we’d give them different looks,” said Dhane. “They like to switch on everything. As box lacrosse guys we can take advantage of that.”
Switching is the ‘Woods way of minimizing confusion against the two-man game. They’ll surrender short-stick matchups to avoid advantages gained off the pick-and-roll action.
Dhane made them pay for switching short-sticks onto him. He took those mismatches to X for inverts and dissected the defense. This dunk is a defensive breakdown. Garrett Epple loses Chris Cloutier on the mirror, the #1 no-no against an invert.
Dhane Smith inverts and feeds Chris Cloutier on the mirror.@PLLChaos @dhanesmith92 pic.twitter.com/XR9qAynlD7
— PLL Highlights (@PLLHighlight) August 3, 2022
Dhane is a heads-up dodger. Since the start of 2021, he has dished 71 assist opportunities (5th most in PLL). Teammates have buried a ridiculous 46.5% of Dhane's passes. He throws alley oops.
He wants to be a feeder. But if you don’t send help, he’ll take it himself.
Dhane Smith inverts and scores on an inside roll.@PLLChaos @dhanesmith92 pic.twitter.com/eoyMqFTIK5
— PLL Highlights (@PLLHighlight) August 3, 2022
“We felt like we had good matchups, number one,” said Chaos LC head coach Andy Towers. “Number two, it allows us the opportunity to get a little more depth into our possessions.”
“We felt like the more that we could mix it up in general on them – not just with the invert, but with other things as well – we felt like we could keep things fresh on the offensive end and it felt like that would be harder to play.”
Sometimes Chaos forces passes inside early in the shot clock – leading to transition chances in the opposite direction. By being deliberate with their possessions and taking the ‘Woods rope unit below GLE, they dictated the tempo. We saw this set in the semifinals against Atlas LC for the same reason. It calms the Chaos offense down, and reminds them that they have more time and space than they think.
Dhane Smith inverts and scores on a question mark dodge.@PLLChaos @dhanesmith92 pic.twitter.com/wpHqUIuskS
— PLL Highlights (@PLLHighlight) August 3, 2022
