How Archers’ offense is built to beat suffocating Chaos defense
By Zach Carey | Sep 6, 2024
In 2020, 2021 and 2022, the Chaos eliminated the Archers from the postseason.
Carolina’s historically sound on-ball defense stumped Utah on the big stage for three consecutive years with goalie Blaze Riorden shutting the door on the Archers. The Chaos were the nut the Archers simply couldn’t crack.
In 2023, Utah got over the hump to win its first title. But Carolina was the lone club the Archers did not beat that season after the Redwoods toppled the Chaos in the quarterfinals and ruined a potential fourth postseason battle between the two squads in four years.
After Carolina and Utah split their two regular-season meetings this summer, they’ll face off in the Cash App Playoffs for a league-record fourth time.
“It’s been a good rivalry,” Archers head coach Chris Bates said. “They’re well-coached. They game plan well. They’re, historically, defensively just very solid and have one of the best players in the world between the pipes.”
The Chaos held the Boston Cannons’ loaded offense to a mere four points in the quarterfinals. Whether the Archers can solve the puzzle that is the Chaos defense should determine which club represents the Western Conference in the Cash App Championship.
Fortunately for Utah, unlike previous years, the 2024 Archers have a depth of threats who can create offense for themselves and punish Carolina for shorting them.
Whether it be Grant Ament’s newly developed ability to shake and bake from up top, an unlocked Connor Fields on the lefty wing, Matt Moore’s physical presence carrying up from goal line extended or Mac O’Keefe’s field-stretching step-down and off-ball mastery, Utah has a lot going for it on offense.
That big four of offensive threats can each win matchups either with the ball in their stick or without it. Plus, Utah also has Tre Leclaire, who scored a career-high 23 points (21G, 2T) in the regular season, cagey veteran and quintessential glue guy Ryan Ambler, and rookie Jack VanOverbeke – who scored six points in his first two professional games, including an overtime game-winner.
The Archers unquestionably have the talent. But can they overcome Carolina’s elite poles and the bespoke game plans that the Chaos throw at them?
“I think you have to pick your poison,” Bates said. “Those guys are very talented. So you have to make adjustments. In years past, when Grant was [at attack], Jack [Rowlett] typically has had success against him in the past. We don't want to beat our head against a wall against matchups that aren’t in our favor.”
Instead of trying to purely win individual matchups against Carolina’s defense, which is notably slow to slide, the Archers like to play a game of find the shorty.
Carolina tends to double-pole the Utah midfield to disrupt the Archers’ initiation from up top and to force different guys to beat them. For the past two seasons, they’ve typically shorted O’Keefe like they had shorted Will Manny or Marcus Holman in years past. O’Keefe – who’s one of the best shooters in the world – is not the same one-on-one dodger that Fields, Ament and Moore are. So guarding him with a short stick ensures Utah is less likely to win one-on-one.
In response, the Archers have spammed the Fields-O’Keefe two-man game, particularly on the lefty wing. It’s a heck of a dynamic duo between the dominant dodger in Fields and the elite stretch shooter in O’Keefe. With O’Keefe guarded by a short stick, it’s an action that Utah can score off consistently.
O’Keefe is a savvy picker, and Fields knows how to set up his defender – typically Jarrod Neumann against the Chaos – to be disrupted by O’Keefe’s picks. When O’Keefe’s defender, Patrick Resch, goes to help, he’s conflicted with also being responsible for staying on No. 7’s hands lest he get a 10-yard step-down shot off the roll.
Respecting O’Keefe too much off-ball means Fields will capitalize. Play off O’Keefe – like Carolina does here – and he’ll make them pay.
“We gotta get Mac shooting like Mac shoots,” Bates said. “When he’s hot, it’s unbelievable. Against a short stick, we feel like we can get his hands free that much more.”
What the club won’t have is three-time MVP Tom Schreiber leading the charge at midfield. That bumps the pole down a guy and means Utah will continue to need its depth players to come up big.
“Everybody’s got to notch it up,” Bates added. “You don't just replace [Tom].”
Schreiber’s absence means Ament is all but guaranteed to get a pole. And, if the Chaos continue to choose to short O’Keefe, the pole bumping up to the midfield would presumably guard Leclaire.
“But who knows,” Bates said. “It’s playoff time, so you’ve got to be ready for the unexpected.”
If Carolina moves away from shorting O’Keefe and plays straight up, that means Leclaire will benefit. The Buckeye is a beast who can put his shoulder into a defender – including a pole – and score through contact.
But, where he’d presumably be most dangerous if the Chaos give him a short-stick matchup is off-ball. Like O’Keefe, Leclaire has a howitzer of a shot. Throw in his hefty frame and he’s a perfect pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop threat.
When Moore went down in these two clubs’ second matchup of 2024, the Chaos switched to shorting Leclaire when he subbed in at attack. But Utah made them pay with a similar action to the Fields-O’Keefe two-man game, just on the righty side.
Bottom line, wherever the Chaos leave a short stick between O’Keefe and Leclaire is where the Archers will attack.
Of course, beating Carolina six-on-six is one thing. Beating Riorden in the cage is another. Like the Archers are prepared for whatever junk the Chaos defense throws at them, they also have a plan in place for what it will take to score on the best goalie in the world.
“It’s a volume of shots, and it’s higher-percentage shots,” Bates said. “You have a healthy respect that things that go against other goalies might not go against him. Blaze is smart enough to read through a scouting report really quickly. We can’t overthink it, we’ve got to get good shots to good locations and get a high volume.”
A hot Riorden in the Cash App Playoffs is a terrifying proposition for any offense. With guys like Rowlett, Neumann, Will Bowen and Troy Reh in front of him, scoring on this Carolina defense is a suffocating challenge.
But the Archers have the diverse personnel and the multiple offensive scheme to pose a real threat to Carolina’s fortified defensive front. Can an immovable object be beaten by a tactically driven, acute force?
Find out Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
