Jordan Wolf explodes from the endline to goal-line extended faster than any attackman on Earth. Even the quickest defenders struggle to contain him one-on-one. By that logic, picking for Wolf might seem unnecessary. It’s like giving a bicycle to a cheetah. So why does Chrome LC bring a pick to Wolf at X so often? This is because the pick has little to do with helping Wolf win on-ball, it’s about helping the rest of the team win off-ball.

Wolf actually shot better in isolations (9-for-32, 28.1%) than he did in pick-and-rolls (5-for-23, 21.7%). However, those isolations rarely led to ball movement. That’s not Wolf’s fault; it’s an issue across the league. Assist rate (i.e. the percentage of shots that are assisted) is only 36.7% in isolation. Bringing a pick to the ball boosts that number up to 47.5%. Explained with fewer numbers: Nearly half of all shots created by two-man games are assisted looks.

Pro defenses can help and recover to isolations in their sleep. Sending help to a dodger requires the defense to zone up against a temporary five-on-four away from the ball. The math favors the defense in that scenario. When a defense sends help to a two-man game though, that off-ball zone is stretched into a four-on-three. The math tilts in favor of the offense in these situations.