Having a Guard-Heavy Line-up: The Benefits for Magnolia

In one of the previous episodes of Bull By the Horn by Benny Benitez, former national team Coach Jong Uichico said that he expects a lot of teams to play more small ball once the PBA bubble gets going. A week and a half into the all-Filipino conference, one team has already emerged as the team that is employing the small ball: the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok.

If we are to look at the line-up of the Hotshots for the 2020 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup in Clark, one thing is noticeable: this team has tons of guards. They have the dynamic duo of Paul Lee and Mark Barroca. They also have Jio Jalalon, Chris Banchero and Justin Melton. More importantly, Magnolia Head Coach Chito Victolero used to be a point guard during his playing days. And if he didn't retire prior to the start of the PBA bubble, PJ Simon would have been the sixth guard in Victolero's line-up.

While the Hotshots are nowhere near being in top shape like everyone else inside the bubble as Magnolia holds a 1-3 record after a 109-104 loss to the Meralco Bolts on Tuesday, they are still a force to be reckoned with. On Tuesday, Lee, Banchero, Barroca, Jalalon, and Melton combined for 81 points and six steals with Lee finishing with 32 points, And the fact that they almost beat the Bolts without Ian Sangalang and Rome Dela Rosa says something about how dangerous Magnolia is with a three-guard five on the floor.

Having a guard-heavy roster has allowed Magnolia to employ a quicker full-court press off a made basket by the opponents which leads to possible turnovers. We've seen it in their game against the NLEX Road Warriors where Magnolia came back from a 22-point hole. That full-court press that coupled with the three-guard lineup enabled the Hotshots to slowly chip away in the second half highlighted by Paul Lee's four-point play. In that game against NLEX, Magnolia had 14 steals with 12 coming from Lee, Melton, Barroca, and Jalalon. Jalalon is currently the league's second-best in steals per game, norming 2.5 steals a night.

Lee is averaging 20 points in their first four games while Barroca and Jalalon are norming 13 and 12 points a contest. Banchero holds an 11-point per game average while Melton is shooting 33% from the three-point line and is averaging a steal per game. 

If anything, being able to play small ball is what makes Magnolia a dangerous team to face on any given night not just because Paul Lee can score at will. It's because Paul Lee is being backed by other two-way guards who can disrupt any team's offense in a snap. 

Photo is from ESPN