u/ODSOTR

I was looking at clips from from the play by play of last game when a series of offensive possessions caught my eye.

Soni's bringing the ball up with JY0 guarding her. Betts is moving up as if to set a high ball screen, but before she even gets close, Soni picks up the pace and blows past Jackie. She meets A'ja at the rim, then spins around and nails a fadeaway jumper.

The small hesi after getting past JY0 isn't too relevant to how this play pans out, but it's a good sign of Sonia's growing poise as a ball handler.

The next trip down the court, Soni takes a hard dribble before the screen again, which baits a big reaction out of JY0. But Soni's just probing . . . until she isn't.

Establishing the threat of the pull up 10 footer is a good investment.

JY0's clearly got tired legs, so Jewell picks up Soni on the next possession. Jewell does a good job turning her hips and keeping up when Soni starts to go around the logo, so Soni calmly changes directions into a Kiki screen. Another brief hesitation before a hard dribble into the paint, but A'ja is in her space this time. No problem: she floats a pass over the top to Kiki which draws a foul.

Notice that Sonia seems very aware of A'ja's length when making this pass.

Soni caps off this four possession stretch of offense with a pick 6.

The defensive play isn't too related to the rest of this post, but it's good to remember that she does this too.

In this short series of possessions, Soni's offensive growth is on full display. She's doesn't have a ball-on-a-string dribble or a superhuman first step, but a tight enough handle and quick enough burst coupled with mature beyond her years pace control let her create advantages in the pick and roll.

You can see her basketball IQ really shine in these possessions. A good take gets a good defender to adapt, but Soni is already trying to bait the adaptation on the next take. A pull up jumper punishes a hesitant A'ja, so Sonia is looking to float a pass over when A'ja respects the midrange on the next trip down the court.

All of this combined with her growing finishing ability in the 3-10 ft area has convinced me: it's time to hand Soni the keys to the offense.

Playing with pace

Soni's ability to create advantages in the pick and roll is based on her excellent pace control. It's a breath of fresh air to watch a cool, calm, and collected Soni manipulate the defense with hesitation and deceleration when our other ball handlers are constantly rushing their pace or are permanently set to go at full speed.

Watch how Soni turns on the jets while behind Betts to get Jewell moving, then hesitates, then accelerates to the rim, only to decelerate for the open layup finish as Jewell flies by.

Who cares if Betts barely sets screens if you can play like this around her.

Apparently Reddit caps videos to 5 per post, so here's a link to part two on my profile.