The United States S.M.N.T. won their second consecutive F.I.B.A. World Cup, behind Kyrie Irving’s adroit ballhandling, tremendous outside shooting, intense ball pressure and countless dunks by Anthony Davis and Kenneth Faried. Pundits may have expected the U.S.A. to struggle against Spain in the final but like 2010, Spain was upset earlier and a young American squad captured the title. The team struggled at the beginning of the final defensively but DeMarcus Cousins helped recapture the paint and Irving began penetrating the Serbian zone and getting to the rim or finding open shooters. What may have been an upset actually showed how Mike Krzyzewski and his team mastered some of the critical trends in international basketball better than the competition.
Dynamic Screen and Rolls
It’s no longer sufficient to set a single screen, turn the corner and expect to beat the defense. Defenders are quick and agile and their teammates are more involved in the screen and roll deefnse. The ballhandler must be able to adeptly change direction if one way is closed and the screener must read the play, rescreening if necessary rather than immediately rolling to the paint.
From the start of the tournament until the end, Irving was reading multiple defenders at once, crossing over, retreating and hesitating until he could find an opening.
This was effective in transition because the defense was already off balance but it also worked against halfcourt defenses because the weak-side players did not know who should help. Against Serbia’s zone, Irving used multiple Cousins screens to get inside and the defensive chaos enabled Kenneth Faried to crash the glass and tip in the miss.
Outside Shooting
Many times, players found that their man backed off and the paint was closed by other defenders. The expected value of a three-point shot throughout the tournament was 1.03 points, compared to 0.99 for a two-point attempt. There certainly was some precise ball movement that led to open threes but guards needed to be prepared to shoot from beyond the arc if the defense gave too much of a cushion. Driving against a physical defense – zone or man-to-man – is challenging and players took advantage if they felt that they were given an easy shot, most notably Emir Preldžić’s game-winning shot against Australia.
Offensive Sets for Everyone on the Court
A screen and roll is not a two-person activity. Often, there is another defender preventing the drive or tagging the screener as the roll through the paint so a ball screen is only the beginning of an offensive play. Teams must maintain clear passing lanes and form triangles for quick and easy passes in order to find the open man. Sometimes, it was the other big who was open on a weak-side duck-in: Lithuania’s Paulius Jankūnas screened but it was Jonas Valančiūnas who was open after the defense shifted.
Other times, the ball might need to go from one side to another: after the ball screen attacks the defense, France gets an open lay-up by passing from one-side of the key to another. A characteristic of many screen and roll plays against pressure was that if the ball had to move to a guard (instead of directly to the screener), the play did not stop but merely the passing angles changed.
If a help defender turns their back or becomes caught up in the screen and roll, any offensive player should take initiative and flash to the ball or duck-in immediately.
Diverse Looks
Teams must space the floor and run their sets from whatever the defense gives them, even if it is not ideal. Serbia segued into the high screen from a D.H.O. so that Miloš Teodosić could get the ball on the move and escape two defenders with his dribble. When there is exemplary spacing, indecisive defenders are picked apart by precise passing.
Turkey engaged the defense with a loop play before setting the high screen and attacking the basket. As a result of this movement, Kerem Tunçeri found enough space to navigate a path to the rim.
Each game was so significant and every match-up heavily scouted so teams had to deploy their entire playbook. Fans were able to see even more “Horns” wrinkles. Teams can never become stagnant nor predictable or their opponents will shut them down and defend all high percentage shots.
Fundamental Skills
Even elite players are using moves such as cross-steps, ball-fakes and pocket passes. Those who were most precise with their movements benefitted from increased offensive efficiency. Steph Curry demonstrates that the basics – skills that can be found in any training session or practice – still apply at the elite levels of the sport:
France was praised for adopting some offensive principles from the San Antonio Spurs. Pivoting, skip passes and attacking the defense twice with drives keep Croatia off-balance and result in an open three:
Size and Skill
International bigs need to be able to play. They are often a pressure release against zones in the high post or given the ball at the top of the key and asked on make decisions. Don’t exclude forwards from skill drills such as pocket passes because as Nenê demonstrates, they may need to use them in a game:
Luis Scola was the leading scorer during the 2010 event and like the rest of the Argentina team, he is a little older and less athletic today. The Argentina S.M.N.T. experienced such an awesome run, winning the 2004 Olympic Gold Medal because they had completed mastered the basics and possessed great chemistry. Their window is now closed but they can always utilize their skill and experience to make occasional great plays, like this one-handed skip pass:
Other posts, such as Tiago Splitter and Jonas Valančiūnas made use of the World Cup spotlight to demonstrate how they have improved and audition for larger roles in the upcoming season.
Lessons for the Youth Coach
Obviously, a high school or club coach is not coaching Kenneth Faried so constantly throwing alley-oops or relying upon spectacular rim protection is not a practical strategy. But some of the little things, such as including all players in skill development and offensive sets and ensuring that everyone masters the basics will eliminate stereo teaching and enable players to succeed at any level. If teams in the F.I.B.A. can do it, a youth team can travel a little less and train a little more so that everyone on the team improves and pushes each other to get better.