Larry Bird and Dennis Johnson developed a special chemistry on the floppy/pin down action during their time with the Boston Celtics. Using a pin down is as much about the fundamentals of cutting, passion and shooting as it is reading the defense and reacting to their moves. When opponents would overplay his use of the screen, Bird would cut backdoor for the layup. Note how Bird pushes off his own teammates Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish and takes his man into a bunch of traffic to create space for himself. Johnson throws a variety of passes off the bounce, one …
Spain Early Offense
When coaches design actions that involve everyone on the court and allow them to play, there is the potential for a very dynamic offense. By developing the skills utilized by the sets and teaching players how to read the defense, teams can generate many effective options out of the same play. Out of transition, Spain gets everyone moving and puts the defense on its heels. Sergio Llull brings the ball up the court, passes to Pau Ribas and cuts of Nikola Mirotić as he fills the corner. Ribas reverses through the trail Pau Gasol and uses a back screen from …
Follow Your Shot
“Don’t get caught watching the paint dry.” Wilbur “Shooter” Flatch A screen and roll play continues after the shot is released. The defense must still secure the ball and the offense still has some high percentage scoring opportunities on the offensive glass. Defense: Cory Joseph goes over the screen so Facundo Campazzo cuts back and uses Luis Scola as a rescreen. Anthony Bennett stunts to stop the drive and Campazzo must pass the ball. Scola pops and Kelly Olynyk, who was playing under the screen closes out the shot but does not make contact on the box out. After the …
Reduce Mental Errors
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Josh Donaldson hits a fly ball to Anthony Gose in right-centre field. Gose catches the ball but fogets the number of outs and does not throw the ball back to the infield promptly. Ryan Goins tags and scores from second base. The mental error provided the Blue Jays with an extra run and demonstrated how players, teammates and coaches can work together to stay focused. Players: Goins knows that he will tag up on a fly ball and notices correctly that the ball will not go over Gose’s head so he returns to …
Duke’s First Practice
Mike Krzyzewski talks about building a team culture with the 2014-15 Duke Blue Devils. Concerns for the coach included developing leadership on the court, planning and periodization with only ten scholarship players (which later became eight) and creating a team identity after a summer spent training in smaller groups. The team is seen working on fundamentals – such as a variety of passes and footwork – and defense, two excellent building blocks for any team. Even on the first day, the team is shown getting after it on double teams in the post and downing and hedging screens. Read and …
Duke’s Summer Workouts
Duke won a National Championship and made three first round drafts picks during their offseason work. Basketball players need to train in order to push themselves to the next level. The Blue Devils developed: strength in the weight room explosiveness using plyometrics agility and footwork on the court foot and ankle stability on the beach toughness on the stadium stairs core strength by doing functional movements togetherness by working out as a team
Raptors Execute Details
Raptors Execute Many Little Things to Create Game-Winning Shot Down 1 vs. Orlando, Toronto ran an interesting SLOB to create a drive and kick situation. Lou Williams finally made a corner 3 because the team understood the details. First of all, the best time to shoot a three is when you don’t need one. The defense is more concerned about stopping penetration towards the rim than sticking to a shooter or running them off the ball. Greivis Vasquez inbounded the ball, Lou Williams started on the strong-side elbow opposite Patrick Patterson and DeMar DeRozan was on the weak-side wing. Kyle …
Poor Late Game Execution
The New York Knicks passed up one shot after another (for worse shots), failed to manage the clock and lost the game. They may have run a perfect drive and kick drill for a practice session but game situations demand that a team know what shot they want to take, what they can settle for and what they can’t do (jack threes and commit loose ball fouls). During many critical plays, the Knicks fail to get a great scoring chance (such as a Carmelo Anthony drive or post up or an open look). And sometimes, there’s a reason that they’re …
High Ball Screen into Flare Screen
Down a point, the Celtics draw up a play involving their big three with multiple options (iso for Pierce, high post jumper for Garnett and three-point shot for Allen). By keeping every player moving, Boston does not allow New York to pack the paint. Kevin Garnett frees Paul Pierce with a pindown. Ray Allen inbounds to Pierce and sets a Guard-to-Guard screen for the ball. Garnett then sets a flare screen to create an open shot for Allen. Rajon Rondo and Glen Davis space the floor along the baseline. Garnett whiffs on his screen on Toney Douglas but the defender …
Don’t Stop the Ball
Chris Bosh shot-fakes repeatedly instead of attacking the hoop or moving the ball. As the twenty-four second clock is about to expire, Bosh moves the ball to Joey Graham in the corner (who is hardly a threat to shoot from that area). Passing off this late in the shot clock is not a good decision and it puts teammates under a lot of pressure. It’s selfish because one is avoiding a turnover or missed shot and giving it to a teammate who must rush instead. However, this time, Graham takes the ball strong and finishes at the rim, and Raptors …
Running the Same Side Out Twice
Running the Same Side Out Twice: At the end of the game, running the same play or a similar play from the same look offers some advantages. During the first play, Al Horford sets a pindown screen for Kyle Korver and slips the screen, receiving a pass from Josh Smith and finishing with a dunk. Larry Drew tried to recapture lightning in a model and expose Dwight Howard – who was caught in no man’s land – by slipping another pindown for Korver, who is an excellent shooter in this sideline out of bounds play. The second time, Smith receives …
Weak Side Duck-In
In the 2002 Euroleague Championship Game, Dejan Bodiroga backs down his defender in the post and pivots to the middle. A quick ball fake gets the help defender in the air so Bodiroga dishes to Lazaros Papadopoulos for the dunk. Often, players crowd the post player with the ball, bringing an extra defender into the paint. Papadopoulos keeps his distance and waits until the defender shifts before ducking in to receive the ball.
Youth Basketball Comparison
It seems that clips of North American basketball players when they were young shows some sort of fast break that uses athleticism and ends in a dunk (Chris Webber from the Fab Five Documentary) but International players tend to make decisions and set up their teammates (Rudy Fernández from Raising an Olympian). Obviously, Webber experienced a higher scoring and more lucrative career than Fernández but from countries other than the U.S., we should be trying to produce players who had careers like Fernández because it is a more likely outcome than a first overall N.B.A. pick so shouldn’t our process …