Ball Screen Defense: Switch And Rotation

Last night we watched a great game between EFES and Real Madrid. A tough one that ended up being decided in the last minutes. 

Let's take a look at some of the last plays of the game. Real looking for options off a middle screen and EFES defending it:

Real played this middle screen three times in the last two minutes of the game (in their last three set offenses) Sergio Rodríguez and Gustavo Ayón running the ball screen and Real's power forward, Nocioni, filling the corner on the left side, with the other two smalls, Carroll and Llull placed one on each side.

EFES defensive rule was clear: they switched between Ayon and Rodriguez's defenders (Lasme and Draper) and made a rotation with one of the weak side defenders when Ayon rolled to the basket. With that rotation, the mismatch after the pick and roll is not so big (it wasn't Draper, but Perperoglou or Osman taking care of Real's big) Perperoglou and Osman, both of them big enough to avoid a big disadvantage in that mismatch, were aggressive and managed to deny the pass to the big man.

Real played three different options after the pick and roll: pass for Llull (and another ball screen), pass for Nocioni (one on one against Perperoglou), and Rodriguez's one on one against Lasme (which finished with a turnover). Only the second one ended up with the white team scoring. That gave them two points in three possessions, which was not enough to win a close game.

Let's watch it:

Playing Against Helps

A quick detail from last game between F.C. Barcelona and Real Madrid, to show how a team can read the defense and adapt to get advantages. 

FCB know how Real will play ball screen defense, helping/bumping from the opposite side against the screener's roll, we saw it here some time ago, and they are using some moves to punish that kind of defense.

One of the sets they use often is the double high screen, in which, as we can see in the video, both bigs are rolling to the basket, so if the opposite side big's defender helps against the roll or the penetration, there will be a good option to receive the pass inside, or, very important, an advantage for the offensive rebound.

If the last defender helps inside, they will punish this help with the pass to the wide open shooter.

Let's take a look:

Spacing. Playing Against Trap

A mismatch situation is often considered a very good option to score. Teams work on the mismatch defense more and more, knowing that it could be the difference between winning or losing a close game. The "inches".

In the F4 semifinal between Maccabi and CSKA we saw how the Israeli team faced a different kind of mismatch, as it wasn't the typical small against big / big against small but instead, an action between two perimeter players, in which one of them has an advantage in the 1x1 situation. 

As we see in the video, Ingles is guarding Weems at the end of the first quarter, and Maccabi's reaction is to send David Blu to trap and force a bad decision from CSKA's player. The Russian team seems to be prepared to attack this kind of defense. They spread the court to give room for that one on one, and once Maccabii's player jumps to the trap, they are ready to punish the defense. Khryapa cuts hard to the basket, attracting Pnini's attention, and the ball goes quick to the corner (although it could have been much faster without Weems' last dribble) where Jackson beats the defender's close out. He has a good option to finish or to kick the pass out for a wide open shot. 

Great team basketball, game preparation and defense reading for a nice action from CSKA.

Let's see the video.

Mismatch Defense - Basic Ideas

Last week I received an e-mail from a coach asking me about mismatch defense (big against small in the perimeter) We exchanged our thoughts (and we are still doing it) and I was willing to find some examples of mismatch situations to show my ideas. And yesterday we saw a nice one involving Vassilis Spanoulis and Nemanja Bjelica. 

There are many different ways to defend a mismatch, and I'm not going to criticize how Fenerbahçe did it last night, you know it is said that "after the battle everyone is a good general" but this one works well to explain myself.

I said my colleague that the first rule I give my players is to force the ball handler to drive to the basket, to put a lot of pressure on the ball. For different reasons:

• Many players are capable to shoot nowadays (at least at the high - elite level) and the risk of that shot to be hit, to me, is big enough to decide I want to avoid it. Plus, the risk is bigger because the players more often involved in these situations are the best offensive players.
• The shotclock is running down. Almost every team end up switching in ball screens with 10"- 8" remaining. The shotclock is on your side.
• The ball handler, once he can't shoot, needs to beat his defender… and then the defense should be ready to help - rotate to stop the penetration (and the shotclock is running down!)
• He has to find an open teammate, and give him a good pass. Will they find a good scoring option? (better than the avoided shot?) Maybe… but maybe not (and the shotclock, you know, is running down)

In the video, Bjelica (huge wingspan) is ready to contest the shot (or he thinks he is) but you will notice how the other four defenders are also focused on Spanoulis. If he tries to drive, he won't be able to finish at the basket, and as you see, when he really starts being aggressive there are nine seconds remaining on the shotclock. 

Let's take a look at the video:

Update: Coach Ali Kamalian told me about this article: mismatch in the NBA, with a different focus. The tendency there (just like in other situations) appears to be to allow the mid range shots instead of "forcing" to drive.

Real Quick: Shot Creation - Kyle Hines

Kyle Hines is becoming a regular around here... Today I want to show you how a big guy can be really good at shot creation. We don't call a PF / C a "playmaker" very often, but CSKA's player is a really good one.

Hines is known for his energetic style on the court. He should be recognized, too, for his game knowledge and space awareness. 

Here you can see how, in the last quarter of the CSKA - F.C. Barcelona game, he rolls after setting a ball screen, to receive the pass and find the wide open teammate. It is said that the "x" marks the spot. And there goes Hines again and again. Even in the second clip when the defender touches the ball and is close to steal it, he keeps calm and delivers the pass for the easy three.

Of course, let's not forget about the great spacing shown by the Russian team, which makes much harder for the defense to stop the offense.

Here is the video:

Defensive Efforts

"Don't tell me you want to play Defense, show me!" Does it sound familiar? 

I believe you can get better at playing defense through the "defensive fundamentals" improvement. Using the right technique, practicing your defensive skills and learning how to read the offense… 

Very often we, coaches, "forget" about this, and use the players lack of desire to justify a bad performance (sometimes it happens, but not as often as we hear or read) It's not 90% will and 10% skills, that's poetic, but not true. In any case, if we want to talk about percentages, let's go with 100% will and 100% practice, in order to play the best defense you can.

This week I saw some nice examples of good defensive efforts, understanding them as will + practice. Here are three of those: two big guys, Ratko Varda from Mega Vizura and Serhiy Lishchuk from Valencia Basket, and one small, Sergi Llull from Real Madrid.

Varda stops a penetration and then, with quick footwork and realizing about his position on the court, slides and gets the position right outside of the semi - circle to force an offensive foul.

Lishchuk jumps to stop the ball defending a pick and roll situation and sprints to recover his man (blocking his shot, with very good timing)

Llull sees how his teammate loses his man and rotates to stop the penetration and the one on one. Slide, sprint, balance.

Let's take a look at the video:

Playing Against Double Team: Weak Side Cut

When switching on ball screen defense, one of the most frequently used moves once the offense finds the big - small mismatch, is to double team. We saw plenty of it last weekend in the game between Obradoiro and F.C. Barcelona. The home team did a great job to stop Barcelona's offense and played hard and smart on both ends of the court to win a tough game.

Today I want to show you one possible way to beat a double team situation. Barcelona is one of the best teams when we talk about strategy and game preparation, and here they find a nice answer to score. 

Side screen, the defenders switch. The offense finds the pass inside. Mismatch.

Help side is ready to double team. "X3" will play "goalkeeper" against the two players on his side. Avoiding easy skip passes, and ready to rotate if the offense swings the ball.

But then, "3" - Papanikolaou, cuts to the rim forcing the defender to follow him or else he can easily receive and finish without opposition. Here comes the ball reversal and the easy shot for Nachbar.

Let's check it on the video:

Real Quick: Big's Fundamentals Self-Pick

One of the secrets for the big players to excel in our sport is to use their body properly. Beyond size or strength (both help, of course) if they learn how to use the contact to their advantage they will be a defender's nightmare.

Let's see real quick how one of Europe's tallest centers use his body to create an easy pass from the outside. 

Boban Marjanovic from Belgrade Red Star, sets a baseline screen for his teammate and immediately goes against his own defender looking for the contact, not allowing him to get the proper defensive position and creating the space for the easy lob pass.

Staggered Screens Defense: Offense Reaction

Staggered screens are one of the most used situations in basketball. Well executed, they will create many options for the offense, specially when there is a good shooter to run them for.

There are different ways to play defense against staggered screens (and single off ball screens too) one of those is switching. We saw some months ago how F.C. Barcelona did it against Jaycee Carroll - Real Madrid.

Today I bring you another example, but we will focus in the offense's reaction. The game is Obradoiro - Manresa in the ACB league, and Manresa (in red) is switching against Obradoiro's shooter Alberto Corbacho.

Offense's reaction is great. This is, in my opinion, one of the best teams at reading the defense all over Europe. We will see a misdirection pass, a baseline screen to focus the defense on ball side, and another quick pass to the opposite side to get an easy bucket right under the rim.

Let's go step by step:

Staggered screens for Corbacho ("2")

"X4" and "X2" switch

Misdirection pass and baseline screen: "5" screens for "4", who is now being guarded by "X2"… "X4" and "X2" switch, which is the right thing to do, understanding that there will be a big mismatch on ball side if they don't switch ("4" vs "X2")

The offense keep working to use the mismatch, "5" seals "X2" and gets the position under the basket, they were looking for this situation, and they use the advantage.

Now let's take a look at the video:

Real Quick: Ball Screen Defense - Help Side Bump

During last sunday's Real Madrid - Laboral Kutxa we saw an interesting defensive move by Real's captain Felipe Reyes.


The situation is a middle screen set by Ili Diop, who rolls quickly towards the basket while his defender, Salah Mejri, and Sergio Rodríguez are focused in the ball handler, Thomas Heurtel.

Reyes, from the weak side, moves quickly to bump Diop, giving both Mejri and Rodríguez time to recover. At the same time, we can see how Jaycee Carroll places himself in a position that allows him to rotate in case there's a skip pass to San Emeterio.

Let's take a quick look:

Big Man Defense

Big men's defense is one interesting topic when we talk about team defense nowadays.

Gran Canaria faced Baskonia last game, and they were ready to play against Lamont Hamilton.

• They managed to force Hamilton to receive with both feet outside of the paint (many times!) so they don't need to help at all.
• Xavi Rey does a good 1 on 1 defensive work.
• They seem to be ready to deny easy drives towards baseline.
• They hedge really well, mostly from ball side which can appear to be counterintuitive, but it is seen more and more often in top level basketball.
• Hedge / help coming from different positions / players (sometimes from the passer, sometimes from the top, sometimes from both… not easy for Hamilton to get used to it)
• They give their players some freedom to make decisions, sometimes they can decide to be even more aggressive and double team (surprise!)
• They have a solution for the middle ball screen problem (when playing "show" with the big guy's defender)

I'm going to show you some details with a short video, but if you want you can watch the full uncut film with all 17 actions clicking on the link at the end of the short one.

Eurobasket - Afrobasket

After having competed and reached the semifinals in the Afrobasket 2013 as assistant coach with Ivory Coast National Team,  and once the Eurobasket is over, I think it could be interesting to take a look at the Champions of these competitions. 

We all know pretty well the French team, and I'll show some details of their offense. But in Europe we often forget how quickly African basketball is growing, they're not "only athletic players" anymore, and the coaching level and their organizations are getting better and better. So I'd like to focus first in the African Champion.

Angola showed solid basketball at both ends of the court. Intensity on defense, rebounding dominance and a great use of their players' skills on offense. 

They have been the best team feeding their bigs in the offensive transition, with Moore, Gomes, Mingas and Ambrosio running the floor well and getting the position early in their offense. Straight passes from the point guards and the wings, and a smooth high / low game between the big guys. The way they used their bodies to get the position inside, allowing an easier pass from high post was excellent. 

Having the best African shooting guard helps, but still you need to find him and give him space to play. They did this with Carlos Morais, running a bunch of sets to get him free, some widely played nowadays in most European top level teams. They executed these plays really well and he did an excellent job all along the tournament.

Morais himself was elected the Afrobasket MVP and might end up signing a contract with the Toronto Raptors to be the first Angolan player in the NBA. He's not only a deadly shooter, but also has a high basketball IQ to read the defense and make the right decision (shot, drive) He can crush the boards to get offensive rebounds and on the defensive end, he showed nice efforts and a good overall activity.

Now, France was supposed to miss some of their stars, but they played as a team, and once again they were led by Tony Parker. 

There are two situations I'd like to show you, the first one is a small variation of the classic high middle screen. France run it following a down screen for the big guy who was setting the screen for Parker. It's interesting to see how the French star manages to go right every single time when using (or rejecting) the pick (according to synergy technology, during the last NBA season, he scored 1'163 points per possession when he drives right from the top, and 0'969 points per possession when he goes left)

The second video shows how France involved weak side players on their offense. When the ball goes inside, or to the high post, there's a player cutting to the basket from the opposite side. They found very good scoring options along the Eurobasket.

Good basketball here, there, everywhere...

Zone Offense: Ball Screens

In game three, Real Madrid had some good moments playing against Barcelona's zone defense.

Ball screens, overload and some pick and pop action, they managed to score seven points which in games like this one, are pretty important.

The main ideas were these:

• Dribbling or hand off entry

• Ball screen (they can give the pass straight to the opposite side instead of using this ball screen when Barcelona deny it) + ball screen.

   

• Overload and pick and pop option, mostly when Mirotic sets the screen (forcing the defenders to rotate) plus right spacing.

Let's watch it:

Action - Reaction ; Off Ball Screens Defense

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction (Newton's Third Law of motion)

In my Final Four Preview post I wrote about the way Barcelona was going to play defense against one of Real Madrid more special players, JC Carroll.

Now, after two games in the Liga Endesa finals, I'll talk again on the topic, as I think both coaches have worked with their teams to anticipate the other.

If you remember, when guarding Carroll, FCB often switch when defending off ball screens. 

These are two basic situations the white team play for him, Barcelona's reaction and Real's counter.

Baseline off ball screens (smalls' cross)

Barcelona's switching action (X2 - X5 - X4)

Real's counter (feeding 5 who is guarded by X2) Nice reaction, looking for the big guy in a clear mismatch situation in low post. 

And Barça is using their low post rotation defense to adjust to that situation. Which Real try to punish with an extra pass.

The second situation is a diamond, with both teams following the same steps.

Barcelona's switching action (X2 - X4 - X5)

Real look for the mismatch...

Defensive rotation... Extra pass...

Let's take a look at the video:

We have two (or three) more games ahead... Both teams know each other, both teams are ready... And I can't wait for the next one...

Fastbreak (III): Run After They Score

Having the "running mentality" is much harder than saying "my team will run the fastbreak". 

Before the season starts, when you're interviewed and asked: "hey coach, how are you going to play?" you like to talk about aggressive defense, fastbreak... Well, that's a start, but then you need to work on it, and you need your players to buy it.

I encouraged my players to try to score during the first 4-6 seconds of the shot clock, even after the other team scored.

We talked about the spacing in the last two posts, here and here, being in the right position to receive the first pass, the use of the fastbreak lanes... but there is one more thing if we really want to run after basket, the catch and pass mentality to give that first pass. It helps if you have players willing to do it, the right attitude here is important. And then, as usual, you need to work on it through drills, repetitions, feedback, rewards...

It's up to you to have the same inbounder every single time when the other team scores or to allow anyone to get the ball and inbound. 

Depending on the skills of your players, you can play with that rule. Sometimes it will be better to know who is responsible to do it, and sometimes it will be faster to have the one who is closer to the basket doing it. Again, it is important to know your players, work with them... and adapt to them.

I have in my mind the right way to catch the ball and pass, but in this case, I'm quite flexible as, frankly, I think it's way more important to do it real quick, to be able to deliver the pass, than to use the exact technique. 

It's a changing situation (different passing angles, the receiver can be in different positions, there might be defenders in front of the passer...) so if the player feels more comfortable doing in a different way, I am fine with it. Once they have the right mentality for the catch and pass, we will work on it to make it still more effective, but I won't "cut their wings" because of which foot goes first or whatever detail I can think of.

Once the first pass is given... push the ball. Sometimes it will be a coast to coast play, sometimes there will be a second pass to give... Push it.

Fastbreak (II): Big Men Running

Another thing I wanted, having in mind the kind of big players we had last season (not too big, not big presence inside) was to make our disadvantage in size become one of our strengths through their ability to run faster than the other teams' bigs.

Not only we had to change our minds looking for many efforts (and understanding that sometimes those efforts would be unrewarded) but also make specific work with them on keeping the right spacing, and finishing the fastbreak avoiding to travel or turn the ball over (individual work was of paramount importance, we did it often before practice or in specific sessions) 

We were able to link this work with the ideas we talked about in the last post (basically, the use of the lateral lane) to create the space for our bigs to run.

We gave our big men three easy rules to follow:

- Wait until we get the rebound.

- Once we get it, run. Middle lane, straight to the basket (not to mid post - low post area, go straight to the hole) Do not ask for the ball until you're in a "finishing area". 

- If you receive it, finish. If not, go to ball side low post and then you will try to receive with your back to the basket.

Our smalls had to understand the different skills of our bigs, mostly to know what kind of pass they wanted to give to each one of them (some of them needed the lob pass, some of them were able to catch bounce passes...) Again, we put work in practice and video sessions so it would be easy for them to decide.

Over all, what's most important to me is to create the habit of running in the big men, and in the small guys, of giving them the ball whenever they're in a good position. Through practice, feedback, and letting them see the reward they get (easy buckets) they get used to run almost every time.

Fastbreak (I): Using The Side Lane

Last season I worked quite often fastbreak rules in my team. The truth is our players were not used to keep very good spacing or the right order when running the break and I thought we needed to improve that aspect of our game.

I'll show you in the next series of posts some of the rules we followed, I think we ended up being quite a good team if we talk about how to run the fastbreak. 

Let's start with the use of the side lanes. Even if it's not forbidden for my players to use the middle of the court, I really think that running the fastbreak with the ball close to the sideline is a good idea, being the main reason that the defensive balance tends to place a lot of players in the mentioned area.

I worked a lot in the first pass after rebounding. I like this pass to go to the free throw line extended area:

And also in the spacing of the players who run in front of the ball. The bigger the space to cover by the defense, the better for our options to score. This was one of the most difficult things for my players to learn, and we really had to put a lot of work on it. Finally, as I said, they get used to run as close to the line as posible.

Let's take a look at one example. First pass, run near the sideline... and of course, unselfishness to give the second pass, strong quick passing and aggressive finish towards the basket. Notice how the defenders colapse the central area and how we manage to "beat the crowd" by following our simple fastbreak rules: