COACH SCHUCK’S BLOG
Follow Coach Schuck and his thoughts as he studies the game of basketball on his blog. He will share what he is seeing as he is documenting the game for CoachHemi.com Members.
January 5, 2015-OKC vs. Golden State
I would be stating the obvious to say that the Golden State Warriors are one of the more fun teams to watch in the NBA right now. They are known for putting up a lot of points and playing fast when the ball is in their hands. I feel what makes them the best in the west and possibly in the entire NBA is how they play in the half-court. Their head coach Steve Kerr has done a terrific job at making them more balanced on the offensive end. Here is a set I picked up from them while breaking down their game film from the other night.
Why it worked:[private]
1. I felt they had really good spacing for the entire duration of the possession. This forced the defense to play tight because they did not want any of their shooters to get a wide open shot.
2. The warriors really did a nice job of being patient and getting a shot that they wanted. They did not try and force anything early.
3. As I mentioned in the diagram x5 did a poor job of hedging as Thompson was cutting off his screen. This ultimately resulted in Thompson getting a wide open look at the basket.
Takeaway:
1. Golden State is very balanced on the offensive end. Very rarely do you see them force a shot they do not want to take.
2. Yes we know they are a high scoring team. Part of that is because of how well they run the floor. But I feel the main reason is the quality of the shots they take in the half-court.[/private]
See entire play here: Golden State Horns
December 2, 2014-Portland Trailblazers Vs. Denver Nuggetts
Terry Stotts has always been known for how well he utilizes his post players around the rim. This simple BOB set utilizes the strengths of Robin Lopez around the rim as well as LaMarcus Aldridge’s ability to knock down open jumpers. Not only does this BOB allow that but it also puts the defense in situations where they have to make a decision.
Why it worked:[private]
1. Cutting Damian Lillard to the ball side corner and LaMarcus Aldridge high puts X1 and X4 in a position to have to make a decision. When the pass is made to Aldridge thenLopez begins to seal his defender right at the rim.
2. Aldridge now has the ball. So does X4 sag off and take away the high low option? If you do that you now allow Aldridge to have an open 18ft shot which he makes pretty consistently. If X1 sags off Lillard to take away the high low, then you have Lillard in the corner with an open shot that he makes consistently. Lastly, If X1 and X4 play tight on their men you know have Lopez with his man sealed at the rim for an easy layup.
3. Aldridge is the first person to touch the ball in this BOB. This puts pressure on his man because LaMarcus is a skilled big. He can shoot, pass and attack very well.
Takeaway:
1. There is more to this BOB that meets the eye. Stotts does a good job with this look at utilizing his best scoring options.
2. This forces the defense to pick their poison. Would they rather give up a layup? Or would they rather give up an open look to a good shooter?
3. Coaches must put their players in position to utilize their strengths. This BOB is a great example of a head coach doing just that.[/private]
See the entire play here:
November 25, 2014 – Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz
Coach Thibodeau is considered one of the best coaches in the NBA mainly because of how well he gets his teams to play defense. However, this season his teams offense has been clicking much more noticeably. Here is a great example of this half-court execution with a Sideline Out of Bounds set.
[private]
The baseline double screen serves as a distraction for the opposing defense. Then a quick hand-off at the top of the key allows his point guard to get the ball and feed the post, which comes off of a cross screen.
Why it worked:
1. The shooter on the baseline cut hard which forced x1 & x4 to react towards the sideline.
2. The hard cut by 5 to the top of the key. The back cut by 1 forces x5 to hesitate to be ready to help for a possible back door pass.
3. The little on big screen in the paint. This prevents a switch on the interior and if there is a switch, the Bulls post player will have an obvious advantage.
Takeaway:
1. This play can be ran as a half-court set
2. Run multiple actions that have to be respected by the defense.
[/private]
See the entire play here: Bulls Baseline Double
Aaron Schuck is the Playbook Administrator of CoachHemi.com. He has been involved with the coaching community since 2002 and has worked for some of the best high school coaches in state of Georgia. Follow him on Twitter @CoachSchuck
