Hornets Pick and Roll Offensive Options

Seems to be a lot of Hornets fans out there as I got requests to show some of their offensive sets, specifically the pick and pop. The Hornets faced a Wade-less Heat team which meant they could pretty much execute whatever they wanted and still win handily.

I've watched the Hornets play earlier in the year, and they ran a lot of stuff out of the high post. But watching them last week and tonight, they seemed to have really settled on the PNR as their primary set. The PNR between CP4 and Chandler is well-documented, but there are a few other options they run out of the same set including pick and pop and pick/drive/drift/kick. Here are a few sequences,



Pick and Pop:

Whenever Chandler is in the game, the Hornets are always looking for Chandler rolling to the basket for an alley-oop as the primary option. But when Chandler is not on the floor, and David West comes to set the screen, they move to the pick and pop option because West is a great midrange shooter,



Pick/Roll/Drag/Kick:

The PNR with CP4 to Chandler works so well that defenses usually get so sucked into helping on either CP4's penetration into the lane or Chandler's threat to go over the top. That allows their great shooters like Peja or Peterson to shoot. In this case, West gets the ball and drives it for the teardrop floater,



Summary:

The whole key to the Hornets offense is Chris Paul. He controls the tempo, when to run, when to pull back. He's the one that starts and sets up his teammates on all the PNR options. When the playoffs come, expect a lot of traps on the PNRs and rotation to get the ball out of his hands and to limit their PNR offense. I think they will actually go with more high-post 2-3 high stuff in the playoffs. But I guess we'll find out soon enough.

For more ideas on the pick and roll and how to execute and defend it, take a look at Jeff Van Gundy's DVD on the pick and roll. Van Gundy goes through all the different reads of the pick and roll. Discuss this and many more of your favorite basketball topics at the X's and O's Basketball Forum.