It was a great day in conference tournament action and the night was capped off with a dominating performance by 11th ranked Stanford over Arizona in the PAC-10 conference tournament.
The Lopez twins have certainly matured in their second year in the NCAA and that maturity has allowed head coach Trent Johnson to move them around as defenses attempt to adjust to their low post presence. Tonight was a perfect example of how to utilize all the skills of your big man and to keep them involved in the offense despite fronting defenses and swarming double-teams. Here are 5 sequences from throughout the game showing the various ways that Stanford moves around both Brook and Robin Lopez to get them open looks,
When you have 2 big forward/centers, there are a lot of things you can do on offense. I like the way Stanford adjusts within the game to keep their primary goal focused on pounding the ball down low. Just because the defense is trying to take away your best offense, doesn't mean you should go away from it, you should counter-attack and beat the defense while still accomplishing your goal.
To start the game, Arizona decided to double the Lopez twins on the dribble. This proved futile as the Lopez twins are fast enough to catch, make a move and score. Here are 4 ways in which Stanford was able to continue to get Lopez the ball despite the changing defenses.
Pick and Roll:
The pick and roll is still one of the most potent offenses to use with a dynamic big man because of the many options out of it. Almost every NBA team uses it for their big men,
Give and Go:
Most people think that the give and go is mostly only for guards, but it can be just as effective for forwards. See the key here is that once you get your big man moving in space, it's very difficult to defend, especially when the defender sags to help in the low-post,
High Post Dive:
In the Hi-Lo offense, your forwards are taught that when the ball is entered in the low post, and you are in the high post, you dive to the low post. That is essentially what happens here, Robin gets the ball and Brook dives to the low post and catches a pass for the easy lay in,
Lob Over Fronting Defense:
This is the simplest strategy. If the defense decides to front, make a well-timed lob pass to Lopez who keeps the ball above his head and catches and shoots, 
Summary:
Tomorrow's game against Washington State is going to be quite a treat. The key for the Cougars will be how they choose to defend the Lopez twins. They play the packline which should give them advantages automatically in helpside defense, but they lack solid shot blockers that can really get up and challenge the Lopez twins. Though, the last 2 times they played this season, the Cardinal won by less than 10 each time. Should be a great game.
For a brand new DVD on skill development, check out Tom Crean's DVD on Dynamic Skill Development Drills. Don't forget to check out the X's and O's Basketball Forum to talk hoops with other coaches.
The Dominating Post Offense of the Lopez Twins
Posted by bruchu Labels: *NCAA, Half-Court Set OffenseOne of the reasons why you want all your players to have well-rounded skills is because as a team you want to be flexible enough to take advantage of the mismatch. Baron Davis of the Golden State Warriors is one such player that can create so many mismatch problems.
Against the Raptors tonight, one of the Warriors offensive strategies was to isolate Baron Davis on TJ Ford. Because Baron has at least 3 inches and 50 pounds on Ford, Davis can post up TJ and score or force the double team. Here are a couple of sequences from he first half with Davis posting up,
Normally, Baron Davis is quick enough to beat his defender off the dribble. But the Raptors TJ Ford is probably as quick if not quicker. Which means, Baron has to use his other skills, namely his size to bully and move TJ. Here he posts him up 1v1 and scores on the turnaround J,
This time around, Baron posts up TJ at the high post drawing the double-team. Baron then finds his teammate wide open underneath the for the layup,
The most dangerous thing about having to double-team a point guard is that the point guard is most likely the best passer on the team and thus has the highest chance of finding the open man on the floor. In fact, Baron finished with 15 assists which is almost double his season average.
Now that the season is over, a video that might come in handy is Kevin Sutton's DVD on 10 Drills For Player Evaluation. Don't forget to check out the X's and O's Basketball Forum to talk hoops with other coaches.
Don't worry this is the last consecutive post on defense. Tonight, I watched a really good game between IUPUI and Oral Roberts for the Summit League Championship. I actually went to a few IUPUI games several years ago when I was working in Indianapolis for an extended period of time.
Anyways, both teams played very hard. It was well played on both sides that went back and forth though ORU held a slight edge most of the way. The biggest difference in the game that I observed came down to defense. IUPUI played a matchup zone almost all game while ORU played a solid M2M. At the end of a close game, I always give the edge to the better M2M team, because they can get out and defend, challenge shots and protect the paint, which is exactly what ORU did. Here are 2 key sequences at the end of the game that essentially sealed the win,
I know IUPUI head coach Ron Hunter thought he got a raw deal on a couple of fouls at the end of the game, but ORU was simply a little better down the stretch, especially in their defense.
Ball-You-Man:
One of those concepts we as coaches talk about all the time for half-court M2M. As a forward/center in helpside, you must be up the line in your flat triangle in the "ball-you-man", which means you see the ball and you see your man. When the penetration or cutter comes, it is your responsibility to step up and help on the ball. 
Help and Rotate:
IUPUI runs a great play here as Hill cuts backdoor and looks like he's going to have an easy layup but ORU steps up with the help from the baseline. Another key here is that the other ORU forward drops down to cover the baseline so that Hill cannot get the dump off pass for the easy layup. Instead Hill tries to kick it out but the ball is intercepted and IUPUI has to foul,
Summary:
ORU is very deserving of getting into the tournament. They don't have any gamebreakers but they play the game the right way. They play hard M2M defense, rebound well, and play disciplined on offense. They remind me a little of Butler which I watched a little of later in the day. They don't wow you with anything they do but they just play very well together.
For a brand new video, check out Bob Huggins' DVD on M2M drills. Coach Huggins' Bearcats teams were always known for their incredible defensive intensity. Don't forget to check out the X's and O's Basketball Forum to talk hoops with other coaches.
I decided to catch the Cavs game against the Blazers today and came away very impressed with their ability to make plays on both sides of the ball. They will be very dangerous in the playoffs and could easily go all the way to the NBA finals again.
I'm still on my defensive theme today and so I took some clips of the Cavs defense. They had a couple of big time stops late in the game to seal the win, but I really like this sequence from the first half. It starts out with great defense and leads to an and1 play on offense. It basically sums up what team defense is all about. Helping each other out,
In an ideal world, in your M2M defense, each of your defenders will be able to cover their man 1v1. But in the real world, we all know that players miss their assignments, allow penetration, etc.. And then there are those great offensive players that can always create their own shot 1v1 against any defense. That is why your players must communicate, see the ball, and help each other out.
Front then double:
The Blazers want to isolate with Brandon Roy every single time because he presents so many matchup problems. Stronger than most guards but quicker that most forwards, he's a matchup nightmare. The Cavs decide to front Brandon and when the lob pass comes, they bring help from the baseline to double and force him to pass,
Help and Rotate:
As mentioned, your M2M will eventually breakdown for a variety of reasons. The important thing though is to have good help defense and rotation. The rotation part is important because when you leave your defender to help, someone needs to drop and cover the man left undefended (1 pass away), like so,
Summary:
I love watching good M2M defense. It shows me that this is a team that has their act together, that all the players are on the same page and they trust one another. A team that plays great man defense always has an edge over say a zone team, because man defensive teams have no real positional flaws.
For a great new video from a great coach, check out Hubie Brown's new DVD on his Defensive Playbook for Success. I'm a huge fan of Hubie Brown, John Calipari once said it was like working with a walking library as his assistant. Don't forget to check out the X's and O's of Basketball Forum to talk about this and your favorite basketball topics.
I'm sticking with the defensive theme today as I've been on a mission to break down good and bad defenses. I watched Detroit play Chicago earlier tonight and the Pistons really had their way with the Bulls all night, and this play I thought kind of summed up the defensive issues of the Bulls,
Helpside 'I':
I happen to disagree with the Comcast commentator who says that Luol Deng needed to drop down for help side. In my opinion, the biggest offender here is Joakim Noah (and I'm not just picking on him because he is a rookie). Joakim is the bottom defender of the helpside 'I' and needs to drop down to that spot so that he can help on penetration, part of the on the line up the line helpside defense. It should look more like this,
There should always be someone on the lowside and highside of the 'I'. You can teach your players to say 1 foot inside the line if that helps them learn it. The shell drill is the best way to teach this concept. So once Billups makes his move, Noah can step up and stop the drive. X5 needs to split the 2 far defenders, closing out on the one who gets the pass if it comes, the other players also must rotate to cover until Noah can recover to his man.
A great video that emphasizes these key M2M defensive concepts is Geno Auriemma's new DVD on his four cornerstones for half-court offense. Don't forget to check out the X's and O's of Basketball Forum to talk about this and your favorite basketball topics.
When you play against teams that have great 3-point shooters, the best way to go really is a M2M defense with switching when appropriate. UNC used it to beat Duke tonight and earlier in the day I watched Alabama upset 16th ranked Vanderbilt tonight because they did a great job of closing out shooters.
The Tide actually played some zone in the first half (which is actually their base defense), but when Vanderbilt hit some of their 3-pointers, Mark Gottfried went back to M2M the rest of the way and never looked back. Here are a few sequences from the first half showing Alabama doing a great job on the deadly Vandy shooters,
M2M Chasing Shooters:
M2M defense really is the best way to defend teams that have great outside shooters. Zone defenses are just too vulnerable to ball reversal and skip passes for open 3-pointers. Here is a great shot showing Alabama chasing those shooters,
Switching on Screens:
Against teams that really shoot the ball well from the outside, your M2M defense needs to switch appropriately and close out the shooters. In this screenshot, Alabama defends the pick and pop by switching and closing out the shooter forcing him to put the ball on the floor instead,
Summary:
As I've mentioned over and over again, basketball is all about the adjustments. Alabama, who likes to play a 1-3-1 trap and 2-3 extended zone had to make adjustments in order to be successful tonight. At 40.7% and 7th in the country, Vanderbilt is a great 3-point shooting team. Mark Gottfried knew coming in that the key to winning the game was to stop Ogilvie down low and closeout Vandy's shooters of which they did both. Consequently, Vandy ended up shooting 7-for-25, just 28%. A great gamemplan and great execution by Alabama.
If you are a fan of Alabama and Mark Gottfried, then you should check out Mark Gottfried's DVD on Practice Planning. Don't forget to check out the X's and O's Basketball Forum to talk hoops with other coaches.
I usually focus on the positives and what good teams and players look like but once in a while you need to show what you shouldn't do, as a teaching guide. I watched some Ivy League action tonight between NCAA bound Cornell against Penn.
The basketball wasn't particularly good but both teams played hard, which is about all you can ask for from your players. In this sequence from the first half, Penn shows you how you don't want to run a 3v1 fast break,
Sometimes, these things seem obvious to you and me, but sometimes for players you need to spell it out for them. So, what went wrong here? Couple of things,
- You must run wide. We always teach our players to go out wide, this increases the angle of attack and increases the space in which the lone defender must cover.
- Make as few dribbles and passes as possible. Everytime you dribble or pass, you waste precious time. You want to make a pass, take 1 dribble while running, force the defender to come out to defend you, then make the return pass (or just take it up yourself).
From this screenshot, this is what the Penn players should've done,
Excessive passing, excessive dribbling, they are all fast break killers. I've always liked the philosophy of 'no wasted motion'. Always move with a purpose, don't waste time on motions (passing, dribbling, running) that don't have a singular purpose.
Your team won't be a good fast break team unless your players practice it. For a brand new video that might be worth a good look check out Joe Mihalich's DVD on Practice Drills for the Fast Break. Joe Mihalich is the head coach at Niagara University. Be sure to head over to the X's and O's Basketball Forum to discuss this and more of your favorite basketball topics.
