In this holiday edition post, I came across this clip in the Sportscenter highlights tonight. The Magic just got blown out at home no less, a 19-point beatdown at the hands of the Utah Jazz. Stan Van Gundy, obviously frustrated at his team, let it all hang out. Here is the clip,
This is part of the transcript as well,
"We're absolutely frightened of contact -- frightened. We won't put our body in front of anybody driving the ball to the basket. We don't screen anybody, we won't block anybody out. It's a soft team, and until they change the results won't change."
The Magic were one of the best teams heading into December, and now have lost 7 of their last 9, including 4 straight at home.
I think it's a good move by Stan Van Gundy to call out the toughness and motivation of the team. I usually don't think these kind of public dress-downs work and I've seen them backfire in the past, but in this case I think the situation warrants it. The talent is certainly there, the Magic just aren't playing good team defense right now, and it shows.
Hopefully all of you are settled in and will be enjoying the holidays with family and friends. I just want to take this opportunity to thank all of the readers and posters on the forum. I hope that you all have learned as much as I have in the short time that I've been posting here and on the forum. Lets hope that next year will be as good as this year and that all of our coaching wishes come true in 2008.
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I watched a little bit of the women's college basketball game last night between UTSA and Virginia Tech played at Tulane. I watched for a bit when I did notice that UTSA was essentially using the dribble drive motion offense. They got clobbered in this game and VT won easily but I did look up UTSA a little bit and they've been pretty good so far this season. There were 6-2 heading into the game, and they start 2 freshmen. Their lineup is pretty small and they use the press a lot on defense. They also push the ball a lot after rebounds and makes. I only had a chance to take a few clips but they show the dribble drive well in a different situation other than Memphis. Watch the video and read my thoughts below,
Drive, Kick, Clearout:
The court is spread in a 4-out 1-in set. Here, UTSA likes to have their forward play closer to the sideline to create even more space in the lane to drive. The key point here, is that once you drive and kick the ball out, you must clear out to either corner and fill, the corner player should move up and fill the vacated spot. The first one doesn't go really anywhere so O3 just hands it off to O1 and clears out to the opposite corner. O2 moves up to fill the vacated spot at the top of the key. O1 attacks the middle and kicks it out to O4, O1 clears out to the corner. O4 attacks the middle again and this time draws the foul.
Use Handoffs:
The handoff is a good play to use because it uses a screen as well as rapid change of direction. Here, O1 dribbles hard at O2 and then handsoff the ball. O2 then curls around and attacks the hoop for the score. The only thing I don't like about the way this play is executed by UTSA is that O1 doesn't really set a screen. She kind of just gets out of the way quickly. In my opinion, right after you hand the ball off, you want to set a screen and hold the defender, make them really work. Here, the defender, X2 is basically stride for stride with O2 and O2 just makes a good drive and layup. It would be more effective if O1 set a good screen on X2.
The UTSA Roadrunners were beaten badly mainly because Virginia Tech broke their press scoring a bunch of easy baskets and also they got outrebounded badly due to a big size mismatch. They are a young team and with more experience running this offense, they will no doubt improve.
For a relatively new video on perimeter play improvement, take a look at Jason Shay's DVD on 33 Perimeter drills. Coach Shay's is an assistant with the University of Tennessee men's team. Don't forget to check out the X's and O's of Basketball Forum to talk about this and your favorite basketball topics.
It was a long day for me today as we wind down for the Christmas break and so I didn't get to watch a lot of action tonight. I caught the end of the half of the Cavs game against the Lakers and the Cavs ran this 1-4 spread isolation play that I thought would be good to show. With the attention that Duke is getting with their spread offense, and the dribble drive stuff that Memphis uses to go along with NBA teams like the Suns and Warriors, these kinds of iso plays are certainly showing up in more and more playbooks that's for sure. Though it would seem that there is a lot of standing around by the off-ball players, I like the offense because it spreads the defense and allows great penetrating players like a Lebron to attack the gaps. In fact, Lamar Odom talked about it in his half-time interview with Cheryl Miller about getting spread out and then LeBron attacking the net, he said they needed to adjust by packing it in and forcing LeBron to be a jump shooter. Watch the video and read my thoughts below,
1-4 Low, Spread PNR:
It's a 1-4 low set to start. This automatically means that the defenders must be aware of their checks below them. The 1-4 low set is a great set to use in 1-on-1 situations because it forces the defense to spread low. You can bring a forward to come and ball-screen and then your primary scorer can attack the basket. Because the other offensive players are playing low, it makes it very easy for the driver to find the open man underneath when the defense helps, which they always do. I thought the Lakers tried to defend it as best they could. You have to come help because it's LeBron, if you don't he dunks it on you. We played a team last year with a kid that averaged 30+ ppg, they ran a lot of wing iso's and it was similar, if you didn't help, he would dunk it on you.
By spreading the defense, you will create large gaps where your great slashing guards or forwards can attack. By attacking the gaps, you create open shots or layups underneath. In this modern age of basketball where every little touch is called a foul, dribble penetration is king. The key though, is that you have to have quick guards that can drive and attack the rim, and shooters that can hit outside shots.
For some info on your players can improve their 1-on-1 perimeter skills, check out Phil Martelli's DVD on becoming a better 1-on-1 player. It has a lot of great drills you can use to help develop those slashing skills that these offenses require. To discuss this and other basketball coaching topics, head over to the X's and O's of Basketball Forum.
Having missed the Memphis vs Cincinnati game earlier in the day while our freshman team played, I was eager to catch the west coast game, Arizona vs UNLV. I knew that since Kevin O'Neill had taken over for Lute Olson that the defense would be different, but the offense was drastically different as well, a lot more Pro-style and the high-post motion was virtually non-existent.
UNLV played extremely well early, but struggled mightily with about 5 minutes to go. I made a short highlight clip here to show, how well the Running Rebels had been playing, especially executing their offense, and then how the offense had stalled in the final fateful 2 minutes when the game turned on them. I would be interested to hear Coach Lon Kruger's take, I think that fatigue had something to do with it, but still, players must be able to execute properly down the stretch. Watch the video and then you can read my thoughts below.
Flex Action:
The Rebels ran some really great stuff early on. Considering that they had quite the size disadvantage, I thought their flex and backdoor plays worked extremely well. Here is the second sequence from the clip. Off of the first set of screens and cuts, O1 is actually open here but the pass is not made, which is fine. O4 is the second cutter who is less open but is a good second option. O1 comes off a double stagger and receives the pass from O3 on the wing. At this point, if O1 has a shot, he can take it. O4 pops out after the screen to the wing. O1 chooses to pass to O4. At the same time, O5 sets a flex baseline screen for O1 who comes off the screen along the baseline up around O4 who hands off to O2 for the 3-pointer. What makes the play great is that X2 gets caught off the flex screen, goes over the top, then tries to trail O2 and of course is way late to contest the shot.
Bad Offense:
Nothing to diagram here. I don't know if the Rebels were just tired, but obviously, you don't see any movement off-ball. The ball basically goes nowhere, dribbles a few steps one way, then passed. They use up the whole clock and though they actually get a decent shot down low, it doesn't go anywhere. They get lucky and get the ball back, and the next sequence is pretty much the same. In fact, the Rebels would not score a field goal in the final 3 minutes.
Nothing worse to me than offense where 1 guy has the ball, makes a couple of dribbles, while the other 4 players are just standing. Arizona was playing pretty good defense here, but it's easy to look like a good defensive team when the offense is just standing there.
For me, UNLV just lost their purpose on offense. They didn't know what exactly they were trying to do. Were they going to drive and kick, backdoor cuts, get the ball into the post? Their offense had no purpose. That's what hurt them in the end of the game. This kind of loss hurts, because UNLV deserved to win, but didn't.
I only caught the first quarter or so of this game between the Suns and Mavs. As expected, it had the feel of a playoff type game similar to the Celtics/Pistons game earlier. When the games actually mean something, the NBA can be very good to watch from a basketball perspective. Players actually playing hard defense and good execution on offense. I see a lot of plays like this one, where Dirk Nowitzki comes off of a downscreen (either on the block or in this case elbow) and curls around and gets the ball right around the free-throw/elbow. That's probably his favorite place to shoot other than the 3-pointer. Anyways, as is mostly the case, it is usually the screener that is usually open, and that is who Dirk hits to finish this play off. Watch the video and read my thoughts below,
Get your Scorer the Ball:
If you happen to be lucky enough to have a great scorer, especially a shooter, you need to get that player the ball in the area where they are most comfortable in to shoot. For Dirk, that is anywhere on the free-throw line or both elbows, and the step into 3-pointer on the wing. If you watch a lot of Mavs games, take a look at Dirk's shot chart, most of his jumpers are in those spots. Onto the play, this really is a play designed to get Dirk the ball at that spot he likes to shoot in. I didn't diagram it, but Devin Harris starts the play by passing to Josh Howard at the top of the key, then he cuts to the basket off a Erick Dampier upscreen. This sets up the Dirk curl. Dampier sets the downscreen for Dirk to curl off of and receive the pass from Josh in his sweet spot. Now, I've seen many times where Dirk will shoot it and nail it. This time though, he finds the open cutter.
Screener is usually open:
You hear it a lot, the screener is usually open after the screen. In this case, Erick's defender, X5, steps up to contest a possible shot by Dirk, since Dirk's defender trailed and is late to recover. Erick slips the screen and rolls to the basket. It's just a simple hi-lo pass from Dirk to Erick who makes a nice pump fake then puts it off the glass.
As I was saying, when the games mean something, the NBA is good to watch. The Suns were up their old tricks and despite being down big, kept fighting to stay in it. Execution has been one of the reasons why Dirk and the Mavs have been clicking lately. I read a Yahoo! AP report that described it as "crisp".
For more great Pick and Roll basketball info, take a look at Jeff Van Gundy's DVD on the pick and roll offense. Van Gundy is a master of the PNR offense having coached some of the best guard-forward tandems in the NBA. Be sure to check out the X's and O's Basketball Forum to talk about your favorite basketball topics.
I talk alot about man defense here, manning up, tough lockdown defense. I do it because I think it's important. I think that your offense will only be as good as your ability to stop your opponents. If your team is not blessed with a lot of talent, it is a must that you defend, you can't win without it. Tonight, the Raptors flew across the country to play on west coast time (10pm EST), in order to win this game, they would have to defend. It was interesting to me that the Raptors lost the other night to the vaunted Celtics and the Raptors all talked about becoming a better team defensively. Last I checked, the Raptors were seventh in PPGA. Anyways, rambling on a bit, the point here is that when they were down by 10 or so at halftime, they would need some stops, especially on a night when their shooting was atrocious. So, how exactly do you win a game on the road shooting 37.5% overall and 20% from downtown? Watch the video below to find out,
Double the Post:
Though the Clippers are no Celtics and Chris Kaman is no Dwight Howard, you must protect the paint. In the clip, Kaman comes off of a PNR and Chris Bosh is left to defend him. The Raptors do a great job of collapsing into the paint, forcing Kaman to kick it back out, Yes, it is essentially a quad-team. Probably not what I would've suggested, but it does accomplish the goal of forcing Kaman into a tough spot, and making him kick it back out.
Recover and Closeout:
Now, we're talking NBA players here. If this was your HS team, the center probably would've thrown a bad pass OB, taken a bad shot or blocked, or traveled. Kaman is a good player and makes a good pass out of the quad-team. I can't really tell, but I think it's Anthony Parker, X2, that does a great job here of recovering to Corey Maggette, O2. He doesn't bite on the shot fake, then Anthony closes out the baseline drive by Corey, helped by X3 who I think is Jamario Moon. By now, the shot clock is about 3 seconds and Corey can only pull back and try a fade away baseline jumper. I believe he actually doesn't get it off in time.
Summary:
What I loved about the sequences in the video clip is that the Raptors defended for the entire 24 seconds. And they did it twice on consecutive defensive possessions. It was a critical point in the game where Chris Bosh was going 1-on-1 offensively as the team was shooting blanks, and they needed stops to make a run, which they did.
It's that old adage, defense wins championships. I don't have to believe it, you don't have to believe it, your players have to believe it. As coaches, we always stress defense, but it's really just lip service unless your players actually do it.
Just in time for the holidays, Jamie Dixon's new DVD on his 10-point shell drill for better M2M defense is now available for purchase. Coach Dixon is head coach for the 11th ranked Pittsburgh Panthers who look to be quite the formidable defensive team this season. As always, be sure to check out the X's and O's of Basketball Forum to discuss this and more of your favorite basketball topics.
