SBNation.com User Blog: SebastianPruiti

I know this is from last month, but finally got the video. Jeff and Lookout Landing getting...

SebastianPruiti — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 05:32:59 -0000

I know this is from last month, but finally got the video. Jeff and Lookout Landing getting mentioned on YES by David Cone.

Heat Vs. Mavericks, Game 5 Adjustments: Look For The Roll Man Late, Go Back To Trapping Ball Screens

SebastianPruiti — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:33:21 -0000

Returning home for Game 6, the Miami Heat have found themselves in a 3-2 hole in the NBA Finals, a situation that requires them to win two games in a row at home against the Dallas Mavericks. If the Heat want to win Game 6 to force a Game 7, they are going to have to make a few adjustments on both sides of the basketball.

Offense: Look For The Roll Man Late

Once again, the Heat's offense in the final minutes struggled in Game 5. It wasn't as bad as the other games Miami has lost (in my opinion, Miami's poor defense was more to blame for the loss), but to me, the Heat are still struggling in terms of shot selection. Maybe the best example for this is the Heat's pick and roll play in the fourth quarter of Game 5.

In the fourth quarter, Miami scored 12 points on 10 pick and roll possessions. That looks really good. Breaking it down further, you can see why they were so successful. When the Heat hit the roll man (six times), they scored nine points. When they didn't (four possessions), they scored just three points. Instead of settling for jumpers coming off of screens, Miami needs to be aggressive and look for the roll man.

The reason why the roll man is so open against Dallas is because of who is coming off of the screen (either LeBron James or Dwyane Wade). With all of the attention going to James or Wade, the roll man has a pretty easy roll to the rim:

On all of these pick and rolls, you can see how focused the defense is on Wade or James as he comes off of the ball screen. When that happens, the roll man is able to come open, get the pass, and finish at the rim (or draw the foul).

Where Miami's pick and roll game struggled is when the ball handler (either James or Wade) ignores the roll man and looks to force the issue themselves:

On these three possessions, you have the roll man open and available for the pass. Instead, you have the ball handler trying to turn the corner or settle for the three point shot. The result is a miss or a turnover (Wade actually hits a three-point shot, but it is one of those "fool's gold" situations where it is a bad shot but a make).

This is the one area where Miami was really exploiting Dallas on the offensive end. If they continue looking for the roll man, they should continue to have success.

Defense: Go Back To Trapping Ball Screens

In Game 5, Dallas really hurt Miami with their pick and roll offense. The Mavericks ran the pick and roll 33 times, scoring a whopping 49 points off of those possessions (good for a PPP - points per possession - of 1.48, well above their regular season average of 0.94). Out of those 49 points, the Mavericks scored 24 points off of three-point shots. It is interesting to see Miami struggle defensively with the pick and roll, because it is something they are so good at defending usually.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat trapped Derrick Rose every time he came off of a ball screen, really negating his effectiveness. This wasn't an unique situation, but their defensive strategy for most of the season. However, while playing Dallas, the Heat have gotten away from trapping the ball handler due to their fear of trapping off of Dirk Nowitzki when he sets screens. Miami's strategy of playing the pick and roll differently than they are used to really hurt them in Game 5, especially when J.J. Barea was the ball handler. The Heat decided to go under ball screens when Barea was using them, allowing him to pull up and knock down threes (he hit four of them in Game 5):

When the Heat are going under ball screens, they are allowing Barea time and space to survey the situation and make proper decisions. In Game 5, that decision was to use the space to pull up for a three-point shot.

In my opinion, the Heat need to go back to trapping guys like Barea when he comes off of a ball screen. During Game 5, the one time that they did trap Barea, they forced him into a turnover:

With the defense quickly showing on Barea, they are able to force him to pick up his dribble and make him make a quick decision. The result is Barea trying to throw a pinpoint pass that sails out of bounds. Another reason to go over ball screens with Barea? His shooting in the paint. According to HoopData.com, Barea is 7-22 inside 10 feet during the Finals. The reason why the Heat go under Barea's ball screens is because they fear his speed, but if he isn't hurting you when he is getting in the lane, why try to prevent him from doing it (especially when he is hurting you so much going under screens)?

Barea probably won't shoot as well in Game 6, but if you continue to give Dallas' ball handlers space when coming off of screens, you are putting your defense at a disadvantage.

Heat Vs. Mavericks, Game 5 Adjustments: Run Meaningful Offense Late, Figure Out The Staggered Ball Screens

SebastianPruiti — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 21:06:36 -0000

In Game 4, we saw another fourth quarter comeback by the Dallas Mavericks, sparked by a poor Miami Heat performance on the offensive end. If the Heat are going to win Game 5 and take a commanding lead 3-2 NBA Finals lead, they are going to have to fix their fourth quarter offense while trying to figure out how to stop Dallas' go-to play.

Offense: Run Meaningful Offense Late

Much has been made of LeBron James' passive nature in the fourth quarter, but when mentioning that we seem to forget that most of the Heat were passive on offense, reverting to their "stand around and watch" offense that gave Miami so much trouble during the regular season. The lack of an offensive game plan hurt the Heat as you got a lot of dribbling and a lot of simple screen and rolls that resulted in a lot of missed shots:

During these possessions, there is simply not enough movement to put pressure on the defense and force them to rotate. Sure, there is some movement before the play starts, but once the Heat get into their offense, there is a lot of standing around. You have Chris Bosh isolated at the elbow as everyone else just stands around. This allows the defense to feel free to help, forcing the turnover.

The problem for someone like me, who has no rooting interest in this series (other than wanting to see great basketball), is that the Heat actually do have a good offense when they want to use it. They have sets that do a good job of getting their players open in space:

The three plays above were run in the second quarter of game four. Why doesn't coach Spoelstra have his team run this play when he sees his offense stalling? I know that the defense ratchets the defense up in the fourth quarter, but makes us think that this play won't work in the fourth? If you don't want to get into an elaborate offensive set late, I don't see the problem in trying to the Wade/James pick and pop. It is something simple that has worked late in the game against Dallas already:

This isn't an amazing offensive scheme, but it forces the defense's hand. It makes them rotate and it puts the defense out of position. The result is a wide open jumper for Chris Bosh.

When the Heat struggle in the fourth, they make it easy on the Mavericks' defense. That happens when you have one player dribbling the basketball up top with the rest of the team standing and watching him. If the Heat want to win Game 5, their offense in the fourth quarter needs to be better.

Defense: Don't Hedge Off Of Dirk Nowitzki On Dallas' Staggered Ball Screens

When the Dallas Mavericks broke out their staggered ball screens in Game 2, it gave the Heat a world of trouble, as they were able to score eight points in four possessions on 75 percent shooting. While we didn't really see the play in Game 3, the Dallas Mavericks used it again in Game 4, and it is obvious that the play is still giving the Heat trouble. In my post about Dallas' pick and roll adjustment over at NBAPlaybook, we saw that the Mavericks ran their double staggered ball screens twice, scoring five points. When rewatching the possessions, you can see that Miami is still searching for a way to stop this set. They tried two different ways to stop the play, but both times, it was effectively the Heat using Nowitzki's man to hedge:

On this first play, Joel Anthony is the man defending Nowitzki. As J.J. Barea comes off of the staggered ball screen, Anthony hedges, but he doesn't hedge far because he doesn't want to leave Nowitzki. This soft hedge allows Barea to turn the corner, attack the paint, and force the help, allowing Barea to kick the ball out for an open three point shot.

On this play, Udonis Haslem leaves Nowitzki to try and trap the basketball. Nowitzki reads it and slips the screen, putting Wade in a position where he has to try and defend two players at the same time. The result is Wade rotating over to Nowitzki late, and fouling him.

So how would I defend this play? I would try to trap the ball handler (like Miami have tried in the past), but not use Nowitzki's man to do so. I would use whoever is defending Tyson Chandler and have him trap the basketball along with the man who is defending the ball handler. I know this leaves Chandler open for a roll, but I'd be willing to take my chances of having a smaller guy (either Barea or Terry) trying to throw a pinpoint pass to Chandler rolling to the rim. In addition to that, it keeps Nowitzki from beating you and keeps the ball handler from getting to the middle of the lane.

Heat Vs. Mavericks, Game 4 Adjustments: Stop Forcing Transition, Don't Double Wing Posts

SebastianPruiti — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 19:25:47 -0000

The Dallas Mavericks almost erased another double-digit lead in Game 3 of the NBA Finals to come away with the win. But after a made Chris Bosh jumper and a Dirk Nowitzki turnover and miss, the Mavericks now find themselves down 2-1 in the series. If the Mavericks want to even things up and at least give themselves a chance to win this series, they are going to have to make a few different adjustments.

Offense: Stop Trying To Create Transition Chances

Dallas' turnover problems in Game 2 didn't really get talked about at length because of the fact that Dallas came back and the Miami Heat ended up playing "Hero Basketball" for the final seven minutes of the game. Most of these turnovers were a result of the Mavericks trying to force the issue and create transition opportunities. The Mavericks cut their turnovers in Game 3 (only turning it over 14 times), but the problem of forcing the basketball and trying to create transition opportunities out of nothing continued to be a problem for Dallas:

One of the tendency teams have when playing a tremendous halfcourt defense like Miami is to say something along the lines of "we need to get out and run, not let them set up their defense." However, what makes Miami so special is that they are great at getting back and playing transition defense. It is becoming more and more apparent that Dallas isn't comfortable running (look at Peja Stojakovic's "outlet pass" or J.J. Barea;s hesitance when trying to force a delayed transition opportunity) and trying to create opportunities. This is what leads to turnovers, so instead of running their stuff (which has done a decent job of getting good looks), the Mavericks are throwing possessions away.

I'm not saying don't run, when the opportunities are there, you need to take advantage. However, trying to create opportunities out of nothing just doesn't work against Miami. Slow it down and run your offense.

Defense: Don't Double Wade/James Post Up Opportunities

In Game 3, the Heat scored 13 points on 12 post-up possessions, according to Synergy Sports Technology. These post-up opportunities can be broken up into two categories, wing post-ups (possessions where Dwyane Wade or LeBron James got the ball on the block) and big post-ups (Chris Bosh and Joel Anthony). The Heat were wildly successful when posting up their wings, scoring 11 points on just 6 possessions with only one possession not resulting in any points. The biggest reason for Wade and James' success is that they were ready for and knew how to handle the double teams that Dallas sent just about every single time:

James got posted up two times (once at the start of the game and once at the start of the second half), and both times it looked like it was a set play designed to take advantage of Dallas' double team. The ball would go to LeBron on the post, Joel Anthony would set a pindown on the weakside (once for Mike Bibby and once for Wade) and the result was an open three for Bibby and an open jumper for Bosh after the defense overplayed Wade on the pindown.

While the post-up chances for Wade came more in the flow of the game (compared to James' set plays), the Mavericks still sent doubles, and the Heat were still ready for these doubles:

On Wade post-ups, the Heat like to use James to enter the basketball. The Heat do this for two reasons. First, if Shawn Marion falls asleep and shades too far off of James, Wade can simply kick it out to James and let him attack (which is what happens on the first possession). Also, it takes away the double team from the man making the entry pass (no team is going to leave James to double the post), forcing the double to come from the weakside. That is what happens on the second play in the video above. The Mavericks double on the pass from the weakside and Wade does a good job of swinging it to the opposite side, and the result is an open jumper for Udonis Haslem.

The only time that Dallas was able to stop a wing post-up was when they allowed Wade's defender (Jason Kidd) to play him one on one, and then bringing help when Wade commits to his move to the rim:

What happens here is that no double comes and Tyson Chandler helps as Wade attacks the rim. Wade is forced to double clutch, allowing Kidd to swipe at the basketball, knocking it loose.

The Heat have done a good job of scouting, noticing that Dallas will send the double team just about every time, and their guys are prepared for it, ready to make the pass out. You play Miami's wing posts one-on-one, you not only prevent the kickout, but you also switch things up, and that too can throw Miami off their game on the block.

Heat Vs. Mavericks, Game 2 Adjustments: Continue Pick-And-Pop Towards Sideline, Put Dirk Nowitzki On Chris Bosh

SebastianPruiti — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 18:33:22 -0000

After losing Game 1, the Dallas Mavericks trail the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals. With the 2-3-2 Finals format, winning one of the first two games is even more important for the Mavericks, who would have a chance to close out things at home if they can win Game 2. To do so, the Mavericks are going to have to make a few adjustments on both sides of the court.

Continuing The Sideline Pick-And-Pop

In Game 1, the Heat showed their hand defensively, revealing that they would be determined to keep the basketball out of Dirk Nowitzki's hands and force the rest of his teammates to beat Miami. Maybe the strongest example of this was Miami's pick-and-roll defense when Nowitzki was the screener. While trapping/hedging hard on the ball man, the Heat sent a third man at Nowitzki, forcing the basketball out of his hands.

Even though the Mavericks performed better in the pick-and-roll during Game 1 vs. their postseason numbers (0.937 points per possession in Game 1 vs. 0.92 in in the playoffs), I still think they left opportunities on the table, and to take better advantage, they should try to run more pick-and-pops with Nowitzki moving toward the sideline. The reason why it works is because it forces the third defender that Miami is sending at Nowitzki to come from quite a distance (the opposite block).

Here, Nowitzki sets a screen for Jason Terry and pops out towards the corner. This is by design as it forces LeBron James to come from the opposite corner to make sure Nowitzki doesn't get a clean look off. Instead of panicking, Nowitzki makes the catch, surveys the area, and spots the open man, hitting him with a pass. In this case, it is Shawn Marion, who makes the extra pass to Jason Kidd, who hits the shot as the defense attempts to rotate back to him. The initial rotation and Nowitzki's pass forces Miami to rotate to the basketball, which eventually leaves Kidd open.

What this pick-and-pop towards the corner does is it opens things up for passing/cutting lanes. This is because with how Miami is defending the pick-and-pop, you now have three defenders on one side of the court covering two defenders. In the above clip, Chris Bosh steps up to him, forcing a rotation from LeBron to Bosh's man. This leaves the middle wide open for Marion, who gets the easy lay-in.

Miami was so determined to prevent Nowitzki from beating them that they were even willing to send an extra defender his way before he caught the basketball. Again, this is where the pick-and-pop toward the corner creates openings. As Nowitzki pops towards the corner, you see that Dwyane Wade is already way over there, taking the pass to Nowitzki away from him. That leaves DeShawn Stevenson wide open for the three, one that he takes, and even though he misses it, it is an open look I am sure Dallas would take time after time.

The Mavericks pick-and-roll game all postseason has been designed to get Nowitzki, Terry or J.J. Barea open. With the way Miami is defending the pick-and-roll, neither of those things are going to happen constantly. However, if they do run their pick-and-pop towards the corner, they will be able to get open shots for guys like Kidd, Peja Stojakovic and Stevenson. If they are able to make Miami pay for the way they are defending the pick-and-pop, Dallas can force Miami to make adjustments and maybe open things up for guys like Dirk, Terry and Barea.

Switch Nowitzki On Bosh

Much has been made of Miami's success against Dallas and their zone defense (20 points on 18 zone possessions); nine of those points came off of shots that Dallas was willing to give up (threes by guys like Mike Miller and Mario Chalmers). Perhaps more troubling for Dallas was their man-to-man defense in the front court, where they had Nowitzki covering Joel Anthony and Tyson Chandler covering Bosh.

Now the idea of putting Nowitzki on Anthony makes sense because you are going to hide a pretty poor defender (Nowitzki) on a poor offensive player (Anthony). However, Anthony has an incredible work rate on the offensive glass, and that is where Nowitzki and the Mavericks got burned:

With Nowitzki covering Anthony, he got absolutely bullied whenever a shot went up. It wasn't even because Nowitzki wasn't trying to box out, because he was, but Anthony just outworked and outmuscled Nowitzki, leading to offensive rebounds and second-chance points for Miami.

While Anthony gave Nowitzki a lot of trouble, Chandler had trouble himself trying to defend Bosh on the outside:

Chandler is far more comfortable defending in the paint and being a help defender. When he is covering Bosh, he can't really do either of those things. He can't protect the paint because Bosh is an outside shooter and he is pulling him away from the rim. Also, Bosh is usually the screener in Miami's pick-and-roll sets, meaning Chandler is defending the pick-and-roll rather than helping on it on the Heat's pick-and-roll in the video clip above, Stojakovic is the man ranging over and helping (a huge dropoff from Chandler, who is normally the man who protects the paint).

What switching Nowitzki onto Bosh and Chandler onto Anthony means is it allows Chandler to be that guy to protect the paint, something he has been doing all season. Also, Nowitzki isn't going to get posted on a ton because Bosh is more of a face-up outside shooting type of big instead of a back to the basket guy, so Nowitzki on Bosh isn't a huge match-up problem.

If the Mavs put Chandler on Anthony, they will be able to limit the Heat's dominance on the offensive glass because now Chandler is boxing out Anthony. What this means is that they are able to grab the defensive boards and run out, something that Dallas wants to do more of in Game 2.

Mavericks Vs. Heat: Breaking Down Offensive Sets For Both 2011 NBA Finals Teams

SebastianPruiti — Tue, 31 May 2011 05:58:24 -0000

According to Synergy Sports Technology, the 2011 NBA Finals matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat features the two best half court teams in the playoffs in terms of points per possession. The Mavericks have scored 1299 points in 1320 possessions (0.984 PPP), while the Heat have scored 1212 points in 1322 possessions (0.917 PPP). This means that we are going to see very efficient half-court offenses with a lot of interesting and effective sets from both teams. In addition to half-court offense, scoring from set inbounds plays (both from the side and from the baseline) is also very important.

Here, we are going to take a look at a set in each situation that you will probably see run during these NBA Finals:

Halfcourt Offense

Miami's Double High Post Sets

Miami's most-used offense besides the simple pick and roll or isolation is a set where the Heat set up their two bigs at each elbow. This set is all about spacing:

As LeBron James brings the basketball up, he has his two bigs set up on the elbows and and Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers each set up in one corner.

James makes the entry pass to the big on the same side with Wade. After making the pass, James cuts through the middle and then heads towards Wade to set a screen for him.

Wade uses James' screen by cutting over it towards the middle. After Wade uses the screen, James flashes to the basketball to get it from Joel Anthony.

Once he gets the basketball, look at what is set up. The Heat now run a pick and roll with Anthony setting the screen for James. What all that action away from the basketball has done is clear out the whole strong side, giving James plenty of room to work with off the screen.

In this particular instance, James comes off of the screen and knocks down the jumper over his defender. Here is the play in real time:

Notice that Wade coming off of the screen is more or less a decoy in this situation. I am sure if Wade was open, the ball would go to him, but how often is he going to be open in this situation? Probably not many. This is why Miami usually always runs this play through to its second option, which is the pick and roll.

A nice twist that Miami likes to make to this set is putting LeBron James in the high post instead of the ball-handler. Otherwise, it's the same play:

Having James setting up on the elbow forces the defense to have to pay attention to him. The result is open opportunities for others. In the first clip, James makes the catch at the elbow and the weakside defense collapses in the paint to try and prevent dribble penetration. This opens up Mike Miller on a pindown screen on the weakside, and he knocks down the three. In the second clip, the Heat run the play the whole way though, and now you have James setting a ball screen for Mario Chalmers. The defense is hesitant to help off of James, and it gives Chalmers a lane to drive through.

Dallas' Foul Line Pick And Roll

While the Heat have had success with their double high sets, the Dallas Mavericks' most effective set involves a pick and roll. However, unlike their late-game offense that involves a pick and roll with Dirk Nowitzki as the screener, this pick and roll involves Tyson Chandler and Shawn Marion in a unusual location at the foul line:

Here, Marion makes the catch at the foul line and gets a ball screen from Chandler. Because Marion is a threat in the midrange, both defenders involved in the pick and roll are forced to step up to him. With the screen set at the foul line, this creates a shorter distance between Chandler and the rim, allowing him to roll quickly and catch the lob.

The set forces the defense to make a decision quickly. Taking a closer look, you notice the defense can either stay with the shooters or sink in to prevent the lob. Either way, the Mavericks are able to get a good look out of it.

The play starts with J.J. Barea setting a pindown screen for Marion as Jason Kidd brings the basketball up. Marion uses the screen to curl to the elbow and wait for the ball.

As Marion is getting to his spot, Chandler sets a cross screen for Peja Stojakovic, allowing Stojakovic to sprint to the ball side corner.

Once Marion gets the basketball, Barea rotates over to the wing as Stojakovic gets to the corner to give proper spacing. As this happens, Chandler comes over and sets a screen for Marion, who uses the screen to take the ball to the foul line.

After setting the screen, Chandler rolls to the rim. What is interesting about running this pick and roll at the elbow is that Chandler has a much shorter path to the rim, making him more of a threat to catch the lob. Because of that threat, Thabo Sefolosha is forced to sink in the middle and help on Chandler's roll.

This leaves Stojakovic wide open in the corner, and Marion does a great job of spotting him and making the pass.

Stojakovic makes the catch and fires the three before Sefolosha can get back to close out on him. Here is the play in real time:

As you can see, it is a lose-lose situation for the defense. This is why sets with multiple options make sense. If the defense takes something away, something else is open.

An Interesting Similarity

While watching each teams half-court possessions, I noticed an interesting similarity between the two offenses. This similarity takes place in delayed transition opportunities where the teams aren't really in transition, but they aren't running their offense as well. When both teams are in delayed transition opportunities, they like to set a screen with a trailing big man. However, despite the fact that both teams run pick and rolls in delayed transition situations, they are looking for different things out of it.

When the Miami Heat set their screen in delayed transition, it is usually a screen for James. With the defense not set, this screen is designed to free up James and allow him to create.

Meanwhile Dallas likes to have Nowitzki setting their screens. As you can probably expect, the Mavericks are looking to try and get Nowitzki open using the pick and pop (again, with the defense not set).

Sideline Out Of Bounds Plays

In the playoffs, teams don't really run much set plays in sideline out of bounds situations. Unless it is a late game situation, offenses usually settle for getting the ball in and just running their standard half court defense. However, if Miami or Dallas are looking to get a quick score from the side, these are the plays that they may run.

Backscreen For Wade

What makes Miami's offense so hard to stop is that you have two to three players who you really have to focus on while they have the basketball. If Miami is running their stuff and spacing correctly, they usually put the defense in situations where it is difficult to pay attention to both. In sideline situations, Miami uses spacing to get easy looks for Wade.

On this play, you have James inbounding the basketball to a big out by the three-point line. With the defense paying attention to James after he makes the pass, this creates a lane at the rim, one that allows Wade to come off of a backscreen for the lob. Even when the lob isn't there, with James on the opposite side of the court, it gives Wade the space and the time to post up his man and still get an easy look out of it.

Backscreen For Chandler

Sideline Out Of Bounds situations are very important for the Dallas Mavericks because Miami's defense is very good. The more easy buckets that you can get from dead-ball situations, the more pressure that it takes off of your half-court offense. If Dallas wants to get Chandler a few easy buckets during the series, they could run this play:

This is where having Nowitzki on your team really helps the offense. Here, Nowitzki sets a pindown screen for Marion and then gets in position to set another screen for Jason Terry. With the defense so focused on Nowitzki, nobody sees Terry setting a backscreen for Chandler. This allows Chandler to get in the paint unguarded, where he is able to finish at the rim easily.

Baseline Out Of Bounds

Much like Sideline Out Of Bounds situations, Baseline Out Of Bounds situations are really tough to score on. Most of the time, teams settle for getting the ball out to a guard up top and running an offense. he team that can get easy looks from the baseline may have the advantage in this series.

Miami's Misdirection

Once again, in a dead-ball situation, the Heat like to use of of their big three players (in this case Wade) to draw the defense in and set up something else:

The play starts with the Heat getting in a box formation, but instead of starting the bottom players on the blocks, they are up towards the elbow. As the ball goes to the trigger man, James, Miller uses a screen set by Udonis Haslem to get to the corner. Because Miller was knocking his shot down this game, this action really draws the attention of the defense. Not only does Derrick Rose trails Miller over the top of the screen, but Carlos Boozer strays away from Haslem to beat Miller to the corner and take the pass away.

Once Miller gets to the corner, Wade flashes straight to the basketball. No screen, no jab step in the other direction, just a straight sprint to the basketball. This is another action designed to draw help defense. In addition to Ronnie Brewer trailing Wade, Joakim Noah gets sucked in to help on the cutting action.

These two flashes to the basketball draw the defense to the basket. All five Bulls' defenders are below the restricted area if you extend it along the width of the court. This allows Haslem to set up a screen in the middle for Bosh, who flares behind it.

The screen set by Haslem wasn't to free Bosh up (he was already open). Instead, it was designed to knock Bosh's man off of his path as he closes out on him. That is exactly what happens, as Bosh makes the catch and knocks down the wide open jumper, extending the Heat's lead to four points Here is the play in real time:

After the game where Miami ran this play, Tom Haberstroh (one of the fantastic writers from ESPN's Heat Index) said on Twitter that the Heat run this play at every shootaround, yet they have only ran it about six times the entire season. The NBA Finals seems like a good time to run it again.

Setting Up Nowitzki

One of the ways we have seen defenses try to defend Nowitzki this postseason is by taking away his space (or "airspace" as everyone seems to be calling it now), being physical with him and getting into his body. Dallas' favorite Baseline Out Of Bounds set is designed to get Nowitzki's defender off him, allowing him to make the catch in space.

For this set, the Mavericks are set up in a three-man stack, with Nowitzki on an island by himself at the foul line. As the ball goes to the trigger man, Chandler and Terry split with Chandler diving in the paint and Terry shooting out to the three-point line.

As this is happening, Kidd simply turns around and sets a screen for Nowitzki. Nowitzki uses the screen and flashes in the lane created by Terry's and Chandler's split.

This creates a passing lane for Nowitzki, allowing him to make the catch with his defender trailing him rather than being up against him or into his body.

We have seen all postseason that all Nowitzki needs is a little bit of space. In this particular case, he is able to rise up and knock down the jumper. Here is the play in real time:

In my opinion, Mavericks' coach Rick Carlisle does a great job of knowing how to get Nowitzki the basketball in positions where he can score. He knows that he doesn't need to get Nowitzki wide open. He just needs to give him a little bit of space where he can get a shot off, whether it is contested or not. With that being said, this Baseline Out Of Bounds set can create open opportunities at the rim for Nowitzki.

In this instance, there is an even bigger lane here created by the split, and this allows Nowitzki to flash all the way to the rim. He gets the pass and finishes easily.

While Dallas' zone and Miami's man to man defense could frustrate their opposition at times, in my opinion, this series hinges on offensive execution in the half court. Whichever team runs their sets better will have the upper hand in this series.

Heat Vs. Bulls, Game 5 Adjustments: Work Derrick Rose Towards The Middle, Defend Baseline Inbound Sets Better

SebastianPruiti — Thu, 26 May 2011 20:23:42 -0000

Much like the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Chicago Bulls lost Game 4 in overtime (falling behind 3-1) in a game they should have won (the Bulls had two shots to take the lead in the final seconds). Unlike the Thunder, the Bulls get Game 5 in their own building, giving them more of a chance to get the win and bring the series back to Miami for Game 6. If the Bulls are going to want to come away with the win, they are going to have to make a few adjustments.

Offense: Work Derrick Rose Off The Ball Towards The Middle Of The Court

Before Game 4, I talked about how the Bulls should start to isolate Derrick Rose more to avoid the hard trap on pick and rolls. They didn't do that, but they did make a very nice adjustment by taking the pick-and-roll and running it on the wing rather than up top. The Bulls had success with this side pick-and-roll because it made it much tougher for the defense, forcing rotations to come from farther away and giving Rose the space to split the pick-and-roll. In addition to this (which you should expect the Bulls to continue), the Bulls should work Rose off of the ball more towards the middle of the court. It is something the Bulls ran once in Game 4, allowing Rose to draw a foul:

This play is successful because of where Rose makes his initial catch. He catches the ball right at the foul line and is able to attack right off the catch, taking a dribble or two and then ending up right at the rim. Also, because of the movement (as opposed to Rose standing up top with the basketball), the defense can't load up on Rose, so when he does catch and attack, that wall of defenders that he has been seeing all series long isn't there. This is what allows him to get to the front of the rim and draw the foul.

If the Bulls do a better job of sprinkling this into their offense along with continuing to use the side pick-and-roll versus the pick-and-roll at the top of the key, they can be much more effective offensively, taking pressure off of their defense.

Defense: Defense BLOB Sets Better

BLOB is short for Baseline Out of Bounds, and in Game 4, the Heat scored on three of their four BLOB opportunities, good for six points on 75 percent shooting. In a game that ended up going into overtime, those six points are huge. While the Heat were running solid sets out of timeouts, the main reason why they were able to score was because the Bulls' defense got a little lazy and didn't stick to their defensive principles:

On both of these BLOB sets, the Bulls make a defensive mistake that leads to a basket. In the first clip, Rose is lazily chasing Mike Bibby around a screen off of the ball, and the end result is Bibby making a catch with space, allowing him to rise up and knock down the jumper uncontested.

In the BLOB set, the Heat run what looks like to be the same play, except with Mike Miller coming off of the screen. This forces both Carlos Boozer and Rose to leave Udonis Haslem and chase Miller to the corner. At the same time, Joakim Noah sinks in on a Dwyane Wade flash, leaving all five Bulls' defenders below the restricted area. This sets up the defense perfectly for Haslem to set a screen for Chris Bosh, resulting in a wide open jumpers.

In my opinion, the Bulls lost focus with the ball on the baseline and that made them susceptible to the sets that the Heat were running. If they maintain their focus and defend these sets properly, they have a chance to take 6-10 points off of the board, giving them a better chance to come away with the win.

Mavericks Vs. Thunder, Game 5 Adjustments: Run Pick-And-Pop To Score, Don't Hedge Off Of Dirk Nowitzki

SebastianPruiti — Wed, 25 May 2011 20:07:43 -0000

In Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder looked like they were going to go ahead and even up the series at two games each, up 15 points with a few minutes to go. After blowing the lead and losing in overtime, the Thunder are now faced with elimination in Game 5. If they want to win and send the series back home to Oklahoma City, they are going to have to make a few changes both on the offensive and defensive end.

Offense: Run The Westbrook/Durant Pick-And-Pop/Roll To Score

I have been a fan of the Thunder's pick-and-pop all season long, telling everyone who would listen that the Thunder need to run this play more during the end of games. However, in the end of Game 4, the Thunder ran it and didn't have success with it. The reason? Well in my opinion, the Thunder were running the pick-and-pop/roll not to score, but to force a switch:

What you have here is the Thunder trying to get Russell Westbrook's man (Jason Kidd) to switch on Kevin Durant. However, Kidd isn't your typical point guard, and he forces Durant to make the catch behind the three-point line. Durant now has to try to penetrate, and when he does, Kidd forces him into a spin move, allowing Shawn Marion to come over and force the turnover on the doubl- team.

So what do I mean when I said run the pick-and-roll to score? Take a look at this possession from earlier in the series.

Here, Westbrook comes off of the screen looking to penetrate and attack the lane. That attack-dribble forces Marion to hedge for a split second, and that hedge gives Durant all of the space that he needs when rolling to the rim. Westbrook finds Durant, who is able to finish with the big dunk.

When the Thunder are looking to score when running the pick-and-roll with Westbrook and Durant, this is such a tough play to defend, because if you don't hedge Westbrook gets to the rim. If you do, Durant is open, a bad pick your poison type of play for the defense.

Defense: Don't Hedge Off Of Dirk Nowitzki

If this sounds familiar, it should, because this was the exact same adjustment that I had listed for the Thunder before Game 4. In fact, they didn't leave Nowitzki on a few possessions, but late in the game, Nowitzki's defender (Nick Collison) left Nowitzki a few times:

Here, The Thunder are hedging off of Nowitzki and rotating a man from the weakside over to him. This is how the Lakers tried to defend Dirk, and it simply didn't work because Nowitzki has gotten so good at reading that double-team and throwing the skip pass quickly, which is exactly what happens here, leading to the three by Jason Terry.

Sure, Dirk Nowitzki hits a crazy shot here, but the only reason he is in that spot on the court? Because Collison hedged off of Nowitzki, and taking himself out of position to defend Nowitzki on the roll. What makes this even more head-scratching is that Jason Kidd is the ball handler. While he is a great point guard, he isn't going to get by Westbrook, even with a screen from Nowitzki.

Game 5 in my opinion is going to be another tough and close game, and if the Mavericks run this play, you can't leave Nowitzki, let the other players beat you.

Heat Vs. Bulls, Game 4 Adjustments: More (And Smarter) Isolations For Derrick Rose, Stick With Reverse Box-And-One

SebastianPruiti — Tue, 24 May 2011 20:13:44 -0000

After losing Game 3, the Chicago Bulls have one more chance to take back the home court advantage, and they will be looking to do that Tuesday in Game 4. If the Bulls want to win the game, they are going to have to make a few adjustments to their strategy.

Offense: More Isolations

Something that Derrick Rose was very frustrated with after Game 3 was the amount of double- and triple-teams that he saw. The Bulls' steady diet of pick-and-roll offense (something Chicago has been doing since the playoffs began) seems to have finally caught up with them as the Heat are doing a great job of forcing the basketball out of Rose's hands.

Once the Heat adjusted and turned Joakim Noah into a scorer off the pick-and-roll trap, the play became ineffective. With this offense now ineffective, it makes no sense to put Rose in situations where he can get trapped, meaning the Bulls should give their point guard more isolation opportunities (they had just three isolations for Rose in Game 3). Despite no scores out of these situations, the direct result of these isolation plays were either clean looks or plays that resulted in Rose getting in the paint:

Without having to face a double-team, Rose was able to break down his man and get himself into the paint. Once this happens, instead of forcing up shots Rose and his teammates need to be smarter. A perfect example of this is the final isolation. Rose breaks Mike Bibby down and gets in the paint drawing help. This gives Carlos Boozer a perfect opportunity to cut to the rim. Instead of doing that, Boozer stands and watches Rose take a tough jumper. When Rose runs isolation and gets to the paint, he is going to draw help, creating opportunities for his teammates. They just have to take advantage.

Defense: Stick With The Reverse Box-And-One

With LeBron James in quarterback mode and Chris Bosh knocking down jumpers, Tom Thibodeau and the Bulls were looking for a way to stop the Heat. They may have found one with Joel Anthony on the court, running what I have been calling a "reverse box-and-one" where they had one man (the player defending Anthony) playing zone while the rest of the defense was playing man-to-man. Despite the Heat outscoring the Bulls by two points with Anthony on the court in the third quarter, this defense resulted in some stops:

Here, the Heat run a pick-and-roll with Chris Bosh setting a screen for Dwyane Wade. Wade goes away from the screen (something that he does a lot, and something Bosh is very good at playing off of). As soon as this happens, Boozer leaves Anthony to take the pass to Bosh away. Now, Wade is forced to throw a cross court skip pass to LeBron James. James makes the catch with 10 seconds left on the clock, dribbles it out, and misses the jumper.

On this play, the Heat are trying to set up Bosh on the block against Noah. As Bosh comes across, Noah sells out for the pass, knowing that Boozer is basically playing a zone and has his back. This is what allows Noah to get a hand on the basketball and knock it out of bounds.

Finally, here, the Heat are trying to run a double cross screen for James designed to get him the basketball on the block. While Noah is fronting Bosh, Boozer totally ignores Anthony. Because Boozer is zoning up on the block, LeBron is now forced to catch the pass on the elbow instead of the block. Then after James makes the catch, Boozer simply stays there, taking away the drive on the left hand side. James is now forced to drive to the middle where there is help forcing him to kick the basketball out to Bosh, who misses the jumper against the shot clock.

So how did the Heat outscore the Bulls when they were playing this defense, and why should the Bulls continue to play it? Well, most of the baskets the Heat made came from miscommunication, which is something that will happen when you create a defensive strategy on the fly like this (this adjustment came at the half). After a day of practice and getting the rotation responsibilities down, I expect this defense to be far more effective. The result? The Bulls forcing the Heat's hand when it comes to whether or not they keep Joel Anthony on the court.

Mavericks Vs. Thunder, Game 4 Adjustments: More Movement, Don't Hedge Off Of Dirk Nowitzki

SebastianPruiti — Mon, 23 May 2011 20:11:30 -0000

In Game 3, the Dallas Mavericks punched the Oklahoma City Thunder in the mouth early in the first quarter, winning that quarter 27-12. That poor Thunder start was due in large part to the lack of offensive movement in the first half. When OKC was finally able to get close, they were unable to stop the Jason Terry/Dirk Nowitzki pick-and-pop. If the Thunder want to even up the series and give themselves a chance at making the NBA Finals, they are going to need to fix both of these problems.

Offense: Get More Movement

The lack of movement in the Thunder's offense has always been a problem, but when Kevin Durant struggles and is unable to bail the Thunder out, these problems are amplified. When watching the Thunder on offense, you usually see three or more players simply standing around possession after possession:

This time down the court, you have Russell Westbrook bringing the basketball up and attempt to try and call something while dribbling the basketball to the wing. Then nobody moves. After waiting for a while, Kendrick Perkins finally comes over and sets a screen, and Westbrook uses it. After coming off the screen, he tries to kick it out to James Harden, but Shawn Marion is able to get his hand on it and create the turnover. Now, the lack of movement is what allows Marion to get the turnover. He knows that Harden isn't a threat to cut off of his help, so he is able to dive in, stop penetration, and then shoot back out to get his hand on the ball.

Far too often, the Thunder run one action and think that is enough to get the job done. Here, Durant sets a screen for Westbrook in an attempt to run a pick-and-pop and then gets a screen on the backside from Perkins. Durant kind of jogs through the motions, and since Perkins isn't a threat on the offensive end, Tyson Chandler is able to play the passing lane and take the over the top pass away from Westbrook. Now once this action finishes, it is stand around time as everyone stands and watches Westbrook dribble the basketball. Westbrook is forced to try and create, missing the jumper out of isolation.

Here is another example of just one action (setting a screen up top) with everyone standing and watching. This time, we at least get to see a pass, but it goes to Durant who is stepping back to about 30 feet away from the basket. Durant makes the catch, but because he is so far out, his dribble penetration takes him just to the elbow, where he misses the jumper.

What really makes this frustrating is that when the Thunder are actually spaced properly and are moving, they look great (as they should with two of the better players in the league).

On this possession, you know that the Thunder are running a set from the start. Westbrook quickly gets the basketball out of his hands and cuts through as the Thunder start a set. Eventually, Westbrook attacks, but with good spacing, he has a teammate making himself available, kicks the ball out, and then the ball quickly shoots around the outside, forcing Dallas to recover. Eventually, Thabo Sefolosha gets it, pump fakes, and gets the easy lay-in.

The Mavericks have a good but not great defense. There are a few older guys on their roster who aren't even close to being as quick as the guys on the Thunder's roster. You zip the ball around and have guys cutting, you are forcing the Mavericks defense to rotate and recover, when that happens, the Thunder are going to have opportunities to penetrate. They need more of this in Game 4.

Defense: Don't Hedge Off Of Nowitzki In Pick And Pop Situations

In the fourth quarter of game three as Oklahoma City started to fight back, the Mavericks went to a Jason Terry/Dirk Nowitzki pick-and-pop (which is the new Barea/Nowitzki pick-and-pop), and Nick Collison's tendency to hedge on this play led to a few open jumpers for Dallas.

On both of these plays, Collison hedges out on Terry in an effort to keep him from penetrating. While that is a solid strategy against a normal pick-and-pop, but with Nowitzki, you can't do this. Collison had success stopping Nowitzki by staying in his body and not giving him any space. Once you hedge on the pick-and-pop, you can't stay with Dirk or in his body. This gives Nowitzki enough room to hit jumpers.

I understand that Terry is almost as much as a threat as Nowitzki in the fourth quarter, but you can't leave Dirk. Maybe send a rotating defender from somewhere else, maybe hope that Terry's defender can get through the screen, but don't leave Nowitzki open.

Chicago’s Reverse Box And One – Did It Work?

SebastianPruiti — Mon, 23 May 2011 19:49:36 -0000

Chicago’s Reverse Box And One – Did It Work?

Starting in the third quarter, the Bulls tried a new defensive strategy where they left Joel Anthony. I take a look at it and try to determine if it works/can work.

Mavericks Vs. Thunder, Game 3 Adjustments: Barea Needs To Be More Aggressive On PNRs, Defend Kevin Durant Ball Screens Better

SebastianPruiti — Sat, 21 May 2011 21:28:50 -0000

Despite the fact that everyone seems to be talking about Russell Westbrook and his benching, the Dallas Mavericks were the team that ended up losing both game two and the homecourt advantage in the Western Conference Finals. If Dallas is to take back homecourt advantage and take a 2-1 series lead, they are going to need to make adjustments to their pick and roll game on both sides of the basketball.

Offense: Be More Aggressive In Pick And Roll Situations

In game one, the Dallas Mavericks used J.J. Barea as the ball handler in a pick and roll ten different times, having great success creating space for Barea and allowing him to attack. In game two however, the Mavericks ran a ball screen for Barea just five times. Out of four of these five ball screens, instead of attacking Barea settled for three point shots. Although he hit two of the four threes, this lack of aggressiveness kept Barea out of the lane and kept him from creating havoc:

On all of these three point attempts, Barea had himself a chance to turn the corner and get into the lane. However, instead of doing so he settled for the three point shot, and this is exactly what the Oklahoma City Thunder wanted, baiting Barea into taking these shots by going under every single ball screen. In each one of the plays above, Barea's speed would allow him to turn the corner (or at least try to), opening up a number of things. His shot in the lane, a kickout to the corner for a three, and maybe most importantly, when Barea attacks, he tends to draw the hedge man out (usually the defender covering Dirk Nowitzki), leaving Dirk open for the easy jumper.

J.J. Barea needs to start attacking again, putting the defense on their back foot if he wants to replicate the success he and his teammates had one game one.

Defense: Turn Kevin Durant Away From Ball Screens

Something the Oklahoma City Thunder did with Kevin Durant in game two was use him in ball screen situations. The Thunder ran pick and rolls with Durant as the ball handler five different times, allowing him to score six points in the process. One of the reasons Durant was able to have success with the pick and roll is because of the way the Mavericks were defending him:

Watching the two possessions above, you should notice that the Mavericks are playing this pick and roll very passively, giving him the space to come off of the screen and create (once getting fouled and once getting a wide open jumper. It was interesting that the Mavericks were playing it this way, especially considering who the screeners were. Both Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka aren't the biggest threats to knock down a jumper in pick and pop situations.

To me, it was almost as if the Mavericks took their pick and roll strategy for Russell Westbrook (giving him plenty of space, letting him take jumpers instead of driving) and used it when Kevin Durant started coming off of ball screens. That wasn't going to work.

Later in the game, the Mavericks got a little bit smarter when it came to defending Durant:

The Mavericks had success making it tougher for Durant by turning him away from the screens by showing really early and hard on the hedges. These hedges basically forced Durant to go away from the screen, allowing his defender to play Durant one on one and not having to fight through a screen. The result was a turnover and a tough shot after an even tougher move.

The Durant pick and roll is something the Thunder had success with, so you can expect to see more of it in game three. The key will be whether or not Dallas gives Durant space when he comes off of the screen. If they can force him to go away from the screen like they did in the final two possessions, they can make stoping Kevin Durant a little bit easier.

A Late Game Twist From Chicago

SebastianPruiti — Mon, 16 May 2011 07:04:15 -0000

A Late Game Twist From Chicago

[From the FanShots, something for the morning. All praise be to Thibs -ed.]

Over at NBAPlaybook, I take a look at the Rose/Korver pick and pop that the Bulls ran late in the 4th quarter, taking advantage of the Heat's pick and roll defense.

Memphis Grizzlies' Game 6 Adjustments: Get It To Zach Randolph In The Right Spots, Maintain Floor Balance

SebastianPruiti — Fri, 13 May 2011 19:53:22 -0000

Each day, we are going to preview the night's NBA Playoffs action by looking at the adjustments that can be made by the losing team and showing what they can do to win.

After losing Game 5 in blowout fashion, the Memphis Grizzlies are at home facing elimination Friday in Game 6. If they want to keep the game close and give themselves a chance to get the win and send this series to a Game 7, they need to make a few different adjustments on both ends of the court.

Offense: Get It To Zach Randolph On The Left Block

During the regular season, Randolph was more effective in the post on the left block, scoring 0.898 PPP on 44.4 percent as compared to the 0.870 on 42 percent on the left block. However, that didn't stop the Grizzlies from giving him most of his post touches (4 of 6) on the right block. The reason why Randolph is ineffective on the right block is because of the fact that he is a lefty and when he faces up to shoot a jumper on the right side, he is bringing the basketball back to the defense:

On this play, Randolph gets the basketball on the right block and faces up his defender, Serge Ibaka. Randolph drives to the right and attempts to take a step back jumper (something that he has had plenty of success with all series), however because he is a lefty, he is actually bringing the basketball back to Ibaka's area and in a range where he can try to block the shot. Even though Ibaka doesn't get the block here, he obviously alters the shot as Randolph sends it long.

If Randolph takes this same type of shot from the left block, Ibaka would have to go through Randolph's body to actually attempt to alter the shot in the same way. If the Grizzlies want to win, they need Randolph to be effective down low, and if they want that to happen, they need to post him on the left block.

Defense: Maintain Floor Balance

Despite having just 14 transition opportunities, the Thunder were able to score 25 fastbreak points in Game 5 against the Grizzlies. A good chunk of these points allowed were self inflicted by Memphis, as they failed to maintain floor balance and giving the Thunder a free run in transition:

On this play, we start with Greivis Vasquez penetrating in the middle of the lane. As that happens, Shane Battier spots up in the corner. However, with all five Grizzlies' players below the free throw line, Battier needs to get back and be ready to stop and transition opportunity.

As Vasquez passes the basketball off, you still have all five Grizzlies below the free throw line.

As the Thunder secure the basketball, James Harden starts to leak out. Battier tries to get back, but he is coming from the corner instead of being up top, and he has a lot of ground to make up.

Battier is able to get back, but because he had to cover so much ground he is unable to effectively contest the shot, allowing Harden to finish. Here is the play in real time:

When you are on offense, you need to maintain floor balance and keep someone back on defense. Instead of getting back, Battier decides to spot up in the corner, essentially giving the Thunder an easy transition opportunity.

On both of these plays, you have a player who is supposed to rotate to get back on defense (Mike Conley in the first clip/O.J. Mayo in the second) walking to their spot instead of hustling back. This hurts them when the Thunder gain possession of the basketball and get out on the break, taking advantage of nobody back on defense.

If the Grizzlies want to have a chance in Game 6, they need to keep the game close and hope to take advantage of the Thunder's late game struggles. For that to happen they need to limit the Thunder's transition game and keep them from getting too many easy buckets.

The Bulls' Pick And Roll And How Miami Will Defend It

SebastianPruiti — Fri, 13 May 2011 17:55:14 -0000

The Bulls' Pick And Roll And How Miami Will Defend It

Over at NBAPlaybook, I got my preview post up for the conference finals, focusing on the Bulls' pick and roll (something they have used 22.5% of the time during the playoffs), how I think Miami will defend it, and how Chicago can/will counter.

Atlanta Hawks' Game 6 Adjustments: Ditch The Isolations, Don't Meet Derrick Rose On Screens

SebastianPruiti — Thu, 12 May 2011 19:12:48 -0000

Each day, we are going to preview the night's NBA Playoffs action by looking at the adjustments that can be made by the losing team and showing what they can do to win.

After losing game six, the Atlanta Hawks now find themselves in a situation where they need a home win to secure a seventh game in this series. If they are going to want to get to game seven, the Hawks are going to have to make a few changes on both ends of the basketball.

Offense: Run More Sets Late In Games

Many times during close games in the fourth quarter, there is one easy way to figure out if the Hawks have a chance to win. Watch their offense. If they are moving the basketball and getting movement off of the ball, they will have a chance. If they are relying on isolation style offense, they make things too easy for the defense and usually end up losing the game.

Maybe the most frustrating aspect of the Hawks and their determination to run isolation sets is that they seem to have a solid half court offense when they want to:

Both of these plays are well thought out, well timed, and well executed and it makes you think why can't the Hawks run these type of sets every possession down the court. Instead, the Hawks often come out of timeouts running plays that are designed to be isolations with four people standing around and giving the defense a chance to throw a double team:

I guess the biggest problem that I have with these isolation type plays is that they make it easy for the defense. No cuts, no passes, four guys standing around allows the defense to load up on the ball handler and play defense. If the Hawks run their good stuff late, I think they still have a chance.

Defense: Don't Meet Rose High When He Comes Off Screens

When looking at the possession breakdown of the Chicago Bulls, it is obvious that the Bulls are attacking the Atlanta Hawks with the pick and roll. In game five, 13 of the 31 possessions that Derrick Rose used were categorized as pick and roll possessions. The Hawks have found a decent way to defend the pick and roll, and that way is have the hedge man let Rose come to him instead of meeting him up top:

When Joakim Noah comes over and sets the screen, Derrick Rose uses it and Jeff Teague trails him over the screen. Al Horford is hedging, making his presence known but not attacking him. He is showing himself, but taking a step back at the same time.

This allows him to stay in front of Rose as he crosses over and attacks the basket, sticking with him and not getting into the lane contested.

Because he was able to stick with him, Horford is able to rise up and block the shot as he tries to take the floater at the rim. Here is the play in real time:

Derrick Rose is so incredibly fast that you can't take a step at him when he is dribbling at you because he will just blow by you, so to take a step back on the hedge as Rose's defender is setting the screen is a very good way to essentially "corral" him and prevent him front getting to the rim uncontested. The problem is that the Hawks' bigs weren't doing this every time down the court:

Here, Horford takes a quick little hop step towards Rose as he hedges, and that is all he needs to get by Horford and get to the rim where he finishes with the floater.

In the playoffs, the Bulls' offense has completely broken down to a lot of Derrick Rose penetration dribble off of screens. They are going to continue running pick and rolls, and the Hawks are going to have to learn how to stop Rose, and they can do so by "corralling" him instead of attacking him coming off of screens.

Celtics Vs. Heat: Game 5 Adjustments Boston Needs To Make

SebastianPruiti — Wed, 11 May 2011 19:14:51 -0000

Facing elimination, the Boston Celtics are in Miami looking to get a win against the Heat and turn around a 3-1 series and get it back to Boston giving themselves an opportunity to win game six and force a game seven. To do that, they need to win tonight, and to win tonight, they need to make a few adjustments.

Offense: Execute Better Late

If you think of Doc Rivers and the Boston Celtics in terms of execution, you think about a coach who can draw up phenomenal plays and a team that usually executes what is drawn up. In game four, the Celtics had a chance to win the game in regulation after a huge LeBron James turnover (where he basically dribbled the basketball out of bounds). After some confusion, Paul Pierce missed a jump shot as the Celtics failed to execute properly:

Maybe the most frustrating part of this if you are a Celtics' fan is that this isn't really all that complicated a play. It was supposed to be Ray Allen flaring off of a Garnett screen, and then a Pick and Pop involving Garnett and Pierce:

Sure, you can say that this is just one play, but it comes at an extremely important time. With the Heat's defense, they are so good that you are only going to score if you execute properly. You aren't going to get many points on broken plays, so if Boston wants to win game five, they need to execute in the 4th quarter and take advantage of their possessions.

Defense: Make Everyone Else Beat You

The face that the Miami Heat's big three scored 83 points while the rest of the team scored 15, shows you they are a little dependent on their stars. When these guys penetrate, the defense needs to collapse on them, force the kick out, and make everyone else beat you. In Game four, it worked, but they didn't do it nearly enough. On 8 of the spot up opportunities not taken by the big three, they only had 2 makes for 4 points:

Here, the Miami Heat try to run a pick and roll along the baseline, and when Wade penetrates along the baseline, the entire team sinks into the middle. When the ball gets kicked out to LeBron James, Rajon Rondo rotates over to him, leaving Mike Bibby wide open, but Bibby misses the three.

Here, Chris Bosh gets the ball in the pinch post and looks to face up on his man. Rondo shades him to the middle, taking away the dribble penetration with his right hand. Bosh makes the right play (a kick-out pass to Chalmers in the corner), but Chalmers misses the shot.

Obviously, it is harder to do when all three of the big three are on the court, but they need to overplay them so much that the pass is obvious. Make the rest of the Heat handle, shoot, and try to create more and the Boston Celtics have a chance to win this game.

Monty Williams Week: Monty's Playcalling Out Of Timeouts

SebastianPruiti — Fri, 06 May 2011 14:35:34 -0000

[Today, we have a guest story on Monty Williams' play-calling from one of my favorite NBA writers, Sebastian Pruiti. He breaks down NBA play-calling extensively at his website, NBA Playbook, and you can also find his work at SBNation, The Basketball Jones, and Basketball Prospectus. Enjoy. -R]

One of the toughest things (along with developing a starting lineup and rotation) for a new head coach is drawing up plays during timeouts. Now, being an assistant, Williams has probably had some input on post-timeout plays, but this season with the Hornets was the first time he was on his own in terms of playcalling out of timeouts. With that being said, despite finishing 4th in my Clipboard Awards (it was a system that just looked at good plays and ignored the bad ones), Williams' Hornets was one of the worst teams when it came to scoring it after timeouts. In 1140 post-timeout possessions, the Hornets scored just 931 points, good for a PPP of 0.817 (good for 27th in the NBA).

So what went wrong with Williams' playcalling coming out of timeouts? One of the problems that I have noticed is that when the Hornets fail to score out of a timeout, it is because there is not enough movement on the court. When coming out of a timeout, the defense is already set, this means that you usually aren't going to be able to make one pass and come up with a good look (usually) as everyone just stands around:

Here you have a simple dribble handoff, one pass, a cut through, and then a post entry pass. Landry misses an ok look, but coming out of a timeout, you want to try to get a better look. To do that, you want to get Landry in better position, and that would require him to move off of the basketball (maybe get a cross-screen) a little bit. Having Landry just stand there doesn't allow him to establish position.

In addition to some poor playcalling decisions coming out of timeouts, Williams' team did leave him hanging a few times when he did draw up some great plays:

Now, on all of the plays above, Williams did a great job drawing up a solid set to get his team the basketball in a position to score. On all of these plays, there were turnovers. While the coach is somewhat to blame (you need to put your players in a position where you know they will succeed), this is mostly the fault of the players.

Despite the poor performance coming out of timeouts, Monty Williams is still responsible for one of my favorite after timeout plays of all time:

This "swinging gate" type of play is really hard to defend when you aren't expecting it, and Monty Williams did a great sprinkling it in during the regular season.

All things considered, I think Williams has the potential to be a pretty good playcaller coming out of timeouts. He just has to make sure he maintains ball/player movement to get the defense moving and out of position.

Los Angeles Lakers' Game 2 Adjustments: Attack Dirk Nowitzki, Don't Use Pau Gasol To Defend Him

SebastianPruiti — Wed, 04 May 2011 18:31:35 -0000

Each day, we are going to preview the night's NBA Playoffs action by looking at the adjustments that can be made by the losing team and showing what they can do to win.

In Game 1of their series against the Dallas Mavericks, the Los Angeles Lakers came out and lost thanks in large part to Dirk Nowitzki. So it makes sense that the adjustments the Lakers need to make involve Dirk Nowitzki, on both sides of the basketball.

Offense: Attack Dirk Nowitzki

One way to try and make Dirk Nowitzki less effective on the offensive end is to attack him when he is playing defense. Whoever is covering Nowitzki when he is on offense should have an advantage when they are on offense. The problem with the Lakers is that they didn't try to take advantage of this mismatch enough

On both of these plays, they go right at Nowitzki (with Pau Gasol on the block and with Lamar Odom attacking on the outside). It is no surprise they they get good looks from this. The Lakers have to be willing to spot the mismatch and get the ball to the mismatch, especially during the start of the game where Gasol is defending Nowitzki (and vice-versa).

Defense: Don't use Pau Gasol To Defend Dirk

With the Lakers' current starting lineup, Phil Jackson puts himself in a unique situation when it comes to defending Nowitzki early in the game. Odom is easily the best option on Nowitzki, but because he is the sixth man, he doesn't start the game off on Dirk. In Game 1, Jackson went to Pau, it didn't work out well for the Lakers:

Here, you see Gasol's discomfort on the outside. When Nowitzki makes the catch on the outside, Gasol is on him, but instead of getting a hand in Nowitzki's face, he keeps both hands low, looking to steal any crossover dribble. With his hands down, Nowitzki is able to rise and fire, knocking the shot down over Gasol.

On this possession, Nowitzki makes the catch out by the three-point line, and Gasol is forced to follow him out there. Gasol is at a disadvantage when trying to defend Dirk on the outside and after a pump faked pass, Nowitzki drives, gets to his spot, and knocks down the jumper.

So what options does Phil Jackson have? Well first, he can start Odom to get the rotations to match up and have him cover Nowitzki for more of the game (when Odom first comes in, it is usually when Nowitzki takes his first break, and Odom doesn't start defending Nowitzki until the second quarter; same for the start of the second half). If Jackson doesn't want to change around his starting lineup, he can try and use Ron Artest to defend Nowitzki. Now, this is far from an ideal situation, but in my opinion, the mobility and physicality of Artest could make him a potential option to defend Nowitzki for anywhere from 8-12 minutes per game (start of the first quarter/start of the third quarter). Either way, Jackson needs to come up with a way to keep Gasol off of Nowitzki during this first part of the game.

Oklahoma City Thunder's Game 2 Adjustments: Less Kevin Durant Off The Ball

SebastianPruiti — Tue, 03 May 2011 20:38:03 -0000

Each day, we are going to preview the night's NBA Playoffs action by looking at the adjustments that can be made by the losing team and showing what they can do to win.

Despite having the likes of Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins to bolster their interior defense, the Oklahoma City Thunder came out and lost game one to the 8-seed Memphis Grizzlies. If the Thunder want to leave Oklahoma City with a split, they are going to have to make a few adjustments.

Offense: Less Durant Off Of The Ball

Late in games, Kevin Durant struggles because is he too weak to work off of the ball and when the defense pressures him they can make his runs off of screens less effective. Normally, this isn't a problem during the first 46 minutes of the game, but when going up against the Grizzlies and specifically Tony Allen and Shane Battier in Game 1 Durant struggled because Allen plays Durant off of screens like it is the final two minutes for the entire game:

Here, the Thunder are trying to run a screen the screener set for Durant, however when it comes time for him to come off the screen, Battier gets up in Durant and pushes him away from the screen. This allows Battier to trail through and get the contest on the shot that is eventually blocked.

So what does the Thunder need to do? It seems strange to say, but they need to get the ball in Durant's hands earlier and let him work with the ball at the top of the key. This is where Durant has his advantage, using his height to see over and shoot over both Allen and Battier.

Defense: Make Zach Randolph Take A Dribble

Zach Randolph pretty much had his way with the Thunder defense, and while he is probably going to have an impact in game two, there is some changes that Serge Ibaka (who in m opinion will be matched up with Zach Randolph most of the game) can make when defending Randolph. The biggest, in my opinion, is that Ibaka needs to pressure up on Randolph and not allow him to get off his rainbow shots cleanly.

For some reason in game one, Serge Ibaka was playing slightly off of him instead of getting up in Randolph's body. This allowed him to easily get the shots off as you can see above. If Ibaka plays up on him and takes this shot away, it would force Randolph to have to put the ball on the floor and try to get by him. While that is somewhat effective, Ibaka has the athletic to keep Randolph from getting to the rim easily and has the chance to bother/block shots as Randolph drives. To me, it seemed like Ibaka was more concerned with Randolph's drive than his shot in game one, and if that doesn't change, Randolph will continue to be a big time factor.

Boston Celtics' Game 2 Adjustments: Kevin Garnett Pick And Pops, Stay Focused On Defense

SebastianPruiti — Tue, 03 May 2011 18:13:25 -0000

Each day, we are going to preview the night's NBA Playoffs action by looking at the adjustments that can be made by the losing team and showing what they can do to win.

With three road teams winning their second round match-up, it is a little surprising to see that the Boston Celtics were the only road team not to come away with the win. If the Celtics want to take home court advantage from the Miami Heat, they are going to have to make a few adjustments on both sides of the basketball.

Offense: More Pick And Pops For Kevin Garnett

With the way that the Miami Heat like to put pressure on the ballhandler when they come off of screens, something the Heat are susceptible to is the pick and pop. This is something that fits Kevin Garnett's game well, but for whatever reason, this set was only run twice for Garnett, who ended up missing both shots:

Yes, Garnett missed both of these shots but these are wide open looks and from a spot on the court where Garnett can knock it down. If the Celtics can come away with more of these shots and Garnett can knock them down, the Heat are going to be in some trouble.

Defense: Stay Focused

Maybe it was because the Celtics had an extended break, but the Celtics unusually lacked focus on the defensive, too often turning their head away from their man and paying too much attention to the basketball.

On this play, Mike Miller makes the catch on the wing, pump fakes, and drives to the middle of the court. Jeff Green, who is responsible for James Jones, gets caught ball-watching badly and has his back turned to his man, who cuts from the wing to the corner. Miller does a great job to hit Jones and Jones easily knocks down the three-point shot from the corner.

Here, coming out of a timeout, the Heat are running a set that ends up getting the ball to Dwyane Wade on the wing as two bigs set a screen off of the basketball for LeBron James. Both Celtic defenders responsible for help defense have their backs turned to the ball-watching LeBron. So when Wade penetrates, there is no help coming and he is able to finish at the rim while getting fouled.

I am willing to chalk this up as rust and a fluke because the Celtics' defense has been so good in the past and during the regular season. However, if the Celtics continue to struggle this could be a major problem for Boston.

Memphis Grizzlies' Game 6 Adjustments: Keep It Simple Late, Don't Switch Ball Screens

SebastianPruiti — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 15:10:21 -0000

Each day, we are going to preview the night's NBA Playoffs action by looking at the adjustments that can be made by the losing team and showing what they can do to win.

After really taking the series to the San Antonio Spurs, the Memphis Grizzlies were looking to finish it at the AT&T Center in Game 5. However, thanks to a few big-time shots from the Spurs, the Grizzlies were unable to advance to the second round. If the Grizzlies make a few adjustments on both ends of the court, they should be able to close out the series on Friday back in Memphis.

Offense: Keep It Simple Late

After tying the game at 103 with 1:49 left in overtime, the Memphis Grizzlies were unable to score the rest of the game. Part of the reason they were unable to score was their poor execution on the offensive end:

Here, the Grizzlies want to set a screen, force the Spurs into a switch, and then post up Shane Battier on Tony Parker. The Grizzlies are able to get done what they want to get done, however the Spurs defend it well and the result is Tony Allen being forced to take a three-point shot. My problem with this play is the Grizzlies are really going away from their strength here. They had their success posting up Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, in my opinion, if you need a two, you need to go to Randolph or Gasol. No reason to try and get fancy here.

On this play, the Grizzlies are trying to get the ball to Randolph. To do so, the Grizzlies try to run a cross screen for him, allowing him to move without the ball and establish position. However, Antonio McDyess is able to beat Randolph to the spot and keep him from getting the ball. So, instead of a Randolph post-up opportunity, the Grizzlies get the ball into Gasol with the shot clock running down. Gasol is forced to put up a fadeaway jumper as the clock expires and he fails to hit the rim.

All series, the Grizzlies were able able to dominate the Spurs with simple post-ups for their big men. When it got time to get a bucket to close out the series, the Grizzlies went away from the simple post ups and tried to get a little fancy, failing to score.

Defense: Don't Switch Ball Screens

So far this series, when Parker is successful the Spurs are successful. This is especially true when Parker is getting into the lane and finishing. In Game 5, a game that the Spurs won, Parker shot 50 percent on twos, hitting 9-18 shots. Parker's success was due in large part to the fact that the Grizzlies ended up switching a few screens, allowing Parker to work one-on-one against a big:

On both of these plays, Randolph gets a little too aggressive on his hedges and turns the situation into a switch. This allows Parker to isolate Randolph and come away with points each possession. Parker is too quick for either of the Grizzlies' bigs, so there is no way they can have success with switching. Mike Conley needs to fight over screens and not allow his bigs to switch.

Los Angeles Lakers' Game 5 Adjustments: Keep Hornets Off Offensive Glass, Hit The Cutter

SebastianPruiti — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:05:32 -0000

Each day, we are going to preview the night's NBA Playoffs action by looking at the adjustments that can be made by the losing team and showing what they can do to win.

While many thought that the Los Angeles Lakers would easily deal with the New Orleans Hornets, they have now found themselves in a dogfight. With the series tied 2-2, the Lakers are going to need to make a few adjustments if they want to take an advantage in this series.

Offense: More Cuts

One of the most underrated aspects of the Lakers' triangle offense is that it creates plenty of cutting opportunities and passing lanes for the team to take advantage of. Over the course of the regular season, the Lakers did exactly that, scoring 1.32 points per possession, which was good for No. 2 in the league. However, during the postseason, the Lakers haven't been finishing their cuts, scoring just 1.07 points per possession on cuts, which is No. 15 among 16 playoff teams. Naturally, one of the reasons for the drop in efficiency has been the finishing ability of a certain 7-footer. During the regular season, Pau Gasol was one of the biggest benefactors of these cuts, but so far this postseason, he has been struggling.

This play is a perfect example of Gasol's inability to finish off of the cut. Here, Kobe Bryant breaks down his man and hits Gasol, who flashes to the weakside block. When Gasol makes the catch, instead of going right up with it, he brings the basketball down (something that almost never happened during the regular season). Gasol bringing the basketball down allows Emeka Okafor to range over and get the block as Gasol goes up for the shot.

Defense: Keep The Hornets Off Of The Offensive Glass

With the Lakers' size advantage you would expect the defensive glass wouldn't be a problem. However, in Game 4, the Hornets were able to grab 13 offensive rebounds. The rebounds were a direct result of poor rotations on the defensive end:

Here, Jarrett Jack breaks down his man and gets to the rim, forcing Andrew Bynum to range over and help. Bynum misses the blocked shot attempt and Jack is able to get the ball up on the rim. With Bynum coming over and helping, it is Steve Blake's responsibility to rotate over and box out Aaron Gray. This rotation happens, but Blake has no chance to box out Gray and he is unable to prevent the tip in.

Orlando Magic's Game 5 Adjustments: Hit The Roll Man, Close Out On Shooters

SebastianPruiti — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:47:46 -0000

Each day, we are going to preview the night's NBA Playoffs action by looking at the adjustments that can be made by the losing team and showing what they can do to win.

Going into Game 5, the Orlando Magic are facing elimination, trailing their series with the Atlanta Hawks 3-1. If the Magic want to extend the series, and their season, they are going to have to make a few adjustments on both sides of the basketball.

Offense: Hit The Roll Man

The Orlando Magic have one of the best screeners in the NBA in Dwight Howard, so when Synergy Sports Technology tells us that Orlando has one of the worst pick-and-roll games in the playoffs, it is hard to believe. However, this is the case as the Magic are scoring just 0.82 PPP whenever they run the pick-and-roll, which is good for just No. 11 out of the 16 playoff teams in the NBA.

One of the reasons why Orlando has been so unsuccessful in the pick-and-roll game is because they flat out refuse to use the roll man as a threat when coming off of screens. Out of the 93 pick-and-rolls run by Orlando, the roll man has been hit just nine times. On pick-and-rolls, the Magic have been a little too shot-happy (and willing to kick the ball out) when coming off of screens:

Here, Hedo Turkoglu comes off of the screen, and attacks the rim with Dwight Howard rolling on the opposite side of the rim. Instead of driving at Jason Collins, forcing him to help, and then making the lob pass to Howard, Turkoglu kicks the ball out to Brandon Bass, who misses the corner jumper.

This isn't just the fault of the ball handler. Orlando's screeners are also at fault because they seem to pop out instead of rolling to the rim too often:

Here, Bass sets the screen and his man leaves to trap the ball handler. Instead of rolling to the rim and making himself available, Bass pops out and hangs out around the three-point line. This pop effectively lets the defense off of the hook and prevents the Magic from taking advantage of Atlanta's decision to commit two defenders to the man coming off of the ball screen.

The Hawks have been doing a good job of contesting the Magic when they are taking jumpers coming off of screens. If the Magic start hitting the roll man on screens, this will keep the defense honest, allowing the ball handler to have more space to make strong decisions.

Defense: Close Out On Shooters

According to Synergy Sports Technology, the Atlanta Hawks are second among playoff teams in terms of points per possession on spot up opportunities, scoring 1.10 points every possession. Compared to their regular season number of 0.99 PPP, the Magic are allowing Atlanta to knock down shots at a higher rate in this series. This comes down to Orlando's inability to close out on shooters effectively, which is due to Orlando's defenders committing too much to the inside and allowing Atlanta to spot up on the outside:

Here, Kirk Hinrich sets a backscreen for his teammate during a sideline out-of-bounds set. Both defenders run with the man getting screened, allowing Hinrich to pop out behind the three-point line. Once Hinrich makes the catch, the defense tries to close out on him, but it is too late and Hinrich is able to knock the shot down.

On this play, the Hawks are running a high pick-and-roll, with Joe Johnson coming off of the screen and attacking the middle. Despite the fact that the Magic have Dwight Howard in the middle of the paint, Jameer Nelson feels that it is necessary to sink in and help. As soon as he sinks, Johnson kicks the ball out to Hinrich behind the three-point line, allowing him to knock down the shot.

In my opinion, Orlando should have one of the best defenses when it comes to defending spot up opportunities. This is because with Dwight Howard protecting the rim, the Magic should be able to close out hard and prevent clean shots. In addition, with Howard, there shouldn't be a rush to leave your man if you are a wing defender. This is happening way too much for Orlando right now.

Chicago Bulls' Game 5 Adjustments: More Creative Post Ups, Defend Off Ball Screens Better

SebastianPruiti — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:44:14 -0000

Each day, we are going to preview the night's NBA Playoffs action by looking at the adjustments that can be made by the losing team and showing what they can do to win.

After fighting off the Indiana Pacers three times in a row, the Chicago Bulls finally succumbed to the Pacers' effort, losing Game 4. If the Bulls want to come away with the "Gentleman's Sweep" they need to make a few adjustments.

Offense: More Creative Posts

While the Bulls didn't have the most effective post offense during the regular season (22nd in the NBA with a PPP of 0.82), they are struggling even more during the playoffs posting a PPP of just 0.71. One of the reasons for their struggles is that they are no longer running their post offense. Instead when the Bulls do enter the ball to the block, it is a straight post, allowing the defense to push the posting player off of their spot and make the post extremely difficult.

Here, Derrick Rose brings the basketball up and the ball gets entered to Carlos Boozer off of a straight entry pass. Without any movement, Boozer is unable to establish a strong post position. Getting the ball farther away from the basket than he would like, Boozer is forced to face up, where he commits the turnover.

On this play, Taj Gibson gets the ball not off of a set, but off of a broken down transition opportunity. Again, Gibson is unable to get strong post position and he is forced to face up. When this happens, Gibson is forced to try and take a pull-up jumper, one that he misses.

The Bulls' post offense relies undersized post players (Boozer and Gibson in particular). Because they are undersized, the Bulls use a lot of cross-screens to help the bigs establish post position (this helps because with Boozer's/Gibson's man trailing him, he is able to get to his spot and prevent the defender from pushing him off of the spot). On straight posts, this doesn't happen and you can see the result. Bigs catching the ball way too far out, being forced to faceup, and turnovers/misses.

Defense: Defend Off Ball Screens Better

One of the things the Pacers really succeeded with on the offensive end during the regular season was working off of screens away from the basketball. They have been even more effective during the postseason, posting a PPP of 1.13. This is because the Bulls' defense is struggling when chasing Pacers' wings around screens:

Here, Luol Deng gets detached from Danny Granger on the initial screen, giving Granger the freedom and space to come off of another pindown screen. There is so much space that when Granger comes off of the screen, he is able to catch, square up and then shoot before Deng can contest the shot.

The Pacers probably have noticed their ability to knock down shots coming off of screens away from the basketball. Expect the Pacers to do this more in Game 5, and if the Bulls don't adjust, they are going to get beat by it again and again.

Dallas Mavericks' Game 5 Adjustments: Post Dirk Nowitzki More, Play More Zone

SebastianPruiti — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:44:44 -0000

Each day, we are going to preview the night's NBA Playoffs action by looking at the adjustments that can be made by the losing team and showing what they can do to win.

Everything was looking good for the Dallas Mavericks, who had a 23-point lead in the third quarter of Game 4 of their series against the Portland Trailblazers. However, the Blazers were able to come back, tying the series at two games apiece. Now at home, looking to take the series lead, the Mavericks will have to make some adjustments.

Offense: Post Dirk Nowitzki More

Nowitzki's height advantage and his ability to hit a turnaround jumper makes him a very difficult player to stop in the post. In fact, in Game 4, he had success in his limited touches. Nowitzki was posted seven times, scoring eight points, good for a PPP of 1.14.

Nowitzki is very good at using his size to get to the spot where he wants to be on the court, and once he gets there he can fade away, making his shot almost impossible to defend against. That is exactly what happens here, as Nowitzki gets the shot over LaMarcus Aldridge, a very long defender.

Defense: Play More Zone

Since this was my adjustment for Game 4, I know I am starting to sound like a broken record here. However, I continue to repeat it because I feel it is so important. As a team, the Mavericks were able to build their defense around a zone over the course of the regular season, running it 10.5 percent of the time. In this series against the Blazers, they are playing a team that doesn't do well against the zone.

In terms of PPP, the Blazers are 29th in the league, scoring just 0.762 points every zone possession. The reason why they struggle so much is because they don't zip the basketball around:

In both of these clips, you see the Blazers passing the ball around, holding it too much. The reason why everyone is holding the basketball is because nobody really knows what to do. It is pass, hold, look and pass. With everyone holding the basketball you are allowing the defense to rotate, get set, and then rotate again, rather then keeping the defense moving. In addition, you see a lot of pointless dribbling.

So when you take the Mavericks and their strong zone defense and combine it with the Blazers poor zone offense, you would expect them to go to the zone as much as they did in the regular season, if not more. However, that hasn't been the case, as the Mavericks have ran a zone defense just two times (getting stops both times).

I don't know why the Mavericks have been avoiding the zone, but it just doesn't make sense, especially considering that Portland has gone on a few big runs during this series. The best way to disrupt these runs, go zone. If the Mavericks see Portland going off of them, they should be throwing their zone out there.

San Antonio Spurs' Game 4 Adjustments: Better Shot Selection, Double The Post

SebastianPruiti — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:12:45 -0000

Each day, we are going to preview the night's NBA Playoffs action by looking at the adjustments that can be made by the losing team and showing what they can do to win.

After San Antonio's loss to Memphis in Game 1, everyone knew that this was going to be a tough series for the Spurs, but that they would be able to pull it out. Now, with the Grizzlies winning Game 3 in Memphis, the series result is much more in the air. If the Spurs want to win Game 4, they need to make a few adjustments.

Offense: Three-Point Shot Selection

During the regular season, the Spurs were one of the best three point shooting teams in the league. However, during this series, the Spurs have really struggled knocking threes down. Game 3 was a perfect example of that with the Spurs going 2-15 from the three-point line. Now, some of this has to do with Memphis doing a great job playing the three-point line, but the Spurs are also to blame as they are making poor decisions when it comes to shot selection.

This play is a perfect example of the Spurs' shot selection struggles this series. The Spurs do what they do and get the kickout to the corner. However, the Grizzlies do a great job of playing passing lanes and get out quickly on Gary Neal. Instead of pump faking and driving to the rim (which would work on a hard close out), Neal settles for the contested three that he misses.

Here, this is just a quick shot early in the clock. This has been the biggest difference in the Spurs' offense compared to years past. However, when you are in a funk like this, it is hard think this is a good shot, especially when contested.

If the Spurs can take advantage of the Grizzlies and their hard closeouts in the corner (by pump faking and driving), this could make the Grizzlies think about the closeout a little bit, slowing them down. That then opens up the three-point shot. The Spurs just need to be smarter about their shots.

Defense: Double The Post

According to Synergy Sports Technology, the Memphis Grizzlies ran a post-up set 35 times in Game 3. The Spurs only set a hard double or committed a second man five times. The Spurs are at a disadvantage when they get posted up by either Marc Gasol or Zach Randolph because they are simply not big enough to stop them. However, when they send a double, they are able to force the posting big man to get rid of the basketball:

Here, Randolph gets the basketball and wants to turn middle on his post move. He is unable to complete his move because Manu Ginobili is doubling down hard. Randolph is forced to kick the basketball out to Tony Allen, who puts up a runner in the lane. He misses.

If the Spurs are able to get the ball out of Randolph or Gasol's hands, I am sure they would be willing to live with Tony Allen or Mike Conley taking open jumpers and runners. The Spurs need to commit more defenders to stopping the Grizzlies on the block, and try to take away their biggest strength.

Looking At Chicago's Final Play

SebastianPruiti — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 14:04:22 -0000

Looking At Chicago's Final Play

Over at NBA Playbook, I take a look at Chicago's final play and show that it was a decent set, but Rose slipping and some solid defense lead to Boozer taking a three in the corner.

Dallas Mavericks' Game 3 Adjustments: Limit Turnovers, Play More Zone

SebastianPruiti — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 18:39:14 -0000

Each day, we are going to preview the night's NBA Playoffs action by looking at the adjustments that can be made by the losing team and showing what they can do to win.

After taking a 2-0 series lead, the Dallas Mavericks went to Portland and lost Game 3 to the Trail Blazers. If the Mavericks want to take Game 4 in Portland, they are going to have to make a few changes.

Offense: Limit Turnovers

In Game 2, a game where the Mavericks won, they limited themselves to just six turnovers over the course of the game. On the road in Game 3, the Mavericks turned the basketball over 16 times. 5 of these turnovers lead directly to transition opportunities for the Blazers, allowing them to score nine nine points. These points were key in allowing Portland to not only pull away, but to maintain the lead. Most of these turnovers weren't even forced turnovers, but just bad decisions made by the offense:

On this play, Jason Terry gets the basketball and tries to drive and kick. However, Gerald Wallace reads this perfectly, gets the steal and creates a transition opportunity resulting in two points.

Here, Jason Kidd gets by his defender, Wesley Matthews, but instead of taking advantage, Kidd stops and throws his body into Matthews, presumably to draw a foul. Instead, Matthews knocks the basketball away and gets the steal. Eventually this leads to a wide open three pointer in transition.

Finally here, Kidd tries to skip the inbounds pass ahead to Dirk Nowitzki halfway down the court. The pass is read, and the Blazers get the steal. Two more points for the Blazers in transition.

Turnovers are going to happen because you aren't playing 5 on 0, but the Mavericks need to limit these kind of turnovers. The ones that are unforced and lead to live ball transition opportunities.

Defense: More Zone

In the first two games, the Dallas Mavericks played no zone (as you would expect when the top two zone defenses in the league meet up). However, with Portland at home for Game 3 and with them going off on the offensive end, the Mavericks played two possessions worth of zone, when they really needed stops. They got stops both times:

Here, the Blazers bring the basketball up the court as the Mavericks set up in their zone. The Blazers want to get the ball in to LaMarcus Aldridge and they do. What the zone allows the Mavericks to do is double-team Aldridge without it really being a double-team. The result is a double-clutched three point shot from Brandon Roy that doesn't even draw iron.

Again, the Blazers get the basketball up against Dallas' zone. Again, there isn't much ball movement or player cuts and Wesley Matthews takes a contested jumper.

Despite being a team that plays the second most zone in the league, the Blazers aren't really prepared to play against a zone. The ball sticks and there is no motions. The Mavericks had to have noticed the Blazers' struggles against the zone and I think if they play more zone they will be able to get more stops.

Memphis Grizzlies' Game 3 Adjustments: Better Shot Selection, Defending The Roll Man

SebastianPruiti — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 15:41:44 -0000

Each day, we are going to preview the night's NBA Playoffs action by looking at the adjustments that can be made by the losing team and showing what they can do to win.

After stealing Game 1 in San Antonio, the Memphis Grizzles come back to the FedEx Forum looking to take the series lead from the number one seeded Spurs. If they want to win, they are going to have to do a few things differently in Game 3 than Game 2:

Offense: Better Shot Selection

According to Synergy Sport Technology, the Memphis Grizzlies took 23 jump shots in Game 2. 56.5%, or 13, of those jump shots were guarded while just 10 were considered open. For Memphis, the difference between guarded and open was huge, with the Grizzlies shooting 50% (5/10), scoring 11 points (1.10 PPP), on open jumpers. Meanwhile, when guarded, the Grizzlies shot 30.8% (4/13) scoring just 9 points (0.69 PPP). While some of these contested shots were due to the Spurs and their ability to close out, some of it was due to poor offense and shot selection from Memphis.

Here, the ball goes to Tony Allen, who instead of driving and kicking quickly or taking a pull up jumper, tries to penetrate. The Spurs do a very good job of cutting Allen off, but instead of pulling it out, he continues to try and find a seem. Eventually, he is forced to kick it out to Shane Battier, but by now there is only 3 seconds left on the shot clock and Battier is forced to throw up a contested jumper that misses the rim completely.

This is a pretty good example of what I am talking about when I say poor shot selection. Here, the Grizzlies are bringing the ball up in transition with O.J. Mayo streaking down the sideline. Greivis Vasquez doesn't attack enough and kicks it to the corner. Because he kicks it out from behind the free throw line, the defense isn't sucked in and Mayo is well defended. Instead of throwing a pump fake and trying to penetrate, Mayo settles for the contested three point shot that he misses.

Like just about any other NBA player, the Grizzlies are better shooters when they are able to get themselves open jumpers. They need to keep the ball moving and make the right plays to ensure they get a few more open looks in Game 3.

Defense: Defending The Roll Man Better

In Game 2, the San Antonio Spurs ran eight pick and rolls where they ended up hitting the roll man. On these rolls, the Spurs were able to score 8 points on 4-6 shooting (the other two possessions ended in turnover and with a non-shooting foul), which was good for 67%. During the course of the regular season, the Grizzlies held opponents to just 50.9% shooting on plays where the roll man is hit. This jump in Game 2 was due to poor rotations made by the Grizzlies.

After winning the tip, the Spurs get the ball to the wing where they are looking to set up a pick and roll with Tony Parker as the ball handler and Tim Duncan as the screener. Parker uses the screen and he hits Duncan on the roll. Zach Randolph initially does a very good job rotating, but he doesn't contest fully and Duncan is able to hit the little jumper. The reason why Randolph doesn't commit to Duncan completely? Because he knows Antonio McDyess (Randolph's original man) is open with nobody rotating to him. Randolph is trying to defend two Spurs in the paint by himself, and that is a recipe for disaster.

On this play, the Spurs use misdirection to get the basketball to the roll man on the pick and roll. Again, Parker is the ball handler while Duncan is the screener. Parker comes off of the screen, and again, the initial rotation is strong from Zach Randolph as he cuts off Duncan perfectly. This forces Parker to pass it to Randolph's man, McDyess. With the ball going to McDyess in the paint, Randolph needs to return to him. When this happens, Duncan is open for the easy pass and finish. Duncan is open because Marc Gasol doesn't return to Duncan quick enough after hedging on Parker. Gasol gets caught watching the ball, and he doesn't get to Duncan in time.

A lot of the Spurs offense revolves around the pick and roll and if the Grizzlies are unable to get their rotations down, they are going to struggle defensively in Game 3.

For more, check out SB Nation's Grizzlies blog, Straight Outta Vancouver.