X's & O's: Ball Screen + Back Screen

One interesting offensive situation Fenerbahce is using quite often is this "ball screen - back screen"
set play.

They get some different advantages depending on the reaction of the defense. "Fener" players read well the defensive moves and they find the best way to score.

This is basically a set of two consecutive screens, in which they manage to involve two or even three and four defenders, and that creates a lot of scoring opportunities.

In the first clip of the video, we can see how, after the ball screen, the defender of the screener tries to stop the ball but he gets stuck in the second screen (back screen) and this forces the second screener's defender to try to stop the ball.

Notice how, in the ball screen, the roll man makes it impossible for the "original" defender of the ball handler to recover and even try to stop the ball. He keeps him sealed and he creates an immediate mismatch situation.

Think about it, three different defenders try to stop the ball in this particular play, and finally they miss the last screener, who pops to the three point line where he receives wide open to score an easy shot.

In the second clip, the same situation, with an easier end, an uncontested lay up, as the back screen creates a clear disadvantage for the defense, two players against a single defender unable to react and stop the ball...

Real Quick: RMA - FCB Euroleague

With Real Madrid and FC Barcelona still cooling down, and although obviously this is a game that deserves deep analysis, I want to show you this clips from early in the game, with some interesting details.

First, a nice high - low action from Real Madrid. Barcelona often switch in off ball screens when guarding JC Carroll. Real responds well and finds the way to use the mismatch in low post.

Second, another defensive situation from the "madrileños": Maciulis gets on the court and guards Marcelinho Huertas. Maciulis' size and quickness allows him to protect himself from Huertas' penetrations and at the same time he is able to contest shots and switch against ball screens:

Real Quick: No Looking Pass

Defensive organization makes harder and harder for the offenses to find advantages. Automatic reactions, and a lot of coaching, that create well oiled defensive machines ready to face the most common situations on the floor.  

In today's "real quick" we can see the value of a creative player, who goes one step ahead of the defenders, understands the reactions of the defense, and somehow "fools" his opponents to find a scoring opportunity for a teammate. 

CSKA run a ball screen, Fenerbahce try to trap the ball handler while working on the "weak" side. Once the ball leaves Weems' hands, the advantage is in the opposite corner. CSKA players are supposed to swing the ball there, and Fener players, in this case, Goudelock, "know" they need to run to that spot in order to avoid an easy shot. The mentioned player reacts almost immediately to reach the corner, and that is the moment when Teodosic does his "magic" and lying with his eyes, finds the pass to Kaun right under the basket...

Let's watch it:

Low Post Mismatch: Double Team

It's a situation every team work to stop. When a big guy ends up playing near the basket against a smaller defender you need a team effort and a good defensive organization to fix the mismatch.

The double team is one of the solutions teams use more often. We will see today how Panathinaikos manages to get a stop against that situation through a good team effort, organization, and last but not least, the players' knowledge and awareness. There's no need to say that F.C. Barcelona is one of the best organized teams and they are always ready to react against the double team.

The mismatch happens after a switch in a hand off pass. Abrines finds Doellman in low post. Let's notice how Dimitris Diamantidis, who is on help side, sees the problem even before the ball goes inside and gets ready to trap (there is a reason he's been named Euroleague's best defender so many times). 

At the same time, the communication is good between DD and Mavrokefalidis. Help side activity is good, the trap works well (they attack the ball, hands up, avoiding an easy way out…) and they break the timing of the offense. PAO collapse the paint, creating a lot of traffic through help side activity, and they force Doellman to give a bad pass which Mavrokefalidis steals… starting a fastbreak situation.

Let's take a look:

Real Quick: Two For One

Strategic decisions can change the outcome of a game. There are teams, and players, who are ready to get small advantages that end up being really important. One more time, the small details can be the difference between winning and losing. 

A very good example are the "two for one" situations in the end of quarter (for more info check this interesting article) A team will have two scoring opportunities while the other team will only have one. It's no surprise that the example I'm using today comes from the San Antonio Spurs:

With 34 seconds left in the first quarter, San Antonio gets the ball. They play a quick offense, which Golden State don't appear to expect. Ginobili and Baynes run a ball screen situation, with the argentinian driving hard to the basket, and Baynes following and finishing off the offensive rebound (mismatch situation = offensive rebound opportunity!) 

The Warriors have 29 seconds for their offense, and they (patiently) run one of their ball screen sets. The Spurs get the stop and they have what they were looking for, an "extra" possession which they are close to finish running the fastbreak… Finally they have a baseline out of bounds situation, which they use to create another scoring opportunity for Ginobili, who does his job and scores. 

In the last three plays of the quarter, San Antonio outscores Golden State 4-0, which is a very important advantage! Great preparation and execution.

Let's watch it:

Ball Screen Defense: Switch And Rotation

Last night we watched a great game between EFES and Real Madrid. A tough one that ended up being decided in the last minutes. 

Let's take a look at some of the last plays of the game. Real looking for options off a middle screen and EFES defending it:

Real played this middle screen three times in the last two minutes of the game (in their last three set offenses) Sergio Rodríguez and Gustavo Ayón running the ball screen and Real's power forward, Nocioni, filling the corner on the left side, with the other two smalls, Carroll and Llull placed one on each side.

EFES defensive rule was clear: they switched between Ayon and Rodriguez's defenders (Lasme and Draper) and made a rotation with one of the weak side defenders when Ayon rolled to the basket. With that rotation, the mismatch after the pick and roll is not so big (it wasn't Draper, but Perperoglou or Osman taking care of Real's big) Perperoglou and Osman, both of them big enough to avoid a big disadvantage in that mismatch, were aggressive and managed to deny the pass to the big man.

Real played three different options after the pick and roll: pass for Llull (and another ball screen), pass for Nocioni (one on one against Perperoglou), and Rodriguez's one on one against Lasme (which finished with a turnover). Only the second one ended up with the white team scoring. That gave them two points in three possessions, which was not enough to win a close game.

Let's watch it: