Milwaukee ran this variation of Pistol action against Chicago in Game 5 of the NBA Playoffs. This is the first time I have seen this variation of Pistol action, but with shooters like O.J. Mayo at the 2 and Ersan Ilyasova at the 4, there are numerous possibilities for counters available out of this set. See More
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The Clippers used this ATO play in Game 5 against the Spurs, down 3 with 30 seconds left in the game. Chris Paul receives an L ballscreen from the Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, and the play is set up by Paul using the screen from Jordan. Jordan rolls hard off of the screen, and the spread alignment forces x4, Duncan, to bump the roll from Jordan and avoid the lob. Paul quickly throws back to Griffin, who swings and follows for a Side P/R with Jamal Crawford. There is no way Duncan can Show against the ballscreen after having to bump Jordan in the paint, and this forces a difficult rotation for the Spurs to contain the roll by Griffin. See More
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This was the opening play for the Grizzlies in Game 2 versus the Warriors. There is a lot of moment to this play and it presents multiple options, making it a great play to get your offense started. This play presents two opportunities for Zach Randolph to post up on either block, and really takes advantage of Marc Gasol's ability in hi-lo situations. See More
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Memphis ran this early offense action in Game 2 versus the Warriors. It features a thru cut by Mike Conley, and several different options branching off. 5 sets a wide pindown for 2 while 1 finishes his thru cut and curls off of 4 on the block. 3 can hit 2 on the pindown, 1 on the thru cut, or 4 sealing for a post up. If none of these options are available, 3 can reverse back to 2 and set up 2-man game with the 5, opening up a whole new set of options. See More
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Memphis ran this action in Game 2 against Golden State. The "Fist 2" set is a staple of the Chicago Bulls offense using Derrick Rose, and the Grizzlies used it well here against the Warriors, who "Ice" against the Side P/R. The 5 man screens against the Ice, and the 2 man drives hard to occupy x5 on the help. This set works best with a 5 man who can short roll or pop into the pocket created by the Ice, and having a great duck-in 4 man like Zach Randolph to occupy the weakside help works even better! See More
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This was a smartly executed play that the Warriors used against the Grizzlies in Game 2. Knowing that the x3 would show against any Pistol Step Up screen, Stephen Curry quickly spun back out of the P/R and reversed the ball to David Lee. Harrison Barnes immediately slipped out of the screen and to the basket for an easy lay-up. See More
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Golden State ran this play against Memphis in Game 2 for a David Lee post up. This set is run out of a traditional San Antonio Strong formation, a great shooter at the 2 like Klay Thompson is the perfect decoy to set up a post opportunity. See More
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This play comes from the 13-14 Celtics, and is a simple flex screen-down screen pick the picker play. The action is very common to the NBA, but starting the play out of a Horns P/R is a twist that Brad Stevens added to the play. This sets up the next play, Horns 24, quite nicely. See More
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This 13-14 play from the Boston Celtics starts just like Horns 23. In this option, instead of setting a cross screen to the post for the 3 man, the 2 sets a rip screen for the 4 to a block post up. The 5 man then cleans up on 2 for pick the picker action. See More
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This is a very basic early offense option that Houston used against Dallas in the 1st round of the NBA Playoffs. The drag screen typically involves the point guard and one or both bigs, but here Josh Smith is the ballhandler and coming off of a screen from Dwight Howard to his strong left hand. The NBA 4 man is not used to defending the ballhandler in a P/R, and Howard rolls hard to the rim always looking for a lob, making this an extremely difficult cover for the defense. Shooters are spread in the corners to limit the ability of help defenders. See More
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Houston used this play in the 1st Round of the NBA Playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks for a Josh Smith to Dwight Howard lob. This simple Turn 4 set gives Smith good positioning for a post up, and the flare option for Trevor Ariza is always available to keep the defense honest. A 4-5 pick and roll is a difficult enough play to defend, but moving the screen down to the block confuses the coverages even more than usual. In this play the defense commited to the pick and roll too soon, and Howard spun out of the pick for a lob pass. See More
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Houston used this play multiple times in the 1st round series against the Dallas Mavericks. Josh Smith and Dwight Howard posed massive problems defensively for the Mavericks with this play. Dwight Howard slipped or rolled hard for multiple lobs, sealed x4 when the defense switched, and even sealed on a switch and then spun out again for a lob. Add in Josh Smith's ability to finish with his running left hook in the lane, and this play caused fits for the defense. See More
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Even when the Rockets weren't punishing the Mavericks in round one with the Josh Smith-Dwight Howard pick and roll combination, they still found ways to take advantage of the defense and connect for lobs. This is a simple 1-4 high pick, with a throwback to Smith. He immediately goes into Side P/R action with James Harden, or DHO in this case. This is hard work for x4, Dirk, who shows hard on the DHO. Note the 1 and 3 switching spots on the weakside, which makes x1, JJ Barea, the low defender. As Harden hits Smith on the roll, x5 must pull over to stop the drive. JJ Barea is sitting on Howard's top leg like he is supposed to be, but that hardly matters. This is an easy Smith to Howard lob. See More
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Miami's "5" set, a variation of Mike D'Antoni's Delay offense in New York, begins with this basic split action, with multiple options for the offense based on how the defense reacts. The Heat used this set to great success during their 2012-13 championship season. See More
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This is another option is Miami's "5" set, a variation of Mike D'Antoni's Delay. See More
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