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Download the Clinic's Diagrams - Part 1
Download the Clinic's Diagrams - Part 2
Does a coach have a philosophy?
And if so, what characterizes it? How often have we had this discussion: Does a coach have to make the team play a certain way because that’s his “style?” Or is it the other way around: do the players´ characteristics tell the coach what decisions to make? Like all matters taken to an extreme, this “dilemma” is more useful to stimulate a conversation than to find a solution. There are specific situations (not many), when the coach can, to some point, choose all the players that make up his team, so as to try and combine his/her preferences with the player’s ability. However, most of the times, certain factors (economic, age, club policy, etc.) force different choices other than the ideal formation.
Sometimes people mistakenly identify characteristic aspects of a coach’s philosophy, but once that label is made it is stuck on forever for whatever reason, due to laziness or misinformation, independently of the coach’s evolution, like may occur with any professional. I think that, not including the most often used system or decisive defense in one season or another, there are other principles (I was tempted to say “values”…) that identify a coach’s job as reflected in his team’s game: knowing how to be on the court more or less cohesively and with disciplined players, with greater or lesser defensive intensity, shot choices that the team normally makes, and the way you use your bench.
Even if many of your teams throughout the years follow the same patterns on court, or that some drills, systems, defenses become “classic,” in reality, the player’s characteristics would also have to be very similar when interpreting these strategies on the court! The Laker´s offensive triangle has some points in common with that of Chicago, but also many differences…
Personally, I have had a technical training that tends towards playing with 3 players around the perimeter and 2 in the paint, than 4 and 1. However, I remember that when with Scavolini the training demands of not sacrificing inside positions and players 2 meters or more, as was sadly “fashionable” in those times, led me to use a system with 4 out on the perimeter and 1 down low, even though it was probably less effective in terms of immediate performance than the other system.
The first teams I had trained, the outside players were always perimeter players, and the direct consequence was choosing “4 and 5” as base players; however, I realised that the chance of having a “4” with strong skills when facing the basket (Magnífico in Pésaro, Garbajosa and Abad in Vitoria, Iturbe or Zidek in Madrid) new and interesting offensive solutions arose (the pick and roll, penetrations, with an outside player posting down low) which with large "post players" couldn’t be done.
On the other hand, defensively preparing the teams to face rivals with a more open structure I often found insurmountable problems, while also reducing my five on the court. Last year, like often happens, I had to invent something new: Problems with Tarlac, Struelens and Tabak forced me to play a good part of the season without one, two and sometimes three natural centers, forcing me to improvise the power forwards, shooting guard and forwards roles; not wanting to, due to an emergency that I would have to sooner or later finish and completely change the system, we looked for key adjustments inside what we were already doing in order to make the most out of the situation that was created; and these were some of the results we came up with, comparing the same game situations in both cases, that is, from using two natural centers to one.
1) pass transitions
a) 3 outside/2 inside: the first trailer cuts and posts-up on the ball side (1).
b) 4 outside/1 inside: between 2, 3 and 4, that run more or less in these positions, the person arriving first from the week side cuts and if he doesn’t get the ball, picks the 2º trailer, and opens up. (2) (3).
2) Transition with a dribble.
a) 3o/2i: the 2nd trailer sets a pick for the base, (4), (5) and cuts to the basket; the 1st trailer posts up top, receives, and if can’t play high/low because his man is floating, turns and tries a one on one with an outside dribble, to then turn inside.
b) 4o/1i: the 1st trailer goes outside the 3 point line, gets the ball, shoots or plays 1-on-1 (6) (7),while the other 4 players get into these positions to receive a pass created from the probably defensive help.
3) Central pick and roll.
The situations seen before on the dribbling transition, (8), can be repeated. For the case of 3o/2d, we get the center to come up, without losing space, and to receive the ball as close as possible, (9) (10) in order to go to the hole with a movement on his pivot foot or along with a dribble, or forcing a man rotation defending the attacker in the weak side corner.
4) Side pick and roll.
a) 3o/2i: against any defense sent to the center, while firmly continuing to the basket, the center picks and rolls, while the center on the weak side posts-up along the middle, and reads if the forward with the ball has been stopped or not, or if he has been able to penetrate. If the first situation is true (11), he must go up to open a triangular pass back out from a trapped player, or continue with one of the possible solutions already seen on the diagram (4), (5), (9), (10). For the 2nd case he would have to approach the basket to get the double team pass, (12), or screen the defense from the outside if he has already activated the rotation to favor a double team for a three point shot. (13)
Against defenses that take you to the baseline, we have two options: give the ball to the pick and go one-on-one (14), replaying the same situation as before; or free up the corners from the outside, change the direction of the block and attack the baseline (15) finding a possible pass if doubled teamed (16).
b) 4o/1i: if the pick and roll is placed with #5, we always have an outside player in a corner, and #4 on the weak side, high or on the corner depending on the other team’s defense. if they trap, we prefer to keep it high to punish the x4 rotation (17); if they send us to the baseline, we prefer to send him to the corner, to punish any possible help form # 4 on the penetration created from a double team between # 1 and # 5, (18).
If we pick and roll with # 4, we can always free up a quarter of the court: if the defense sends you to the center, in order to be able to open it and shoot or play a 1-one-1 against help and recovery or rotation, (19), or a pass inside to #5 that may be cut to anticipate the rotation between x4 and x5, (20); if the defense sends you to the baseline, to pick in the opposite direction, (see diagram 15), bring the help from x4 and pass to #4 that opens up to shoot or face-up and play a 1-on-1 (21).
Against a switch: it is increasingly more common for defenders to react to a direct block by switching players, especially with only a few seconds left on the 24 second clock. Take notice of this immediately, and choosing whether to take advantage of the mismatch down low or up top is the key to the attack’s success. In the first case, after continuing with a reverse in order to maintain the advantage, you must try and place the ball at the low post, and take advantage of this advantage by reading the help that the defense can’t send (look at the passer to return it; watch out for the offensive falls). If the smaller player defending the bigger player is behind, the solution is quickly flash post to the other pivot to play high/low maintaining the position towards the basket.
On the contrary, the man with the ball must decide whether to take the advantage outside or inside, or produce a lateral sweep (if not much time is left, say 3" /5") or central sweep by dribbling, if less than 9"/10" are left.
5) “Initial” pick and roll.
a) 3o/2i: here too, we ask the center from the weak side to stay nearby, get closer and recreate diagram (22), than after #5 cuts, diagrams (4), (5), (9), (10). If the defense floats and #1 hasn’t stopped dribbling, we have the option to place a pick for #1, (23).
If received further out, while #5 is taking position in the zone, you can change the ball over to the other side and set an effective pick for #1, since his defender, far away, is not in a condition (3) to intervene (24).
b) 4o/1i: If #1 goes to side #5, #4 will would only have to go out to receive it outside the 3 point line, and attack by taking advantage of x4´s floating position, (25).
If #1 goes to side #4, he would take x4´s help to open up and receive a pick from #5, who would cut to the basket (26); the situation would often create optimal mismatches due to the changes created from picking #5 and #4.
We’ve successfully played this same situation in fast, last shot situations from the side: towards the back (27) or the centre (28), obviously freeing up the corner of the weak side.
6) Posting down low.
a) 3o/2i: With the ball at the low post, I have come to the conclusion that the best position for the other inside man is as close to the basket as possible, making certain movements to punish any defensive from help the post player (29), (30) with the easiest shot possible, like a dunk; or to bring a rotation, freeing up a pass to a shooter on the opposite corner (31); I think an intelligent defense can easily send the weak side center to help, without much of a risk, if the other center, non-shooter, plays the high post or corner, neutralizing his danger by simply floating, helping and recuperating, without the need to make definitive rotations (32), (33).
b) 4o/1i: with the ball at #5 posting down low, I think there are two good positions for our "outside" #4; at the high post, especially if the low post has the ability to pass the ball “inside," (34), in the opposite corner, especially if the low post is capable of making a good pass down low (35).
In no case, even if we expect cuts from the perimeter with the ball at the low post, we want #4 to cut, at least for their man not to completely turn their head, (36), like is the case of 2c1. He would take the other defensive center into the area, which is our interest to keep him as far away from the low post who is playing a 1-on-1.
7) "Pin down" screen.
a) 3o/2i: One of the situations we most often use to free up a shooter after a pick is that shown in diag. (37): #2 fakes or changes direction to unbalance the defender toward one side, in order to have an advantage behind another screen; if the center helps against a curl he can pass inside (38), if he doesn’t have the space to shoot, he can give it to the post down low who is almost always in front of his defender (39).
b) 4o/1i: The same situation, with a run from #2 towards #4´s side, can provoke help from x4, which we have tried to punish in two different ways: opening #4 in the corner in case #2 curls (40), or better yet, bringing the ball to the opposite side after picking #5, especially if x4 steps-out onto #2 (41).
If #4 has not created an advantageous situation, (5), continue with a horizontal pick for #5, with #4 opening up outside the 3 point line; trying again to attack the mismatches coming about from a defensive change between x4 and x5 (42).
8) “Stagger” screen.
a) 3o/2i: For horizontal stagger screens (43), if #2 doesn’t have a good shot he can pass it to the low post, independently of whether #4 or #5 is there; or bring him out to play a pick and roll, (44).
b) 4o/1d: If #4 is outside, the situation changes if #2 has opened up to #5 or #4´s side; in the first case, everything can continue as in diag. (43) and (44). However, if #4 has been the last to pick, he could continue to pick for #5 and open up (45), or run to the opposite side after picking #5, (46). With this placement, we have often used vertical staggers, blocking #4 at the end, who opens up along the side to take advantage of the advantage often produced from a "step-out" of x4 (47), to then clear-out or play down low with #5 (48) (48 bis); even better yet is converting the stagger into a double screen, helping #4´s movement towards the outside with a block from #5, (49), which often forces the rival to change between x4 and x5, with an obvious advantage(50).
Finally, a little something has just given us extra possessions: we ask our “small” #4 to rebound the attack in the lane and jump to touch hit the ball back out, where the defense is rarely positioned, with an obvious height advantage, worrying to go out of the 3 point line to get the rebound.
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