Coaches Win Practice, Players Win Games
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Coaches Win Practice, Players Win Games Embracing the Princeton Offense in the NBA’s Small Ball Era David Kenah It’s no secret to anyone that watched the NBA playoffs this year – the league continues to embrace a new style of play. Almost every team in the playoffs went small at some point in their respective playoff series. While small ball used to be commonly known as having a traditional center playing alongside a stretch 4-man, or pick & pop player, it has continued to evolve into the idea of simply playing four traditional smalls around one traditional center. The thought process behind this style of play is mainly to space the floor and play spread pick & roll basketball. Spread pick & roll is a simple offense that is virtually un-guardable verse some of the best players in the game; Elite guards (see: Stephen Curry) combined in a pick & roll with skilled bigs (see: Draymond Green) and 3 other offensive players spaced behind the 3-point line ready to shoot or attack a closeout. It’s come to dominate the game of basketball at the pro level. While this strategy can result in great success for the most talented teams, it can be tougher to execute effectively with lesser talented teams. NBA defenses are so well trained in pick & roll defense and isolation defense that it’s become much too easy to defend most teams, leading to stagnant possessions and contested jump shots far too often. In this small ball evolution, many teams have overlooked traditional basketball actions within their offense: chin cuts, backdoor cuts, split actions, flare screens, etc. Coaches at all levels know these common basketball actions, but many at the pro level have become so dependent on the pick & roll that they’ve overlooked incorporating them into their overall offensive system. In his book The Smart Take from the Strong, Pete Carril told coaches that he doesn’t think there is enough creative thinking going on – “not enough of them are thinking of new ideas, new ways to do things to help their teams.” Basketball’s evolution to its current state makes this the perfect time to fully embrace the Princeton offense and its small ball concepts in the NBA. To be clear, the Princeton offense has made successful appearances in the NBA in recent years. After retiring from Princeton University in 1996, Pete Carril worked with the Sacramento Kings to help develop a hybrid version of the offense that could adapt to the NBA game, mainly adjusting for the 24-second shot clock and adjusting for the need at the time to play 2 traditional big men. Byron Scott then had success using the offense with the Nets, and Eddie Jordan with the Wizards. This hybrid version still incorporated the well-known 2-guard front, and still used the center position as a focal point of the offense, moving from the low post box to box and the high post elbow to elbow (as shown in Diagrams 1 & 2). But the restrictions of having to put a traditional power forward on the wing made it hard to fully embrace the concepts of the Princeton offense. Diagram 1 – Princeton “Low Post” set Diagram 2 – Princeton “Chin” set The offense in its purest form incorporates 4 players playing around 1 center. When executed with ball movement and player movement it is very difficult to defend against. At Princeton, Pete Carril’s teams were able to flow into their offense, much like Phil Jackson’s championship teams flowed into the triangle. Because of the previous limitations on offensive positions, it was difficult to translate that pure flow of the Princeton. Today’s versatility in style of play has eliminated these limitations. Four position-less players playing around one center can give teams the ability to flow into offense using Princeton concepts and actions, while still allowing them to include the spread pick & roll style that has become so popular in today’s game. **For diagraming purposes, offensive positions are labeled 1 through 5. But within the concepts of “Low Post Flow,” all positions 1 through 4 are interchangeable. LOW POST (FLOW) Many of today’s NBA teams flow right into pick & rolls. The wing players run to the corners to keep the floor spaced, while the bigs set early drags for the point guard (as shown in Diagram 3). Using a Princeton style offense would incorporate a different philosophy. Flowing into Princeton’s “Low Post” set Diagram 3 – Common NBA Double Drag would allow the center to run to the rim and find early post position on the strong-side block. And while the structure of “Low Post” is defined as 2 guards setting up lane line extended while 2 forwards set up on the wings (as shown in Diagram 4), opening up the offense to four position-less smalls makes it a much more Diagram 4 – “Low Post” set suitable early offense for the NBA and it’s 24-second shot clock. Guards can now play the forward spots, while forwards can play the guard spots, making all of them position-less. The ability for any small to push the ball in transition, while the others fill any of the spots around the perimeter would eliminate the need to stay organized in respective guard & forward spots, allowing a quicker, and much more fluid entry into “Low Post.” The point to wing entry pass, followed by a cut to the weak side corner, initiates the “Low Post” set and gets the desired spacing – the ball on the wing with 4 smalls spaced behind the 3-point line and a center on the strong side block (as shown in Diagrams 5 & 6). The offense can be initiated on either side of the floor, as long as the Diagram 5 – “Low Post” entry pass Diagram 6 – “Low Post” entry pass center follows the ball to the strong side box. Other initiations can also achieve the desired spacing, for instance, a primary ball-handler pushing the ball up the wing, eliminating the need for an entry pass and cut (as shown in Diagram 7). Regardless of the action, the goal of “Low Post Flow’s” entry is to get the ball on the wing and space around – one small on the wing with the ball, one Diagram 7 – “Low Post” dribble entry at the top of the key, one on the weak side wing, and one in the weak side corner. From there, the spacing allows for multiple reads and options that all stay within the structure of the Princeton offense. Once “Low Post” is initiated with an entry, the first option is always to look at the center for a first side post up. This “Low Post Power” option not only allows the center to be a 1 on 1 scoring option, but also a passer out of the post, with various cutting actions and split actions occurring around him. Reads and options in “Low Post Power” include A) the post-feeding small can cut, while the other smalls spaced around the Diagram 8 – “Low Post Power” with cutters Diagram 9 – “Low Post Power” with cutters Diagram 10 – “LP Power” Drift Corner perimeter fill in around. This is a common NBA action and allows teams to play right to a step up pick & roll out of the post (as shown in Diagrams 8 & 9). Or, B) The post- feeding small can choose to drift corner. If the post-feeder is being jammed up on a cut, or recognizes a quick post dig from his defender, he can drift corner, triggering a top pick-away from the small at the top of the key (as shown in Diagram 10). The top pick- away allows teams to play a split action on the weak side of the floor, making the center a passer out of the post, and keeps the floor spaced to play a high pick & roll as the secondary action. Lastly, C) the post-feeding small can play a split game with the small at the top of the key. With the floor spaced, the post feeder will set a split screen at the elbow and fill to the spot at the top of the key, again making the center a passer out of the post. If no scoring opportunity occurs from the split action, the next action is to play to the 2nd side of the floor with a back cut to the post, and a flare at the top of the key (as shown in Diagrams 11-13). The back cut and top flare are common Princeton actions, but within the limits of a 24-second shot clock it is crucial to keep these cuts and screens organized, as opposed to the randomness of a classic Princeton style offense. Diagram 11 – “Low Post Power” Split Game Diagram 12 – “Low Post Power” Split Game Diagram 13 – “Low Post Power” Split Game Diagram 14 – “LP Power” Split Game to 1-2-2 Diagram 15 – “1-2-2” Pick & Roll Diagram 16 – “1-2-2” Pin Down/Handoff Every read and movement becomes a scoring opportunity – reading how the back cut is defended, and reading how the flare is defended. If no scoring opportunity arises, the back cut to top flare allows the spacing to pop the center to the top of the key and play right to a spread pick & roll game, known as “1-2-2” (as shown in Diagram 14). “1-2-2” allows teams to space the floor with all 5 players behind the 3 point line, and play many common NBA actions.