A Jab Fake I Like...

Most of you that read this blog know that I'm not a big fan of triple threat. I don't look down on people who use it, or teach it, but it's not for me.  I think it's slow, cumbersome, kills your team's offensive flow, and leads to a lot of this...

With that said, I did like how Kelly Olynyk used it against the Timberwolves last night. What I liked about it wasn't that it made the Big KAT get weak in the knees, it is that Olynyk used it IMMEDIATELY. He saw that KAT was out of position already and used the jab with a purpose - to further get him out of position. I like this and it's a LOT different from what Anthony is doing above. It's fast and keeps the cadence of the offense going.  Now, looking at it through the lens of a high school coach, I'm probably teaching a hard drive on this - unless it's an exceptional shooter. 

Spurs Secondary Action

Everyone knows, and loves, the Spurs secondary break package. It's always very effective at moving players and disorganizing the defense. Last night against the Wizards I noticed a wrinkle that I hadn't seen yet.

The point initiates the secondary by bringing the ball up and swinging it to the trailer (4).  The trailer swings it to the backside wing. As the ball is being reversed, the point cuts hard across the lane and comes out on the ball side corner/low wing. The wing swings it to the point guard.
(Note: In the clip both wings start on the same side, opposite the point guard. I think that was a mistake and the 2 cleared out to balance the floor.)

        

This is the part that I love. After making the pass, the wing cuts through and it looks like he purposely runs into the post player's defender. This effectively makes the ball screen naked. It also knocks the post defender out of position and you could get a post up here. The point then attacks off the ball screen. As the screen is being set the trailer is drifting to the backside block/short corner. 

(Note: It looked like the trailer was looking to screen for the 2, that's a viable option.)

          

Here is a video clip of what I saw. In this situation, the Wizards "Ice" the ball screen and you get the throw back to Aldridge for the jump shot.