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Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Basketball Offense: Create the Two Front War

History reveals the difficulty of controlling two fronts. The lessons of WWII teach the problems of armies spread too thin



Defense can overload to the ball to seek advantage. 

But "two offenses," ball side and help (weak) side stress defenses by extending the territory defended. Conversely, by extending our defense, we can create pressure or weakness.




Here Al Horford gets an entry to post up and Kyrie cuts away, the 'second front' that goes undefended. 



The Spurs made penetrate and pitch an NBA staple. 



Spurs' assistant Etorre Messina teaches the Spurs attack, pass weak, and fill empty spots via "offensive shell" principles. 



Tom Thibodeau's Bulls used the high ball screen to create opposite elbow jump shots, attacking and creating away. 



Horns with double down screens can attack defenses on both sides. Versatile players (like 5 here) become a tremendous force multiplier. It's also easy to see how this action lends itself to Horns into Flex. 



4 out action with DHO and post away pressures the post defender on the downhill drive. 



Herb Welling's "special" moves the Jello around the plate before the attack comes from the weak side to the ball. 



The US Women's National Team ran DHO into a high ball screen looking to turn middle penetration into 3s on either side. The spacing is tricky. 



The Spurs made the "Hammer" famous, but others have adapted it. In this SLOB, multiple screens get the ball going to the basket, then screen-the-screener action springs the trap for the corner 3 off the Hammer. 



Simple inbound DHO creates an inside PnR or a curl or 3 pointer off the double stagger. 

The possibilities are limitless. Spread defenders and attack them relentlessly.