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PAGE 14 | 16 2005 | FIBA ASSIST MAGAZINE
FIBA EUROPE
by Gregg Popovich
COACHES - OFFENSE
Gregg Popovich was an assistant coachof the San Antonio Spurs
for four years,before he went to the Golden StateWarriors in 1992
as an assistant coach.He was named general manager of theSan
Antonio Spurs in 1994 and becamethe head coach in 1996. His teams
havewon three NBA championships (1999,2003, and 2005), and he was
named "NBACoach of the Year" for his efforts in the2002-2003
season. Popovich was anassistant coach on the bronze-medalwinning
U.S. basketball team at the 2004Olympic Games in Athens.
The San Antonio Spurs, the most "inter-national" of the NBA
teams, beat theDetroit Pistons in seven games, winningthe NBA
Championship for the third timein seven years. Tim Duncan won his
thirdMVP title in three different finals, provingthat he is the
successful leader of theteam. Manu Ginobli played a key role forthe
team, especially helping the team inGame 1 and Game 2. The
Argentineanplayer had lots of offensive punch and ahighly effective
defense during the Finals,lessening the pressure brought toDuncan
and Tony Parker by the Detroitdefense.The offensive plays we use
have beenmostly built on the perimeter and theyexploit the skills
of Tim Duncan, an all-around player, who is able to play closeto
the basket, as well as shoot frommedium distance. In addition to
Duncan,the team is dangerous to our opponentsbecause of the
offensive penetrations ofParker and Ginobili, and the
preciseshooting of Bruce Bowen and RobertHorry. Horry is a special
player, extremelylethal during the crucial moments, espe-cially in
the Game Five, when he scoredthe decisive three-point shot that
won
THE OFFENSIVE SETSOF THE SAN ANTONIO SPURS, NBA CHAMPIONS
2005
the game for us. The three-point shot hasbeen one of the most
effective weaponswe had against the Pistons, alllowing us
todominate Rasheed Wallace and BenWallace, the Detroit Piston
players thatworked the defensive lanes.Note: In the following
diagrams, playersare identified by the first letter of their
lastname.
TRANSITION OFFENSE
Parker dribbles in the middle zone of thecourt and passes the
ball to Duncan, whileGinobili runs to the right corner andBowen to
the left corner. Parker then setsa pick for Ginobili, who goes to
the free-throw line and receives the ball fromDuncan to shoot
(diagr. 1).Nazr Mohammed, who is the trailer, occu-
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pies the left corner of the free-throw line.If Ginobili cannot
receive a pass fromDuncan, he cuts around Mohammed andgets the ball
from Duncan and then theyplay pick-and-roll (diagr. 2).A second
transition attack begins whenParker dribbles to the left corner,
whereGinobili is located; this is a sign for Ginobilito go and make
a backscreen for Duncan,
while Mohammed, sets a pick for Bowen.Duncan receives the ball
from Parker(diagr. 3). If Duncan cannot get the ball,Parker passes
it to Ginobili, who is out atthe three-point line. Ginobili passes
theball to Bowen, while Mohammed, aroundthe baseline, makes a pick
for Duncan,who cuts and receives the ball fromBowen (diagr. 4).
MAIN SET AGAINST A MAN-TO-MAN DEFENSE
Parker dribbles on the left side to Ginobili,who cuts from the
lane and goes under thebasket; then he comes out to the free-throw
line, exploiting a vertical screenfrom Duncan. At the same time,
Bowenmakes a double screen with Mohammedon the right side. Parker
can then pass theball to Ginobili (diagr. 5).
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FIBA EUROPECOACHES - OFFENSE
PAGE 16 | 16 2005 | FIBA ASSIST MAGAZINE
If Ginobili can't shoot, Parker cuts to thelane, exploiting the
double screen ofBowen and Mohammed. Bowen cutswell around the
baseline and goes to theother side of the court. Parker
receivesfrom Ginobili and shoots, or he can passthe ball to
Mohammed, who's in the low-post position (diagr. 6).If no shot is
possible, Ginobili receives ahigh pick from Duncan and receives
theball from Parker to shoot close to thebasket (diagr. 7).
OPTION
Ginobili, after the pick from Duncan, drib-bles to the right
side and passes the ballto Bowen, who had cut on the baseline togo
to the corner. He can also play pick-and-roll with Duncan, who had
rolled tothe basket after the pick (diagr. 8).Another possibility
with the starting line-up is that Parker can receive a pick
fromDuncan out of the lane, while Ginobilicuts on the baseline and
exploits the dou-ble screen of Mohammed and Bowen,who, after the
pick, cuts and goes to theopposite corner. Parker has two
choices:he can exploit the pick of Duncan by drib-bling to the
right line and then pass theball to Ginobili (who can shoot or pass
theball to Mohammed in the low-post posi-tion), or he can dribble
to the left side andpass the ball to Bowen. Parker can alsopass the
ball directly to Duncan, who rol-led to the basket after the
pick-and-roll.Whomever receives the ball from Parker(Ginobili or
Bowen) can pass the ball toDuncan, who is open to the ball (diagr.
9).
LOOP 4 ICE
The ball is in Parker's hands and he is onthe right side of the
court: Bowen comesfrom the low-post position and exploitsthe pick
from Mohammed, who is in thehigh-post position on the corner of
thefree-throw line. He comes out to thethree-point line to get the
ball and shoot.While Bowen cuts, Ginobili receives abackscreen from
Duncan on the otherside of the court: Bowen can pass toGinobili or
Duncan, who is ready toreceive the ball under the basket afterthe
pick for Ginobili (diagr. 10).If these choices aren't possible,
Bowenpasses the ball again to Parker, andParker to Ginobili, who
has cut, going tothe right corner. He has a large portionof the
court open to him to now playone-on-one (diagr. 11).
WEDGE ROLL
Parker has the ball, Duncan fakes to cutin the lane first, and
then he makes a
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lateral pick to Parker. In the meantime,Ginobili fakes to screen
the screenerand then he cuts to the lane to receivethe ball from
Parker (diagr. 12).
15 (RUB TOP HEAD)
This is a play that offers the possibility ofa three-point shot
for three players. Weuse it when Robert Horry, our three-point
specialist, is on the court. Parker receives a high pick in the
cen-tral lane of the court from Duncan, whileGinobili, Bowen and
Horry are out at thethree-point line. Parker exploits the pickof
Duncan and can pass the ball toBowen or to Ginobili in the corners,
or toHorry who has come to the middle of thecourt. Parker can also
pass to Duncan,who is ready to receive the ball after thepick
(diagr. 13).
DOUBLE FIST
Also in this play, Parker has the ballduring the attack, while
Duncan andHorry are in high-post positions on thecorner of the
free-throw line. Ginobiliand Bowen are on the low corners, outat
the free-throw line. Duncan, in thiscase (or Horry), makes a pick
for Parker,who exploits the pick and can pass toGinobili in the
corner, to Duncan, who isopen to the ball and turns to the
basket,or to Horry, who came out to the free-throw line to get the
ball. Horry passesto Bowen, who came up to receive theball (diagr.
14).
FLOPPY
Parker passes the ball to Duncan, who ison the free-throw line,
as Bowen cutsbackdoor and goes to the right corner.After the pass,
Parker makes a pick forGinobili, who receives the ball fromDuncan
to drive to the basket, exploitingthe empty space left by Bowen,
who hasbeen followed by his direct defender,leaving the left corner
of the court free(diagr. 15).
STRONG
Parker, who is in the left wing, passesthe ball to Mohammed, who
came up togo to the central position. Mohammedpasses the ball to
Bowen on the rightwing.Ginobili receives two staggeredscreens, the
first one from Parker, thesecond one from Mohammed, whileDuncan
cuts to the lane and goes tolow-post position in the right
corner:Bowen can pass the ball to Ginobili or toDuncan (diagr.
16).
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