I get on coach Mike Brown a lot, but against the Pistons last night Brown showed that he does know what he is doing when it comes to the offensive end.  After the Pistons tied it at 91 with about 5 minutes left, the Cavs put on an offensive clinic.

Possession 1 – Off Ball Screen To Free Up Mo Williams

The thing that impresses me the most with Cleveland’s offense is the fact that they do so much stuff off the ball (it is the theme of all of these sets).  It makes sense when you think about it, you know that the entire defense is going to be paying attention to LeBron.  This means defenders aren’t really paying attention to their man (as much as you would like), which means if you come with a backscreen off the ball it will really surprise the defense.

Mo Williams brings up the ball as LeBron James positions himself at the left elbow.  This is a spot on the court where once LeBron James makes the catch he can attack either side.

As LeBron makes the catch, Mo Williams fades out to the corner.  At first look, it seems like he is just clearing room for a LeBron drive.  As this is happening Anderson Varejao sneaks up behind Williams’ man and gets in position to set a screen.

LeBron makes his move, and this draws the attention of three Detroit Pistons (4 if you count Jason Maxiell in the paint staring at LeBron).  With Varejao setting the solid screen, Williams is able to make it all the way into the corner uncovered.

Williams makes the catch and knocks down a wide open three.  Here it is in real time:

Possession 2 – Off Ball Screen To Free Up Mo Williams…Again…

After the Pistons respond with a three pointer of their own, the Cavs come down and run the same exact play:

Now, you can call this a lack of creativity, but when you have LeBron James on your team, you really only need to run a few sets well.  I mean, LeBron is such a threat that even if you notice they are running the same play (which I am sure the Pistons did notice), you still have to pay attention to LeBron, and that is why you can’t commit to Mo Williams in the corner.  Because if you do, LeBron will just attack the basket on his own.

Possession 3 – Pick and Roll As A Decoy

I already talked about this to an extent in a previous post, so there is no real reason to break it down to an extent again, but here it is:

The Cavs get baskets for LeBron off this set a couple times a game.  It is incredible that it works just about every time, but when you have Mo Williams attacking the lane, you need to pay attention to him, which leaves defender susceptible to off the ball screens and backdoor cuts.

Possession 4 – Pick And Pop Variation

Another set that the Cleveland Cavs run a ton late is the pick and pop.  And while this isn’t a true “pick & pop” it is a variation of it, because you have LeBron setting a pick for Mo Williams forcing the defense to make a decision about who to cover.

Mo Williams brings the ball up with LeBron James in the corner behind the three point line.  Williams enters the ball into Anderson Varejao.

As Varejao makes the catch, LeBron comes from the corner and sets a screen for Mo Williams, who uses the screen on the way to the same corner LeBron just vacated.

Will Bynum, the defender, gets caught in LeBron’s screen, but look at Tayshaun Prince (LeBron’s defender).  He doesn’t want to leave LeBron (even though Bynum is there), and that is what allows Mo Williams to make the catch and knock down yet another open three pointer.

Possession 5 – Pick And Pop

The final play that the Cavs ran against the Pistons was the “Pick and Pop.”  We saw a variation of it above, but this is the real deal:

What makes this so dangerous is that you have a shooter setting a screen for another shooter with Mo Williams setting a screen for LeBron James (the Cavs also have Williams setting a screen for James from time to time).  Because the screener pops out at the three point line, you can’t hedge off the screen.  You can only go under it, or switch.  Here, the Pistons go under the screen, and that is what allows LeBron to get an advantage against Rip Hamilton.

Possession 6 – Pick And Pop…Again

Remember when I said that you can either go under the “Pick and Pop” or switch it.  Well, going under it didn’t work so the Pistons tried to switch it:

Here, the Pistons switch the screen, but they don’t seem to be on the same page.  That split second hesitation is what allows LeBron to have enough room to knock down the dagger three pointer.