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How The Spurs Attacked The Zone

April 26th, 2010 Sebastian Pruiti Leave a comment Go to comments

In Game 3, the Dallas Mavericks used the 2-3 zone against the Spurs, and they really struggled with it. The Spurs didn’t get a lot of good looks when the Mavs used the zone, however they were still able to pull out the win. In Game 4, Dallas saved the zone for the 4th quarter hoping the Spurs would struggle with it yet again so they can get back in the game. Coach Popovich had his guys ready to attack the zone properly, and they were able to do it three different ways.

1) Crash The Boards

When teams play zone, you always hear about the defense really needing to concentrate on crashing the boards. This is because instead of covering a man, you are covering an area and it is harder to get a body on someone because of it. Playing zone also tends to lead to funny matchups when the ball is in the air.

The Mavs first show the zone down 7, and the Spurs recognize it and start sending the ball around the perimeter. Quick ball movement is another key to beating the zone. You get guys moving around, the zone starts to lose it’s shape.

As Manu squares up for the shot, you can see that Jason Kidd is matched up against DeJuan Blair (with the lineup the Mavs had in, Kidd had to play the back of the zone). Jason Kidd is big for a point guard, but he has no chance of boxing out Blair.

Blair pushes Kidd out of the way, and he gets himself the putback rebound. Here it is in real time:

2) Getting The Ball In The Middle

I am sure I have mentioned this before here, but in my opinion, the middle of the paint is the underbelly of the zone. If you can get the ball there, you can force the defense to collapse on the ball. That puts a lot of defenders out of position, and frees up a lot of stuff on the offensive end.

Here, Duncan shows at the high post, and Ginobili is able to squeeze the ball in there.

Once Duncan makes the catch, Dirk Nowitzki is forced to come up and play him. As Duncan comes up, Antonio McDyess makes a cut to the baseline.

Antonio McDyess makes the catch and finishes at the rim. Here it is in real time:

3) Get Out In Transition

If you get out in the open court and push the ball when a team is trying to get back in a zone look, it puts a ton a pressure on the defense. They have to get back to their zones, look for a man to cover, then actually get there. It is a lot to do, and sometimes it is hard to matchup with everyone:

Here, Nowitzki sets up too far into the paint, and he doesn’t have enough time to close out on the three point shooter.

Categories: 2010 Playoffs, 4th Quarters, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs Tags:

therealmyles

the P&R isn't meant to be used like it does against a man because the defence is placed in positions already instead of needing to follow a player. It's basically a distraction for Tim duncan to get into the middle of the floor since the weakside is more concern on helping and hedging/switching the offensive player. It could also be used as a pin screen to hold a pleyer trying to shift in the zone, that extra hold could lead to an extra step or open shot for an offensive player
drbearclaw

Haywood came out way too high on the second play. I've come to realize he's a pretty bad overall defender (although he plays good post up D), specifically in situations defending screens. I've seen him get lost and crumble under a lot of pick and rolls.
Nate

How is that not over-the-back (blair over kidd) in the first video? Kidd had him boxed out perfectly and blair pretty much jumped up and landed on Kidd's back to get the rebound.
Sebastian Pruiti

Kidd was in good box out position yes, but once Blair pushes him out (using his ass, so it's legal), he is in position to get the rebound. Blair has as much as a right to go for the basketball as Kidd there. Also, with Blair being so much larger than Kidd, you aren't going to see a call made there unless it is blatant.
Matt Amos

The reason the Spurs are winning is the same reason I'm a huge Spurs fan. The Spurs play hard core rough defense to get into their opponents heads and the Mavs have fallen into the trap and they keep losing their temper and making stupid mistakes. The spurs have been mugging Dirk and I gotta give him credit, for being a finesse player Dirk has shown toughness but his teammates keep retailiating and loosing their tempers and that's exactly what Pop wants and the Spurs want and it's worked perfect. Game one they didn't touch Dirk and he went off but since game 2 and on they've covered Dirk up without having to double team him which is crucial. Plus know we still have the Big 3 plus with Hill,Blair, and Jefferson the Mavs will never know who's gonna go off and win the game for the Spurs. If the Spurs get past Dallas they have a great chance making it to the Finals now since all the other teams in the west our struggling with injuries and just not playing well. I love the Spurs chance to make some noise
dvs620

That's the problem with mid-season acquisitions. The Spurs core has been together long enough to not make that mistake. The two people mentioned in Jaffe's post were Wizards to begin the season. Had they started the season with the Mavs, then maybe the outcome is different. As for Tiel, McDyess is doing exactly what's needed. He's forcing Dirk to play physical, which isn't his style.

Dirk has shown a willingness to attack the basket and absorb contact, but he's now known for fighting for position just to get the ball. Then when he does get the ball, he's wasting a lot of time trying to get his shot. McDyess has him rattled to the point where George Hill was on Dirk on a switch, and Dirk never looked to shoot or post up, despite being guarded by a 6'2" PG.
blentzen

I STILL BELIEVE!!!!! 2010 THE YEAR OF THE SPURS!!!!! GO SPURS GO!!!!!
Jaffe

the p/r where duncan gets the ball in the middle of the paint, looks wrong, isn't the point of the zone for the opposition to shoot 3/ deep 2's contested? rather than haywood step up and defend manu on the p/r it shudve been butler who stayed with jefferson, that way everyone knows the next rotation is going to be to the corner (which presents limited options)
basketball

P&R defense is basically zone defense, so the most logical way to attack zone is P&R. Why overthink things and have some special zone offense, just continue to run your regular stuff against the zone and stay aggressive.
Tiel

Haven't seen game four but Dallas executed that zone perfectly in game 3 - third quarter. Still think this series is about what Dallas is not doing - not about the Spurs actually being their 3-1 superiors.
Jordan

it seemed odd to me that the Spurs would continue to work the P&R against a zone. It worked with Duncan and Manu, but isn't there a "better" way to counteract the 2-3?