What Went Wrong With Team USA’s Offense Versus Brazil?
Yesterday, Team USA faced their first real threat as they faced off against Brazil in a game that should end up deciding who wins their group. They also seemed to struggle for the first time, especially on the offensive end. Brazil shot the ball so well (in the first half at least) that it kept Team USA from getting out on the break and turning this game into a track meet. This meant that Team USA had to have success in the halfcourt, and that didn’t really happen. Let’s look at why they struggled. Two things really hurt Team USA, turnovers and bad shots.
No Movement
Team USA turned the ball over 22 times yesterday against Brazil. That really can’t happen against a team that is going to be able to make you pay for those mistakes (for the most part Brazil did in fact make Team USA pay). Some of those turnovers were questionable (those traveling calls in particular), but a lot of them were self inflicted, due to stagnant offense with everyone really standing around and watching the player with the ball do their own thing:
In this clip Derrick Rose brings the ball up with nobody really doing much off of the basketball. Sure, you have those cross screens at the back but neither Andre Iguodala or Chauncey Billups work all that hard to get open as they are basically jogging through the motions. With neither wing open, Rose is forced to try and get the ball to the middle when the turnover happens.
Here is another example of the lack of movement leading to a turnover. There is no real offensive flow to this set as Rose is simply looking for Durant on the wing so they can run an ISO. However, Durant is well defending, causing Rose to have nowhere to go to. Iguodala does a nice job of making himself available, and after the catch he tries to penetrate. However, because there is no movement off the ball, he drives right into Brazil’s help defense. This leaves Iguodala desperately pivoting and trying to find a teammate open, but nobody moves and he eventually throws the ball away.
In addition to the turnovers, the lack of movement allows for defense to load up on Team USA’s big guns. In the above clip, Durant gets the ball on the wing and because there is no movement off the ball (or ball movement before Durant makes the catch) Brazil can load their defense up and defend Durant. Sure, Durant slips, but he slips trying to make a jump stop because the help defense was right there.
Here is another example:
The lack of movement also forces players to take shots they really aren’t comfortable taking. In the above clip, Odom makes the catch, and there is absolutely zero movement around him. Eventually he decides to drive, and misses a crazy spinning layup. 4 players (Durant, Rose, Billups, and Odom) on Team USA took 85.4% of the team’s 55 shots yesterday. That should tell you something about the team’s offense, or lack thereof.
Poor Shot Selection
In addition to the lack of movement and the turnovers, Team USA had really poor shot selection yesterday. Guys were taking shots early in the clock that they could get at any time. There were a lot of one pass (or even no pass) and shoot. Nobody really giving the offense a chance to work.
Here, Russell Westbrook makes the catch on the wing and takes one dribble then shoots a contested shot. One pass and a shot, that isn’t how you beat defenses.
The biggest culprit was Chauncey Billups. Billups is Team USA’s veteran, the one who is supposed to have a level head and keep everyone else calm. You can’t have that guy just heaving up threes without making a pass, but that is exactly what happened against Brazil yesterday.
In both of the above clips, Billups takes a three without even making a pass and without any of his teammates touching the basketball on the possession. Not only are they early in the clock, but they aren’t in the flow of the offense and that means there is nobody in the paint to try and secure the offensive rebound. Shots like these are just as bad as a turnover when they don’t go in.
Despite as bad as both those shots were, they weren’t as bad as one Billups took late in the game, almost giving Brazil the win:
Up two with 33 seconds left, Team USA has the ball. With the 24 second clock, that means that Team USA can feasibly hold the basketball until there is 9 seconds left and take a shot. Billups shoots the ball when there is 17 seconds left. Now, if it is a wide open lay-up or dunk, this can be excused. But a contested three? That is an awful shot. You can get that shot at any point in the game, so why not wait, let the final 8 seconds come off the shot clock and then shoot it? If Team USA lost yesterday, Billups would have been the pretty obvious goat.
Adjustments
Even though Team USA’s offense was poor, we saw some glimpses of what they should be doing on the offensive end and how it can be successful. Let’s look at some of the adjustments they can make:
Swinging The Ball To Durant
When an offense moves the basketball from side to side, it forces a defense to move as well (since they have to adjust to the basketball). It doesn’t take a lot either. In the above clip they run a pick and roll for Rose, he dribbles it to the opposite wing, then swings the basketball to Durant. That simple action frees up the lane for Durant and gives him room to attack. Yes, the ball gets knocked away at the rim, but 1) he looked like he got fouled and 2) how many times do you expect that to happen when Durant attacks?
Pick And Roll
One way to keep Billups from jacking up threes is to run a screen at him. Look at the clips showing his poor shots, sure a lot of it is his fault, but he feels the need to take a shot because nobody around him is doing anything. In the above clip, they send a screen for Billups, and he uses it to get to the rim.
Moving Off The Ball
Team USA has big enough stars and good enough players that when anyone has the ball on the outside, all five defenders have to focus on him. Team USA can take advantage of this by moving and cutting off the ball into open areas. In the clip above that is exactly what happens. Again, Odom misses the shot, but that is not important. What is important is that he got a look right at the rim.
Drive And Kick
The theory behind this is the same as moving off the basketball. With all five sets of defensive eyes on the man with the ball, the first sign of penetration is going to send a ton of help coming. If Team USA can drive and kick, like what Billups does in the above clip, they can find themselves plenty of open looks for their good shooters (in this case Durant).
