Much like the Chicago Bulls, the Boston Celtics are one of the best teams when it comes to defending the pick and roll (both in terms of the ball handler and the roll man). That shouldn’t be a surprising considering that the man who installed the Celtics’ pick and roll defense is now the Bulls’ head coach. The Celtics are in the top 5 of PPP allowed in both pick and roll categories, and like the Bulls it is due to their “swarming” of the basketball (again, this is pulled from my SBNation.com pick and roll defense post):
Here, Elton Brand sets a screen for Jrue Holiday, and Holiday uses it taking the ball to the middle of the court. As he comes off of his screen, Holiday is met by Jermaine O’Neal who steps up as Rajon Rondo goes over the screen.
In terms of points per possession, the Miami Heat are the top team in the NBA when it comes to ball handlers coming off of ball screens. It isn’t hard to figure out who the Heat have been setting ball screens for most and why they are so successful. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade account for 76.5% of all the Heat’s ball screens. Both players are scoring over 1 point per possession (1.02 to be exact) and both players are shooting around 48% when coming off of ball screens.
Wade is tough to defend when he uses a screen because he is a player who likes to go away from the screen in addition to actually using it. Wade goes away from the screen 36.8% of the time, which is 2nd most in the NBA:
Here, LeBron James comes and sets a screen for Dwyane Wade. Wade starts off as if he is going to use the screen, crosses over, and attacks the rim. That one step towards the screen is enough to get his defender going towards the screen, setting him up for the cross over and drive.
The Celtics are 4th in the NBA in terms of points per possession when their players come off of screens, and obviously this has a lot to do with Ray Allen and his shooting ability. You can’t talk about shooters who can come off screens and knock shots down without mentioning Ray Allen. Allen might be one of the best shooters in the history of the NBA, and he is also one of the best when it comes to working off of screens. Part of what makes Allen so successful is his ability to set up his defender before he even comes off of the screen.
Watch what Allen does here even before he uses the screen. He starts on the baseline and starts as if he is going to come off of a pindown on the block. He stops, starts to head in the opposite direction, but then he jab steps, and goes back in the original direction. This creates enough space for Allen to come off the screen, square up, and knock down the mid-range jumper. In addition to being able to work before coming off of screens, he can read the defense, see how they are playing him, and just react off of it:
