On August 31st, EuroBasket, an European competition featuring 24 countries and a high number of NBA players.  With the much anticipated exodus of NBA players to Europe not exactly happening (as of yet), this could be the last time you see some really good NBA players play in a true competitive setting for a really long time.  To get everyone more familiar with what we are going to see during the EuroBasket tournament, I am going to look at each team’s offense and break down a few interesting sets that they run, using game tape from the preparation games that are currently being played.

Being the host country, Lithuania is going to have an amazing crowd supporting them every single game.  If you don’t think that matters, ask Spain about Lithuania’s home court advantage.  After beating Lithuania in Spain by 12 points, Lithuania was able to return the favor at home, and hand Spain it’s only loss of their preparation schedule, beating them by 12 in front of a packed stadium.  Playing at home, Lithuania definitely needs to be considered among the contenders here at EuroBasket.

Halfcourt Offense

Pick & Roll Reverse

In my humble opinion, one of Lithuania’s greatest weaknesses is at the guard position.  They simply don’t have enough guys who can break down his man and either get to the rim or create for others.  Because of that, Lithuania leans heavily on the pick and roll (it was the pick and roll that powered them to a win vs. Spain).  It shouldn’t be a surprise that their halfcourt offense seems to revolve around the pick and roll, and here is their favorite set to run involving a pick and roll:

This play starts with a quick pindown screen set from a big trailing the play.  The purpose of this pindown is to get the wing player open to receive a pass.  This pass is important, because if it isn’t open, the play breaks down.

Once this pass happens, the initial ball handler cuts off of the teammate he passed it to and quickly gets the ball back.  After handing the ball back to the initial ball handler, the player giving up the ball cuts parallel to the free throw line, getting a backscreen from the big on the opposite block.

As the player getting the backscreen continues his cut to the opposite corner, the big who set the backscreen, slides up and gets in position to set a ball screen.  Once the ball screen gets set, they are playing pick and roll basketball.  In this case, the ball handler is able to get a jumper and knock it down.

The roll man is also an option, though the ball handler and the screener need to be on the same page:

On this particular play, the ball handler thinks the screener is rolling to the rim, but the screener is popping instead.  The result is a bad pass, but Lithuania is able to regain possession and knock down a three.

In addition to the ball screen, there is a second option on this play.  If the ball handler chooses, he can turn down the ball screen and pass it to the big instead, initiating a ball reversal.

There are two problems with this reversal option.  The first is that once it gets to the man in the corner, the play is over.  The big making the pass to the corner eventually makes his way to the block, but by that time, the whole advantage of the ball reversal (the quickness that catches the defense off guard) is gone.

The second reason why I’m not a big fan of this set is because the decision to either set a ball screen or reverse the ball seems to be the point guard’s and he is making this decision on the fly.  This leads to a lot of confusion:

Here, the big thinks the ball handler wants a ball screen, but he actually wants to reverse the basketball.  Because the big isn’t in position to make the pass, the ball handler has to do it himself from a really tough angle.

Pick & Roll Cut Through

Lithuania has a second set they like to run when trying to set up a pick and roll, and this one is a little big more effective in my opinion:

Once again, the set starts with a pindown screen to get the wing open for the entry pass.  Again, this is because the pass to the wing is vital to getting the play run correctly.

After the pass is made, the point guard making the pass cuts through to the corner of the court where he entered the basketball to.  As that happens, the big from the opposite block comes up and sets a ball screen for the wing receiving the pass.  Once that happens, Lithuania is playing pick and roll basketball:

This set is just a simple way for Lithuania to get into their pick and roll sets without having to rely on their ball handlers bringing the ball up, dealing with pressure, and getting to a certain spot.  The end result is a pick and roll and it helps Lithuania create easier than if the ball handler was trying to break down his man on his own.

Post Set

In addition to running the pick and roll, Lithuania also likes to get the ball on the block and post up the defense from time to time.  The set that Lithuania runs to get the ball in the post is again designed to help the weak ball handlers get into position to enter the basketball into the post:

The play starts with the ball handler bringing the basketball up, and as that happens, a Lithuanian player sets a cross screen for a wing player at the free throw line.  The wing player comes off of that screen and makes himself available for the pass, getting himseslf more open than just standing on the wing.

Once the player makes the catch on the wing, he enters it into the post.  Once that happens, the man who made the entry pass sets a screen for the initial ball handler, who replaces the screener on the wing.

After setting his screen, the screener dives to the rim on the weakside, providing spacing, preventing a double team, and making himself available for a dump off pass.  Here is the set in real time:

What I like about this set is how the movement off of the ball (the screen, the replacing, and the dive to the rim) prevents the defense from sending a double team.  This allows the man posting up to back down his man, get to his spot, and make his move.

SLOB

Lithuania has two different sideline out of bounds sets that they like to run, both coming off of similar looks

SLOB 1

The first set that Lithuania likes to run involves a staggered screen off of the basketball.  The first set of screens is set for a player curling towards the sideline and the second is set for a ball handler that pops out and makes himself available.  After making the catch up top, Lithuania plays pick and roll basketball:

In my opinion, Lithuania’s first option is hitting that curling player, and if they are able to get it, they are usually able to get an open jumper from the corner.

SLOB 2

The second SLOB set for Lithuania is a little more involved.  As soon as the ball goes to the trigger man, a big sets a screen for someone flashing to the corner.  After he sets his screen, the big pops out and makes himself available and gets the pass.  Once he makes the catch, he hands it off to a ball handler who is coming off of a pindown screen of his own:

This handoff is effectively puts Lithuania in a pick and roll situation and the two involved are able to use that to get some easy looks at the rim (either by passing it to the roll man or attacking the rim).

BLOB

What Lithuania likes to do out of BLOB situations is essentially run a screen the screener type of set.

The play starts with a screen getting set on the weakside.  After setting his screen on the weakside, the screener comes off of a screen of his own, makes himself available, and gets the basketball for an easy jumper.

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In my opinion, Lithuania’s coaches do a very good job of recognizing where there team is weak, and they run sets to help put their weakness (the ball handlers) in position to succeed.  That’s good coaching.