While Kevin Durant had a tremendous game in the finals of the FIBA World Championships scoring 28 points on 10 for 17 shooting (58.8%), the rest of Team USA really seemed to struggle, chipping in just 53 points while going 20 for 51 from the field.  While the rest of Team USA had problems creating for themselves and knocking down tough shots, they were able to take advantage of some really good looks, and it was all due to the attention that the Turkish team showed Kevin Durant.

Whether it was man to man, zone defense, or in transition Turkey really used most of their effort on the defensive end to try and stop Durant.  Eventually, this strategy allowed the rest of Team USA to get some open looks, and they were able to finish.

Against Man To Man Defense

Turkey really struggled when playing their man to man defense against the United States during the finals.  The problem was that when playing man to man defense, you have a full team effort.  Players need to sink off their man, help, stop penetration, and then recover.  However, Turkey was really reluctant to help off of Durant, and this lead to a number of open/easy looks.

No Help From Turkey

In the above clip, you see Team USA run a simple pick and roll at the top of the key with Kevin Durant out on the wing.  Ersan Ilyasova is the defender covering Durant.  He should be the help man Derrick Rose attacks the basket, but he is hesitant to get too far away from Durant, and he meekly reaches at the basketball as Rose blows by him.

This is where Ilyasova is positioned and he should be positioned a little bit more in the middle of the lane.  Normally in help defense the goal is to cut off penetration, force the pass to the outside, and then recover.  However, with Durant on the outside, Turkey really was afraid of wandering too far off of Durant.

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The semi-final matchup between Serbia and Turkey may have been the game of the tournament, and no matter how good the rest of the game was, none of it compares to the final two possessions.  In each possession, defenses made a few mistakes, one offense was able to take advantage of that mistake, while the other was unable to.

Turkey’s Go-Ahead Layup

After giving up a wide open lay-up to Serbia, Turkey trailed by one point with 4.3 seconds left in the game.

With so little time on the clock, Turkey was looking to get the ball to one of their players on the move going towards the basket.  We have seen what happens when you get the ball to someone going away from the basket, so this is the correct play call here from Turkey.  Turkey uses a double screen to try and get Kerem Tunceri the basketball along the baseline, but it is well covered.

The second thing to focus on is Serbia’s defensive position.  As you can see, all 5 Serbian defenders are up near half court with nobody playing safety back near their own basket.  If I was the Serbian coach, I would have had taken the defender covering the passer and drop him back near the foul line to help protect the basket.

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Kevin Durant’s 38 points on Saturday during the semifinals of the FIBA World Championships has gotten a lot of attention (and rightfully so), however it was another individual performance that helped Team USA get to the finals against Turkey.  That performance was Andre Iguodala on the defensive end.  Iguodala’s main responsibility was to cover Linas Kleiza, Lithuania’s leading scorer.  In the seven games before the semi-finals Kleiza was averaging 19.14 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting 54.6% from the field (60.8% on 2s and 34.7% on 3s).  Iguodala was able to hold Kleiza to just 4 points (on 1/11 shooting – 0/4 from 3) and 5 rebounds.

Iguodala has a combination of speed and strength that Kleiza probably hasn’t seen during this tournament.  Iguodala was able to use these skills (especially his quick hands) to really bother Kleiza, especially in the post.

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In what might have been the best game in the FIBA Worlds so far (and that is with a ton of really good games already played), Serbia used the strength of a late three pointer and a defensive stop (though that stop was probably more Spain’s bad execution rather than Serbia’s defense) to pull ahead of the defending world and Euro champs, knocking them out of the tournament and advancing to the Semi Finals.

Serbia’s Deep Three

What was interesting about yesterday’s ending, especially Serbia’s possession, was the strategy that was implemented (and the strategy that wasn’t implemented):

Serbia starts out in a 1-4 flat set that you commonly see in the NBA.  However, instead of the ISOs you normally see, Serbia sends a screener to pop out and set a screen.  The sole purpose of this screen is to force Spain to switch on defense.

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After making two foul shots, Marcelo Huertas cut Argentina’s lead down to one point with 1:28 left in the game.  Argentina needed to respond, and they did so by going to Luis Scola who was, as his boss put it, in “video game god mode.”

Scola In The Post

As Argentina brings up the basketball, we see Scola setting up on the ball side elbow.  Make sure to focus on him here.

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Against Angola, Team USA scored 121 points nearly doubling up their opponent.  There were a lot fast break opportunities and a lot of dunks, but that isn’t what impressed me about their performance.  What did was the ball movement and patient that Team USA showed in the half-court.  This is something that Team USA hasn’t been doing throughout the tournament, so it leads me to think that Team USA is finally starting to “get it” on the offensive end.  That’s a good thing, considering the road to the World Championship gets much tougher from here on out.  A perfect example of Team USA’s newfound offensive efficiency is this possession late in the 2nd quarter.

Derrick Rose 3

Watch this possession and you will see all the things that work against the zone combined into one play.  You have a screen against the top of the zone, a nice drive and kick, quick passes around the perimeter (forcing the zone to rotate), and an open three point shot.  12 seconds come off the clock as Derrick Rose knocks down the three.  So how is this play different than some of the stuff Team USA did earlier (and struggled)?  The passing.  In  previous games, you would see one pass and a shot (and the offense staying on one side of the court).  On this possession, you see five passes going from side to side, using the whole court.  This forces the defense to rotate and opens up a ton of lanes and shooting opportunities.

Here is another solid possession from Team USA, this one coming against man to man defense:

Chauncey Billups 3

Previous problems Team USA had was a lack of movement, with everyone waiting for the man with the basketball to make a move and do it all on their own.  On the above possession, you see a lot of off the ball movement, a pick and roll, and a pump fake that sucks the defense in.  The result is a wide open three pointer.  Those are the kind of shots Billups can knock down.

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With Serbia and Croatia battling for a spot in the quarter finals everyone was expecting a tight game, and they got it.  No matter how good the first 39:30 of the game was, it doesn’t even come close when comparing it to the final fifteen seconds of the game.  The final fifteen seconds had five key plays take place, let’s look at them:

Serbia Fouls Up Three

In the NBA or the college game, whether or not teams foul when up by three points is a big debate.  However, in the international/FIBA game, you don’t really see any hesitation when it comes to these situations.  Every time a team has a chance to foul with the lead late, they take advantage of it, and that is what Serbia does here:

Serbia Fouls Up Three

Fouling up three isn’t as easy as it looks, you want to let some time come off the clock, but you don’t want to let the offensive player get in his shooting motion behind the three point line.  Here, Dusko Savanovic does a very nice job of taking the foul while letting some time come off the clock before taking the foul (a whole six seconds).  He lets the ball handler dribble it on the outside, and as soon as he makes his move, Savanovic takes the foul.

Serbia’s Turnover Under Their Own Basket

After Croatia hit both of their foul shots, Serbia still held a one point lead.  With 0:15 seconds left, all they needed to do was get the basketball inbounds and continue the foul shooting contest.  However, some poor execution lead to a turnover:

Croatia takes the man covering the basketball and turns him around to double anyone who breaks to the basketball.  Serbia counters by using two players and having them stay near foul line, sending one to the corner.

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After a foul shot from Luis Scola, Argentina was getting back on defense looking for a stop with 30 seconds left and the game tied.  Based on past performances, you would think that Argentina would get the stop.  However, this time Argentina made a few mistakes on this possession, and it eventually cost them the game.

The set starts earlier, but this is where it makes sense to start looking at it for our purpose.  The matchup we are paying attention to here is Leonardo Gutierrez from Argentina against Dusko Savanovic from Serbia.

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With Russia up seven points with about two minutes left against Greece, the team was looking for a way to put the game away, and they were able to do so with two straight baskets.  The way that Russia went about getting these two baskets is pretty interesting because they were done in completely different ways.  The first was a quick-hitting lob, while the second was a set that saw Russia work through all of their options.

The Quick Hitter

This play looks simple, and while it is, there are a few little things that Russia did here (with some mistakes from Greece mixed in) that allowed for this play to work:

As Russia brings the basketball up the court you have a backscreen being set for Alexey Zhukanenko.  This is where Greece’s biggest mistake is made.  Why is Zhukanenko’s defender all the way out on him at the three point line?  He’s not a three point shooter.  If the defender is back where he should be off the ball (around the foul line), he would have a feel for the screen coming.

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Against Brazil, Slovenia took the lead early and hung on for the win.  That doesn’t mean it was uneventful though, as Brazil cut Slovenia’s lead to five twice late in the fourth quarter.  Each time Slovenia responded with a clutch three point shot:

Post Threat Opens Up Outside

Slovenia’s offense involves a lot of cut, dives, and post ups.  In addition to having that stuff get open looks, it also draws the help side defense, and that is what freed up Slovenia’s first three up by five with right around 3 minutes left.

Up five with around three minutes left, Slovenia is trying to milk the clock.  Instead of having their point guard dribbling out the clock, they do it the correct way though in my opinion, they run through their offense.  The first step is having a double screen set for their point guard.

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