After all, Ty Corbin and this band of young 20-somethings were just asked to hold the fort until lottery helped arrived. That was expected to be the new era of basketball in Utah. But to quote The Who it’s, ‘Meet the old Jazz, same as the new Jazz’. When fans in Utah go to games, they see a team operate primarily in the half-court, run the flex and foul hard at every opportunity. Sounds awfully similar to the last two decades, ehh?

Sloan's influence lives on in Utah

However, there are subtle changes in the Utah scheme. Thanks to Al Jefferson’s mini-resurgence and Paul Millsap’s white-hot start, Utah has played more through the post than recent years. Whether it’s out of a transition push, the flex or another set, post-ups have largely replaced the pick and rolls that John Stockton and Williams ran with aplomb season after season.
This is a nice tactical shift given that Jazz roster doesn’t house many threats off that action. Millsap and Jefferson are far from terrifying dive men and both would probably be just around adequate picking and popping to mid-range. The ball handlers are in the same boat.

Neither Devin Harris nor Earl Watson have advanced ball screen games and the wings are about the same story with one exception; Gordon Hayward. Hayward is slowing but surely morphing into a Swiss Army knife on the wing. When he’s confident and active, Hayward impacts all areas of the game. Under Corbin, the former Butler star is now getting a chance to show off both his playmaking and ballhandling skills.

Last night, the Jazz had a handful of possessions involving Hayward in a pick and roll on the wing. The results were very promising as Hayward demonstrated a knack for executing them, possibly due to the fact that Butler’s offense is/was side ball screen heavy (though he wasn’t running them too often in games for the Bulldogs).

Utah normally starts this action with the guard passing to Hayward on the wing and the big man opposite (usually Jefferson) sprinting to screen while the rest of the team gets into a triangle away (wing, corner, short corner). In the first clip, Hayward does an excellent job of waiting for Jefferson to get set before coming off. Not only does this avoid an offensive foul call, but it causes Danilo Gallinari, Hayward’s defender to get caught up in the screen.

Hayward comes off with good pace looking to turn the corner. Most wings running side pick and rolls come off primarily thinking score first, second and third. Hayward, however, reads Ty Lawson on his line of attack, takes an extra dribble to keep him fully engaged in his help defense position, the quickly kicks the pass out to Harris on the wing. That extra split second of time Hayward holds Lawson allows for Harris to get his shot off cleanly. Here is the play:

The next play shows off Hayward in attack mode. The action starts the same way, with Jefferson sprinting to screen from the opposite block. This time, however, Hayward comes off without a defender directly on his line. He subtle shifts into a higher gear and explodes through it. Lawson, again in help, is forced to reach in and foul him.

The final edit shows Hayward and Millsap in a two-man game on the right wing. This time Hayward does an excellent job of pushing his dribble all the way into the paint, sucking in the defense before kicking the ball out. Harris, the recipient of Hayward’s pass, quickly swings the ball to Raja Bell in the corner for a 3. Hayward doesn’t get any credit for the play, but make no mistake about it, he made it happen. Here’s the video:

If Corbin continues creatively employing new tweaks like this to the old system, if Devin Harris returns to form, if Paul Millsap’s production doesn’t drop too far from its current level and if the defensive improvement sticks, the Jazz could find the timetable on their rebuilding project drastically moved up. A lot of ‘ifs’ to be sure, but that’s why we’ll keep watching.

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Past Editions: Kyrie Irving (#1) | Derrick Williams (#2) | Tristan Thompson (#4) | Jonas Valanciunas (#5) | Jan Vesely (#6)| Bismack Biyombo (#7) | Brandon Knight (#8) | Kemba Walker (#9) | Jimmer Fredette (#10) | Klay Thompson (#11)

In the past two seasons, Alec Burks really exploded onto the scene as a wing who can put up numbers and get to the rim.  His final season at Colorado was enough to convince the Utah Jazz, who don’t really have a penetrating wing on their roster, to use their second lottery pick on him.

Strengths

Creating His Own Offense

Most likely Alec Burks best skill is his ability to create his own offense, using his dribble to beat his man, get in the lane, and finish at the rim.  In isolation situations, Burks has posted a PPP of 0.897, which places him among the top 23% of all college players last season.  Burks is very quick and he is a very good ball handler, and that allows him to beat defenders:

When in isolation situations, Burks quickness is on display when he changes direction.  Usually, Burks drives to the rim consist of at least one change of direction cross-over dribble, putting the defender on his heels and allowing him to get to the rim.  Once he does get to the rim, Burks has a soft touch that allows him to convert a high percentage of shots.  On shot attempts “around the rim” as labeled by Synergy, Burks posts a PPP of 1.242 (which puts him in the top 25% among all college players) on shooting percentage of 59.7%.

In addition to finishing around the rim, Burks has a unique ability to draw contact on his shot attempts, drawing fouls at a very high rate.  According to Synergy Sports, Burks drew fouls on 18.8% of his total possessions.  For reference, Kevin Martin, who is considered one of the best in the league at drawing fouls for his position, drew fouls on 19.4% of possessions.  The key to Burks’ ability to draw fouls is body control:

In addition to being unafraid of contact at the rim, Burks likes to lean into and get his body into defenders when they are in the air.  He has the wingspan to draw the contact and still get the shot over long defenders, allowing him to get the shot at the rim and draw shooting fouls.

In addition to the half court, Burks’ quickness helps him create his own offense in transition.  In his final season with Colorado, Burks posted a PPP of 1.192 in transition, putting him among the top 27% of all college players last year.

Burks, who is a very good rebounder for his size and position, has the ball handling ability to take the rebound and bring the basketball down the court himself.  When that happens, Burks isn’t stopping unless someone on the defense steps up to stop him.  If that doesn’t happen, Burks will take the ball all the way to the rim and finish.  Burks is also very good at filling the lane, making the catch, and finishing in transition as well.

Passing

You look at the way Burks plays and his scoring numbers, and there is a tendency to think that he is a gunner.  That isn’t really the case, as Burks possesses the ability to become a very good passer in the NBA.

When watching Burks on tape, it becomes pretty apparent that not only is Burks a willing passer, but he is a very good passer.  Burks isn’t going to be the type of player who will run an offense and get guys involved that way.  Where Burks really shows off his passing ability is when he penetrates and draws help defense.  Burks is very good at recognizing the help, seeing where it is coming from, and then getting the ball to the open teammate.

Rebounding

I mentioned it briefly earlier, but Burks is a very good rebounder for his size and for his position.  Last season with Colorado, Burks grabbed 8.3 rebounds per 40 minutes (according to Draft Express), putting him second among all college wings:

Where Burks really excels is when the ball is in the air.  Burks has the ability to read the ball in the air, see where it is going to come off of the rim, and get in position to grab the rebound.  If the ball does come off of the rim out of his area, Burks has a tremendous will to seek the ball out and go get it.  When you are as good as Burks in transition, being able to grab rebounds yourself and go before the defense gets set is huge.

If there is one thing I don’t like about Burks’ rebounding style is that he doesn’t hold box outs long enough.  That could hurt him, but he should eventually make an adjustment, holding his box out longer then using his pursuit skill to still grab the rebound and get the ball.

Weaknesses

Jump Shooting

As good as Burks is attacking and finishing at the rim, he is just as bad when it comes to his jump shot.  Last year, Burks shot 73-237 (30.8%) on all jumpers and he was even worse on jump shots taken off of the dribble, making just 40 of his 147 attempts, or 27.2%.  When he is attacking the rim, Burks’ jumper is almost an afterthought, and that is a problem:

Burks’ biggest problem is that he finds himself off balance on a large percentage of his jump shots, especially when they come off of the dribble.  This is because when Burks is attacking, he is almost always thinking “get to the rim.”  When he is stopped, his jump shot is almost his last resort, so he really isn’t prepared to actually take his jumper, and that is why he almost always isn’t set and almost always doesn’t go straight up and down.

The pressure Burks had on him to score for Colorado was great, so maybe that played into the number of off-balance jumpers he took, but if this continues in the NBA, it is going to be a major problem for him.

Defense

The biggest hole in Burks’ game is definitely his defense.  Despite being quick, long, and a pretty good athlete, Burks just doesn’t seem to be a very good defender at this point in his career.  This past season, Burks allowed 0.875 PPP when he was isolated, putting him in the bottom 30% of all NCAA defenders.  He also committed fouls on 15.6% of his defensive possessions:

One of the reasons why Burks gets beat so easily is that he has the tendency to get out of his stance way too early.  More often than not, Burks finds himself standing straight up when trying to defend a ball handler.  Not in an as athletic stance, Burks gets beat easier and he needs to resort to reaching in more, resulting in more fouls.

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I actually like this pick for Utah.  Right now, their only wings under contract being Gordon Haywood, C.J. Miles and Raja Bell, three guys who are more shooters than slashers.  Burks can be a nice change of pace player coming off of the bench for Utah, being that scoring sixth man in the mold of Jamal Crawford.  Though Crawford and Burks’ games are very different, they could have the same impact for their respective teams next season.  Plus, with Burks not needing to be that primary scorer, you may see less off balance jumpers, meaning he can be more efficient in the NBA.

Using tape of Kanter’s performance over the weekend (yes, I know, only three games), we can now look at how Kanter’s game has progressed during a year where he hasn’t played any live games.

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On a team that features quite a few NBA players, the 19 year old Kanter obviously won’t be one of Turkey’s main options.  Even in his limited post opportunities, you could see Kanter’s smooth touch around the basket and his ability to make moves on the block when facing a straight man defense:

This is a NBA player, and actually current teammate in Kyrylo Fesenko, that Kanter made this move against, and it is a sweet move.  Kanter does a great job of getting to a spot he wants on the court, spinning off of Fesenko, creating separation, and using his touch to hit the basket.

However, Kanter does run into some problems in the post.  Unlike some of the best post players in the NBA, who anticipate doubles and uses that against the defense by kicking it out, Kanter always seems to have scoring on his mind when he makes the catch on the block.  That’s a good thing when a double doesn’t come, but when it does, that can lead to problems:

On this play, Kanter makes his move as Germany sends the late double team.  The actual man doubling the ball doesn’t have an effect on Kanter, but he does turn his back to his man, giving Kanter a great opportunity to kick the basketball out.  Instead, he forces up a jumper over his defender, who is in great position.

Here, Kanter gets the ball and Ukraine sends a quick double team.  Instead of kicking it out and reposting or accepting the double team and kicking it out (forcing the defense to recover and put them out of position), Kanter looks to score out of the post and ends up getting blocked.

Another positive offensively for Kanter is his hands and his ability to go right up when making the catch:

Watching these clips, you don’t really want to look at the result (though he makes/gets fouled on every attempt except the first one), but instead you want to look at the process.  In the NBA, where defenders are longer and more athletic, any slight hesitation is going to result in a blocked/altered shot, so going up quickly is extremely important and it isn’t something guys pick up easily.  So to see a 19 year doing that is definitely a positive.  It’s catch, gain control, and quickly go up with it every single time.

When watching the above clips, you start to see a problem with Kanter’s game, and that problem is setting screens.  Kanter really seems to struggle with both on ball and off ball screens, screening air more often than not.  In fact, out of the about 20 or so screens (both on ball and off ball) that I saw Kanter set this past weekend, he set a good solid screen just once (and they scored off of it).  I don’t know if it is trying to get a feel for new teammates or what, but it just looked like he was shying away from contact when setting screens:

The reason I say that Kanter’s poor screens could be Kanter adjusting to a new team is because maybe his teammates aren’t comfortable using Kanter’s screens and they don’t come off of it properly.  In addition, Kanter seemed unsure about some sets, and that delay (and confusion) could lead to poor screens being set by Kanter.  This is something that should be watched as Turkey continues their preparation schedule and plays through EuroBasket.

Much like on offense, Kanter is probably at his best defensively on the block when playing the post.  When watching Kanter defend the post, there are a lot of things to like:

The first thing you like to see is Kanter’s physicality.  When someone is fighting for position against him, Kanter is physical, does a good job of leaning on his defender and pushing his man from his spot.  I also like Kanter’s recognition.  Once his man makes the catch, he gets his hands off and stops pushing, understanding that would get called for a foul.  He also likes to make use of his quick hands and long arms, as he tries to reach in and knock the ball away (not sure if this will be effective in the NBA).  Finally, Kanter doesn’t really bite on fakes, instead opting to stay on his feet and keeping his arms long, contesting shots without fouling.

However, as good as Kanter is on the ball in the post, he’s that bad away from the ball in help situations and when trying to defend on the pick and roll.  Kanter has a tendency to get lost on the defensive end, and in my opinion, this is where his lack of live game experience really hurts him.  He is late recognizing when he should help and when he should stay home, and he tends to have the same problem when hedging on ball screens (he’ll hedge a little too hard when not needed).  Kanter also has a tendency to ball watch a little too much:

In addition to watching the basketball a little too much, Kanter also has a tendency to focus on his man too much.  Instead of keeping his head on a swivel, looking at everything and then brining help when needed.  Kanter always seems to want to know where his man is (either by keeping his body on him or looking at him), and that leads to Kanter recognizing cuts off of his man or help situations too late, putting his defense in a tough position.

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I know it is just three games, but I think finally being able to see Kanter play a live game has helped get rid of some of the mystery around him.  Sure it is just three games, and while nobody in their right mind would use these games to prove that Kanter is a bust, it should become obvious that Kanter needs a little more work than probably expected.  The good thing about it is that some of the things that need correct (help defense, recognizing double teams, setting screens) are things that tend to get better with more experience.  While he may not get a ton of playing time during EuroBasket (both Erden and Asik are sitting these prep games out but should be ready to go for the actual tournament), Kanter is definitely someone you want to pay attention to and see if he starts playing a little better with more experience.

When you think of the Utah Jazz on the offensive end, you think of the pick and roll. However, that isn’t the case this season.  As a team, the Jazz only run the pick and roll 9.7 percent of time, opting to run five different play types more frequently. (According to Synergy, they are spot-ups, transition sets, cuts, post-ups, and off-ball screens.) This means that Paul Millsap, the Jazz power forward who would normally be setting ball screens for his point guard, now gets the basketball in a number of different ways (Millsap individually only sets ball screens 9.1 percent of the time). When watching Millsap on the offensive end, you see that the Jazz like to get Millsap the basketball using different sets that take advantage of his diversified game.

Thanks for taking the time to check it out!

Play 3 (1 Point) – Ty Corbin/Utah Jazz

This play that Ty Corbin drew up takes place on the baseline with C.J. Miles and Kyrylo Fesenko setting a staggered screen for Raja Bell, allowing him to flash to the corner.  With the defense’s attention focused on Bell, Fesenko sets a screen for Miles, with Miles curling off of it to the basketball.  Miles gets the pass, makes the catch, and finishes at the rim.

Play 2 (2 Points) – Doc Rivers/Boston Celtics

This play is a called set off of the opening tip.  The Celtics win the tip and get into the set with Rajon Rondo getting the ball to Ray Allen who swings the ball to Kevin Garnett.  After making his pass, Rondo comes off of a Nenad Krstic screen and flashes to the ball.  Immediately after, Paul Pierce comes off of the same Krstic screen.  Garnett swings the ball to Rondo in the corner and Pierce and Garnett set a staggered ball screen.  After the screens, Garnett rolls to the block as Pierce pops out to the corner.  With the Pacers’ defense hedging on Rondo, Pierce is wide open.  The defense is forced to rush and close out on Pierce, which gives him a lane to attack the rim, where he finishes with the dunk.

Play 1 (3 Points) – Erik Spoelstra/Miami Heat

This play is yet another playing coming straight off of the opening tip, meaning that it was drawn up in the huddle as the first play to be run.  The Heat win the tip and get into their set with two players in the corner, LeBron James at one elbow and Chris Bosh at the other.  Mario Chalmers enters the ball to Bost and then cuts off of James to the weakside block.  Wade comes off of that screen and cuts across the lane.  After setting his screen, Chalmers gets in position to set a backscreen for James, who uses it to cut backdoor to the rim.  With the defense paying attention to Wade cutting across the lane, James has a clear path to rise up, make the catch, and finish the lob.

Updated Standings (Previous)

1. Doc Rivers – 30 points (1st)
2. Erik Spoelstra – 28 points (2nd)
3. Monty Williams – 16 points (3rd)
4. Gregg Popovich – 16 points (4th)
5. Rick Carlisle – 13 points (5th)
6. Frank Vogel – 12 points (6th)
7. Phil Jackson – 12 points (7th)
8. Alvin Gentry –  10 points (8th)
9. Tom Thibodeau – 7 points (9th)
10. Rick Adelman – 7 points (10th)
11. Nate McMillan – 6 points (11th)
12. Larry Drew – 6 points (12th)
13. Scott Brooks – 5 points (13th)
14. Jerry Sloan – 4 points (14th)
15. Ty Corbin – 4 points (15th)
16. Avery Johnson – 3 points (16th)
17. Lionel Hollins – 3 points (17th)
18. George Karl – 3 points (18th)
19. Scott Skiles – 3 points (19th)
20. Mike D’Antoni – 3 points (20th)
21. Jay Triano – 2 points (21st)
22. Byron Scott – 2 points (22nd)
23. Stan Van Gundy – 2 points (23rd)
24. Flip Saunders – 2 points (24th)
25. Paul Silas – 1 point (25th)
26. Doug Collins – 1 point (26th)
27. John Kuester – 1 point (27th)
28. Keith Smart – 1 point (28th)
29. Vinny Del Negro – 1 point (29th)

With his one point play, Ty Corbin ties his former poss Jerry Sloan.  Meanwhile, Erik Spoelstra and Doc Rivers continue to separate themselves from the pack as the gap between them closes.

Play 3 (1 Point) – Rick Adelman/Houston Rockets

A simple, yet effective set here for Kevin Martin.  Lowry brings the basketball up and gets it to Brad Miller on the elbow, then Lowry and Jordan Hill get in position and set a staggered screen for Martin.  Martin comes off of the screen, makes the catch, and knocks down the three.

Play 2 (2 Points) – Ty Corbin/Utah Jazz

This is a big play in the Jazz’s game against the Sixers with the Jazz trailing by 2 points with 11.4 seconds left.   C.J. Miles comes off of a staggered screen and curls it through the lane, getting the ball, taking one dribble, and finishing at the rim.  Why I enjoy this play so much is how Corbin keeps the PG in the corner.  He knows that Miles is the #1 option here, so he doesn’t bring a PG to the top of the key, because that would just crowd the passing lane to Miles.  Instead, the PG remains in the corner and keeps the passing lane clear.

Play 1 (3 Points) – Erik Spoelstra/Miami Heat

Erik Spoelstra has been absent for a little while, but he comes back with a nice set designed to get Dwyane Wade an open jumper. This is actually a play that the Heat like to run all of the time to get Chris Bosh a look in the post.  However, this time, he isn’t the main option. Wade and Bosh set a staggered screen, and once the shooter comes off of it, Wade sets a backscreen for Bosh, allowing him to cut to the block.  After Wade sets his screen, he comes off of a pindown set by Erik Dampier, breaking wide open.  Wade makes the catch and knocks down the open jumper.

Notice how Manu Ginobili recognizes the play and jumps Chris Bosh, fronting him.  The problem is that Bosh isn’t the main option this time, and Wade is left wide open.

Updated Standings (Previous)

1. Doc Rivers – 28 points (1st)
2. Erik Spoelstra – 25 points (2nd)
3. Monty Williams – 16 points (3rd)
4. Gregg Popovich – 16 points (4th)
5. Rick Carlisle – 13 points (5th)
6. Frank Vogel – 12 points (6th)
7. Phil Jackson – 12 points (7th)
8. Alvin Gentry –  10 points (8th)
9. Tom Thibodeau – 7 points (9th)
10. Rick Adelman – 7 points (11th)
11. Nate McMillan – 6 points (10th)
12. Scott Brooks – 5 points (12th)
13. Larry Drew – 4 points (13th)
14. Jerry Sloan – 4 Points (14th)
15. Ty Corbin – 3 point (27th)
16. Avery Johnson – 3 points (15th)
17. Lionel Hollins – 3 points (16th)
18. George Karl – 3 points (17th)
19. Scott Skiles – 2 points (18th)
20. Jay Triano – 2 points (19th)
21. Byron Scott – 2 points (20th)
22. Stan Van Gundy – 2 points (21st)
23. Flip Saunders – 2 points (22nd)
24. Paul Silas – 1 point (23rd)
25. Doug Collins – 1 point (24th)
26. John Kuester – 1 point (25th)
27. Keith Smart – 1 point (26th)
28. Vinny Del Negro – 1 point (28th)

After Doc Rivers pulled away and stretched his lead to six points, coach Erik Spoelstra uses his really nice set for Dwyane Wade to close the gap back to three points.  Ty Corbin’s 2 point play pushes him up to 15th, where he is one point behind Jerry Sloan, and Rick Adelman gets himself to the top ten.

We pick up the play with Devin Harris on the elbow with his dribble picked up and he is making his move to get the ball on the rim.  Highlighted is Reggie Evans, one of the better rebounders in the league, leaning up against Al Jefferson.  As of right now, he is in proper position as the shot is about to go up.

As the shot goes up, all of the Raptors’ eyes start focusing on the basketball and the rim.  Like moths to a flame, both Raptors at the front of the rim start moving closer to the rim.

Instead of boxing out, the Raptors (especially Reggie Evans) try to out-jump Al Jefferson.  This is hard enough to do, but the fact that Evans and company are underneath the rim makes this task even harder.

Jefferson is able to get his hand on the ball as it comes off of the rim, tipping it in as the buzzer sounds.  Here is the play in real time:

While this is a great job by Jefferson never giving up, I place the blame on the Raptors here rather than crediting the Jazz.  With so little time left, securing the rebound isn’t even important for the Raptors here, the main objective is to keep the Jazz from getting the rim.  So instead of jumping up and trying to grab the basketball out of the air (and whenever a defensive player does this they tend to end up underneath the rim), the Raptors should have just boxed out and held it.  Who cares if the ball bounces around on the floor, as long as the Jazz can’t tip it in, this game is going into overtime.

That doesn’t happen, the Raptors get pushed under the rim, and they try to out-jump Al Jefferson.  It doesn’t work out for Toronto here.

Play 3 (1 Point) – Ty Corbin/Utah Jazz

This play comes right off of the opening tip.  After bringing the basketball up, Devin Harris enters the ball to Andrei Kirilenko on the wing and then uses a backscreen.  Once Harris uses the screen, Kirilenko enters the ball to the elbow.  After that, he uses a backscreen set by Harris to get open for the lob.

Play 2 (2 Points) – Rick Carlisle/Dallas Mavericks

Here, we have a pretty sweet BLOB play.  Dirk Nowitzki is the trigger man, and he enters the basketball to Shawn Marion who quickly swings the ball to Jason Kidd.  After making the inbounds pass, Nowitzki uses a pindown screen from Peja Stojakovic.   This is just a decoy and Stojakovic quickly comes off of a Marion screen, gets the pass, and knocks down the shot.

Play 1 (3 Points) – Doc Rivers/Boston Celtics

This set has something that you see in just about every Celtics’ play coming out of timeouts, a whole lot of action.  Jeff Green swings the basketball to Rajon Rondo, and as that happens, Paul Pierce flashes to the ballside block.  Green then sets two off ball screens, one for Delonte West and one for Glen Davis.  West flashes to the basketball, makes the catch, and uses a ball screen from Davis.  Green’s double screen causes confusion and two defenders start running to Glen Davis.  The gives Green the space to pop out wide open in the corner.  He gets the pass and knocks down the jumper.

Updated Standings (Previous)

1. Erik Spoelstra – 22 points (1st)
2. Doc Rivers – 17 points (2nd)
3. Frank Vogel – 12 points (3rd)
4. Phil Jackson – 12 points (4th)
5. Gregg Popovich – 11 points (5th)
6. Monty Williams – 7 points (6th)
7. Tom Thibodeau – 7 points (7th)
8. Rick Adelman – 6 points (8th)
9. Scott Brooks – 5 points (9th)
10. Nate McMillan – 5 points (10th)
11. Alvin Gentry – 5 points (11th)
12. Rick Carlisle – 4 points (16th)
13. Larry Drew – 4 points (12th)
14. Jerry Sloan – 4 Points (13th)
15. Lionel Hollins – 3 points (14th)
16. George Karl – 3 points (15th)
17. Byron Scott – 2 points (17th)
18. Stan Van Gundy – 2 points (18th)
19. Flip Saunders 1 – point (19th)
20. John Kuester – 1 point (20th)
21. Keith Smart – 1 point (21st)
22. Ty Corbin – 1 point (NR)

Ty Corbin has finally got himself on the leaderboard after taking over for Jerry Sloan last week.  Meanwhile, at the top of the leaderboard, Doc Rivers closes the gap between himself and Erik Spoelstra to just 5 points.

As the ball goes to the trigger man, you have Paul Millsap at the elbow and Deron Williams on the block.  We see this set up on the sideline from plenty of NBA teams, and usually what happens is the big at the elbow sets a screen for the PG, and he runs off of it to get the ball at the top of the key.  The Jazz switch things around and they have Williams setting a backscreen for Millsap.

Williams sets an effective screen and Millsap comes off of it open.  At this point it looks like the play is going to work as Millsap has plenty of room to operate with the entire area around the rim wide open.

However, both Marcin Gortat and Steve Nash make terrific reads here.  Gortat dives to the strong side block, anticipating Millsap getting the basketball.  As this happens, Steve Nash rotates over and gets in front of Al Jefferson (Gortat’s man) and the rim.

The Suns’ rotation is giving away one pass, but the one they are giving up is a pretty difficult one to make with Gortat defending/cutting off the baseline.  And if somehow the pass is able to get made, Nash should have enough time to rotate back and challenge the shot.

Millsap tries to make that pass, Gortat gets his hands on it, and Nash is able to secure the basketball after the deflection.  Here is the stand in real time:

This is just a great read by both Gortat and Nash.  Gortat comes over and provides the help as Nash picks up his man.  They understand that to make a rotation like this they have to give up something, they give up a real tough pass, and it results in the turnover.

Jerry Sloan, one of my favorite coaches in the NBA, resigned yesterday, deciding to step down as head coach during his 23rd season. The reason why he was one of my favorite coaches was because of his offense. So as my little tribute, I thought it would be nice to look at my top three favorite plays that Sloan has been running this season out of timeouts.

I am choosing sets out of timeouts because this is where coaches can get most creative, really showcasing their knowledge. It should be no surprise that Sloan’s Jazz team were successful working out of timeouts, ranking eighth in the NBA by scoring .9159 points per possession on 45.1 percent shooting.

As always, thanks for taking the time to check it out.