25 shots, 7 sets of offensive tactics, a preliminary observation of the Clippers’ use of Beal

In Bill's scouting report, I mentioned that Bill's off-ball positioning has undergone a relatively large change during the Suns. During the Wizards, Bill was closer to a "development hand" on the off-ball end, while in the Suns he was more of a "receiving point."

After Budden took over as the coach, he significantly increased the frequency of the Suns' offense around screens without the ball. However, because the tactical weight needed to be given priority to the first two core players, Bill's offense without the ball around screens did not pick up.

After arriving at the Clippers, the situation was different. On the one hand, Powell, the Clippers' leader in off-ball development around screens, has left the team. On the other hand, the Clippers' top core players do not rely heavily on off-ball screens. In theory, the Clippers' "demand" for Bill's off-ball development will be higher than during his Suns days.

The Clippers' core rotation was largely absent in this game (therefore, this article will be more inclined to observe the Clippers' use of Bill's offensive end, the designed tactics, and the goals of the designed tactics, rather than the offensive positioning). This just provided a good opportunity for the team to invest a lot of off-ball tactical weight into Bill, who had just returned, and to speed up the integration of Bill into the team's tactics.

According to my personal statistics, when Bill only played in the first half and 14 minutes, the Clippers launched about 15 tactics around Bill, most of which were off-ball tactics.

In previous Bill’s scouting reports, I had conceived the scenario of Bill and Harden cooperating. The easiest thing to think of is that Bill, as an off-ball attacker, moves with his bare hands and uses off-ball screens to find finishing opportunities, while Harden and Paul can serve as Bill’s “brain” to help him think in these rounds. Westbrook is to Bill in his 21st season, and Harden is to Powell in his 25th season. They are both good examples.

Therefore, this game has given some answers as to how Harden should cooperate with his "new blade".

Dunn held the ball past halftime. After starting from the bottom corner, Bill first used Kobe Brown's "Flex screen" to run towards the penalty area, and then used Zubac's middle screen to lift it to the top of the key.

A typical tacit understanding problem caused by too short a break-in time: Bill used Brown's screen to make a fake move toward the basket and then raised the ball. Dunn really thought that Bill was going to run toward the basket and gave the ball to Kobe Brown for him to pass. So after Podger was freed by Bill's off-ball counter-attack by Gazubac's off-ball screen, the ball was no longer in Dunn's hands.

Judging from the offensive layout and player positions, Bill should have launched Powell's tactic in the above round:

But soon Bill showed His background as an off-ball developer was revealed: When the above-mentioned first wave of tactical rounds did not go smoothly, Bill immediately cut to the basket with the help of Zubac's screen and then detoured to the bottom corner. Then he moved up and cooperated with Zubac to launch a side pick-and-roll to launch the second wave of offense.

After Zubac used "Flip" to pass to Bill, he immediately set up a very solid off-ball screen to catch Podger. Bill then made an emergency stop in the mid-range, and Richard, who was assisting the defense at a 45° angle on the weak side, hit a mid-range shot, punishing Horford's retreat.

Not long after the start, the second tactical round around Bill was launched:

Bill first used Zubac's center screen to lift to the top of the arc to receive the ball. After a hand-off with Dunn, he immediately launched the "Ricky" tactic, that is, using the screen to pretend to cut to the basket, and then return to the top of the arc.

At the same time, Jones, who forced himself out of the corner, also moved to the weak side and used Brown's "Exit" screen to clear one side of the space for Zubac and Bill on the strong side. Bill's counter run and Zubac's screen helped Bill get rid of Podger, and Horford was forced to lift up to interfere.

Simply clear one side at a time and cooperate with each other, and you can also "play tricks".

In Bill's scouting report, I put his air-cutting offense and hand-off into one section. The main reason is that Bill likes to play this kind of "air-cutting/hand-off two-choice guessing game" in off-ball offense, and his better sense of air-cutting is also why Bill has a richer and more diverse game content on the off-ball end than Powell.

Look at the following round, Bill first pretended to lift the ball and used Zubac's hand to pass, but in fact he wanted to cut into the basket.

But in fact, cutting into the basket is also fake. Bill's real purpose is actually to go back to the three-point line and shoot a three-pointer.

's two consecutive counter-running fake moves also gave Bill a certain amount of shooting space.

In fact, it can be clearly seen from this round that Bill's running when empty-handed is obviously more "cunning" and more agile than Powell, and he will use counter-running fake moves more frequently. I believe that after Bill further integrates with the team and establishes more chemical reactions, the content of the game in terms of off-ball changes on the spot will definitely be more exciting and diverse. I also look forward to Bill's more "understanding" cooperation with the dealer.

A relatively common tactical coordination by the Clippers last season: Zubac first initiated a pick-and-roll with the strong-side ball holder, then bounced to the top of the arc to receive the ball, and then took advantage of the trend to launch a "Chicago Action" (Chicago) tactical coordination with the player ambushing in the weak-side corner.

This is also the tactic that Powell would launch last season. What is interesting is that it was Bill who faced Powell in the following round:

In the Clippers' playbook, there are two other tactical designs that are very similar to the above tactics.

One is the "Angle Pop" mentioned in Daluo's review a few days ago. Compared with the above tactical round, the link is just the difference between the player on the weak side at 45° cutting/making a screen..

The other one no longer allows Zubac to participate in the pick-and-roll attack on the strong side. Instead, the striker sets a "Touch Screen" for the ball handler on the strong side, and then the ball handler returns to Zubac at the top of the key to launch a "Chicago Action." The difference is that the three-person tactics are changed to four-person cooperation.

SLOB (sideline ball tactic) - What The Fuck(WTF) / INDIANA

The Clippers' pass-and-cut tactic was very common last season, and it is also a classic tactic of their opponent, the Golden State Warriors.

Zubac receives the ball from the sideline and hands it to the dealer. The dealer usually stands near the three-point line on the opposite side of the side without the ball.

The shooter (Bill in the picture) sets a "Back Screen" for the cutter (Kobe Brown in the picture), and the cutter cuts to the basket. After the shooter completes the "Back Screen" for the cutter, there will be an "STS" (screening for the screener) link, that is, Zubac will give Powell another off-ball screen, and Powell will use the center to cover without the ball to the three-point line.

Bill's unfamiliarity can also be clearly seen in this tactical round. His back screen should have been set to Green (Brown's defender), but it was set to Horford. But Brown's cut to the basket accidentally helped Bill delay the chasing Richard. Unfortunately, Dunn's pass was a beat too slow and failed to pass the ball to Bill in time.

So after Bill received the ball, he connected with the side pick-and-roll. Zubac's solid screen completely caught the defender. Bill held the ball and stopped in the mid-range to punish Horford.

It's another sideline ball round, and this tactic is launched again: In this round, the Clippers changed the starting tactics to Bill's "Hawk Cut". During the subsequent execution of the tactics, Green realized that Bill was going to set up a back screen and avoid it sideways. Zubac's off-ball screen failed to successfully delay Payton. This means that neither Bill's back screen nor Zubac's subsequent off-ball screen had any practical significance, leading to the failure of the tactical round.

Using Zubac's Pin Down to roll and cut to the basket without the ball, he caught the ball and attracted the attention of Horford's defense and then passed the ball to Zubac who was downhill.

The same tactics as the previous round were initiated:

The scouting report mentioned that Bill last season had a very obvious regression in terms of aggressiveness in attacking the frame and making free throws.

Therefore, some positive signals were released in this round: Bill held the ball across the half court and caught the early offensive stage. He directly connected with a small jump step and broke through to get rid of Richard, attracting Green to recycle and protect the frame, and then distributed it to Brown who was cutting in the air.

Spanish pick-and-roll (Stack/Spain PnR)

The Spanish pick-and-roll is mainly a team coordination tactic completed by 3 people. The personnel configuration is usually composed of a ball handler + a screener (usually a center) + a player who provides a back screen and then bounces outside the three-point line. It consists of 3 players.

The tactical link is that the ball handler ("1" in the picture) holds the ball and the screener ("5" in the picture) initiates a pick-and-roll. On the way down the center, another outside player ("2" in the picture) ambushing in the paint will set a "back screen" for the screener and then bounce outside the three-point line.

The three players who directly participate in the "Spanish pick-and-roll" tactic, whether they are the ball handler, the passer, or the player who provides back screen and outside bombs, can become the end point of the tactic.

The core concept of the Spanish pick-and-roll is STS (screening for the screener): after the ball holder and the center initiate a pick-and-roll, the outside players ambushing in the penalty area will set up a "back screen" for the center player who has just been in the pick-and-roll attack, and then bounce outside the three-point line. In order to seek to create defensive chaos to a greater extent and test the opponent's defensive communication.

Bogdan starts with the ball, and Bill plays the role of a shooter who sets up a back screen near the paint area. Also due to the problem of tacit understanding, Bill's back screen did not have practical significance, but Zubac initially set up a very solid screen for Bogdan on the line, helping Bogdan get rid of Boji behind him. Bogdan broke through with the ball and maintained his position advantage before hitting a near-frame throw.

Double Drag (high double screen)

Double Drag (high double screen, some coaches and teams call it "77" or "Double") is a very common tactical combination in basketball games. It is also a classic tactic in "Early Offense" and is widely used by many teams in the NBA.

The personnel used to launch the Double Drag tactic is usually a tactical team of 3 people consisting of 1 ball holder and 2 screeners.

The tactical link is very easy to understand: the "ball holder" ("1" in the above picture) holds the ball on the upper line and operates the pick-and-roll, and the two "screeners" ("5" and "4" in the above picture) set screens for the ball holder in high positions.

After the two screeners set up the screen, one usually performs the outside roll and the other the follow-up. The ball holder can then look for scoring opportunities and make decisions during the pick-and-roll.

If the first screener sets up a very solid screen, which largely delays the defender of the ball carrier, the second screener can choose "Slip" (false screen and quick release) to better seize the advantage of the down position.

Double Drag itself is a variant or "upgraded version" of "Drag screen" (a single-block screen combination with the ball in transition attacks and early attacks). Many scenes where Double Drag tactics are initiated are naturally in the "Early Offense" stage, which is naturally more conducive to creating advantageous situations and looking for offensive opportunities..

Compared with a simple single screen, the screener in Double Drag sets two consecutive screens for the ball holder on the upper line, which will further test the ball holder's defender's ability to handle the screen, as well as the defender's overall defensive communication. The offensive side can also create defensive chaos and look for offensive opportunities to a greater extent.

In the early offensive stage, Bill held the ball for half the game and immediately launched the "Double Drag". Green chose to retreat, but Brown's solid screen caught the Bill defender, so Horford defended the second screen and chose to switch defense, and Chai Meng took over Zubac who was passing down. Facing Horford's change of defense, Bill immediately started a breakthrough from the right and made an emergency stop to punish.

A round that can well reflect Bill's "scorer with and without the ball". When the offensive development with the ball is unfavorable, he can free himself by moving with his bare hands after the ball is handed over:

Bill launches a double screen, and Richard chooses to "squeeze through early" when handling the screen, forcing Bill to go to the other side of the screen wall, and at the same time inducing Bill to drive Bill to the sideline.

So Bill immediately handed the ball to Zubac. At the same time, he caught the moment when Richard's defensive attention was attracted by Zubac and immediately cut into the basket.

TJD and Dream Chasing, the largest players on the Warriors' field, were both scheduled to be on the line. Bogdan's 45-degree run to the weak side as Bill cut in without the ball also made the lowman's role in the Warriors' weak-side corner completely empty. Chai Meng realized that Bill was trying to cut into the basket and wanted to make a timely recovery, but was unable to make a comeback and simply gave up to avoid incurring a foul.