Olympic Trends, Stagger Away Series, and Great Assistant Coaches


Welcome to the Slappin' Glass Newsletter, exploring basketball's best ideas, strategies, and coaches from around the world. We appreciate you reading.

Today's edition will cover:

  • Stagger Away Series (Breakdown, Video, and PDFs)
  • Olympic Trends
  • Kyle Hines: Inside the Episode
  • Best Sets of the Week
  • Watch | Read | Quote

Let's dive in...


Stagger Away Series: Actions and Variations

Over the past few months we've enjoyed keeping an eye on the variety of actions and variations that teams around the world have been running out of a "Stagger Away" set. From the NBA, to all around Europe, coaches have devised some clever uses of the Stagger Away action as an entry point into their offense, as well as a formation in which they can stack other actions on top of.

Today's breakdown and 20-minute video looks into many of the interesting actions and variations teams around the world are using out of the Stagger Away Series. PDF's for all these actions are included with the video on SGTV today as well!

This video and the PDF's are included in the SG Plus membership (along with over 300 more), or you can access the video and PDF's for $19.99 here...

Those interesting in the SG Plus membership, you can join the community of hundreds of professional, collegiate, and high school coaches from over 15 countries here...


Olympic Trends

It's been a fun first week of international basketball at the Olympics, and we've enjoyed watching the best of the best compete for Olympic Gold. Here are a few things that have stuck out in the tournament thus far.

1. "Next Defense" and "Peel Switching" - Spain

Spain is always fun to watch on the offensive side of the ball, but the connectedness of their team defense has been impressive thus far as well. Two concepts that continue to stick out are their great execution of Reverse Screen "Next Defense", as well as how they "peel switch" on certain drives and PNR coverages. Often times, the two tactics are used in the same possession.

To illustrate the difference between Spain "Nexting" on a "Wide" (or regular on-ball screen going towards the open side of the floor), and how they do it on a "Reverse Screen", here's a look at their coverage on a "Wide" screen where the help is coming from the top nail defender in the two-man "I"...

"Next" Defense - "Wide" PNR

Next to "Wide Side"

And now, here's Spain "Nexting" when the ballscreen is being set at a "Reverse Angle"...

Reverse Screen "Nexting" - Two Men on Strongside

Reverse Screen "Nexting" - Two Men on Weakside

Zooming In: The detail to note is that in both instances of Spain "Nexting" the Reverse Screen, their stunt/switch is coming from the Top Tag defender on the two-man side. In the first GIF you can see the help coming over from the strongside, and in the second from the weakside. In both instances Spain's big is in drop coverage and it's the job of the defender "nexting" to provide quick help, plug the gap, and attack the ball with active hands to dissuade an easy skip pass while the defense is rotating out of the "Next" coverage.

Spain's "Peel Switching"

On top of Spain's use of "Nexting" PNR's, they are also highly effective at "peel switching" if the situation calls for a full switch rather than a stunt. Here's Spain's Ricky Rubio "peeling" back to switch onto Rui Hachimura after the top PNR...

And here's a "Corner Peel" on a lane-line drive...

Zooming In: Between Spain's "Next" Defense and their "Peel Switching", almost every drive is met by a defender quickly coming over and closing the space. Couple that with Defensive Bigs who consistently Drop to protect the rim, and Spain makes it extremely difficult for the offense to get a clean look in the paint or at the rim.

2. Defensive Pressure and "Weaking" - Argentina

Though Argentina hasn't stacked up well so far in the win/lose column, being in an extremely difficult Group with Spain and Slovenia, they're still one of the best teams to watch tactically on both sides of the ball. What sticks out right away in Argentina's first two games is 1) How much pressure they put on the ballhandler and in the lanes, and 2) Their use of "weaking" or forcing the ballhandler to their weak hand on drives and PNR's. Here's a look...

Ball/Lane Pressure and "Difficult Ball Reversals"

As Jeff Van Gundy lamented in our podcast with him a few months back when we talked about coaching in the international game, "getting the ball inbounds against Argentina was literally impossible." Argentina makes everything hard for the offense, whether it's getting the ball inbounds, trying to bring it up the floor, or trying to reverse it to get into your offensive flow, everything is difficult. Here's a look at how hard they tried to make it for Spain to get into their offense...

"Difficult Ball Reversals"

As soon as the ball gets to half-court, Argentina is up in the lanes and makes it as difficult on you as possible to reverse the ball through the trail to the other side. Here it leads to a backcourt violation...

And here, even after Spain is able to reverse it to Gasol, the pressure in the lane on the backside forces Gasol to reject the reversal and go right back to the same side of the floor.

Zooming In: Spain is talented and well-coached enough that they were able to handle Argentina's constant pressure on their way to an 81-71 victory, but how, when, and why Argentina places extreme pressure on an offense is worth noting.

Argentina's "Weaking"

Not only does Argentina apply great pressure on the ball and in the lanes, but they also will "weak" the PNR and drives to force the ballhandler to their off hand. Here's a quick look...

Zooming In: Like mentioned, Argentina is currently 0-2 in the pool, but the way they create havoc defensively with both their pressure and their "weaking" make them extremely difficult to run any normal offense against.

3. Pace of Play - Slovenia

Slovenia has played extremely well thus far in the tournament, and Luka Doncic continues to show why he's one of the best in the world. In the half-court, opponents thus far are getting a heavy dose of the spread PNR with Doncic at the handle, but what's really stuck out with Slovenia is how fast they play. At the time of writing this newsletter they are averaging 117 PPG in the tournament, the only team to be above 100 PPG thus far. The next closest team is Team USA at 98 PPG. Slovenia has done a terrific job of putting shooters around Doncic and getting out fast in transition. They're a lot of fun to watch.

For a look at some other key stats and how the top teams stack up, here's a comparison chart...

As shown, Slovenia has really played well thus far offensively. It'll be interesting to see as the tournament goes on if they're able to keep that pace, especially against great defensive teams like Spain.

We'll be covering more from the Olympics in upcoming weeks. Any suggestions on trends you see that we might look into please feel free to reach out at info@slappinglass.com.


We had the pleasure this week of sitting down with one of the most decorated players in International Basketball history, 4-Time Euroleague Champion, Kyle Hines. Known throughout the world for his ability to both play and lead at the highest levels, Kyle offers unique insights on a variety of topics both on and off the floor. Here's a look Inside the Episode:

3 Key Topics:

  • Why Teams Fail: As one of the winningest players of all time in Europe, Kyle understands what it takes to compete and win at the highest levels. But over the course of his long career he's been on the other side of coin as well. We dove into some of the reasons he's seen teams and players underperform and the importance of leadership during difficult times. We also discuss how Kyle emerged over time from a "quiet and introverted" leader, to one with more presence and confidence.
  • Short Roll Progressions: Kyle is well known for his ability to make decisions out of the "short roll", and we dive into the reads and progressions he uses when he's involved in the action. We discuss how he views screening and slipping angles, what helpside defender he reads on the catch, and when he decides to be aggressive in either attacking or shooting the jumpshot. A terrific insight look into how one of the best in the game operates in the Short Roll.
  • Offensive Rebounding: A fun part of the conversation where we discuss how Kyle uses both his mind and physicality to carve out space for offensive rebounds. This then flowed into a discussion about "offensive rebounding offense", or the offensive philosophy great teams use on a kick-out after an offensive rebounding. We talk kick-out threes, flowing into a PNR, and moving the ball with extra passes.

2 Quotes from Kyle Hines:

  • On leadership and inclusion: "In the 'Last Dance' when the Bulls were going through their issues, Phil Jackson drew a circle and asked everybody to place a dot where they think they were at that moment with the team, and Scottie Pippen placed his dot so far out of the circle because he said he felt isolated. So, that is the job of the leader, to try and make sure everybody is still in that circle and still together, and that way the team can try and build and go through those problems collectively."
  • On winning on the road: "You have to be poised. You have to be able to go through adverse moments and be able to withstand their runs, withstand their best shot, and try and keep the game close and make a run at it in the 4th quarter...The teams that are poised are usually the best road teams."

1 Interesting "Start, Sub, or Sit?!"

  • Topic: Preparing for an opponent
  • Choices: Film, Walk-Through, or Scouting Report
  • Kyle's Answer: Start...Film, Sub...Walk-Through, Sit...Scouting Report

Kyle Hines Podcast Extras:

Pair With:

Other conversations this podcast pairs well with...


Best Sets of the Week

The best we saw from the week that was, including the Nigerian and Spanish National Teams. As well as Kyle Hines explaining how he defends on the perimeter and his progressions in the short roll.


Watch | Read | Quote

Watch:

  • Perth Wildcats (Australia's NBL)
  • Gran Canaria (Spain's ACB)

Read:

Quote:

"The best dividends on the labor invested have invariably come from seeking more knowledge rather than more power." - Oliver and Wilbur Wright

Have a great week coaching,

Dan and Pat


We are excited to partner with Instat for all of our video and stats. Subscribers of Slappin' Glass can receive 10% off the platform. Those interested in rates or a free trial can email us at info@slappinglass.com.

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Slappin' Glass

Exploring basketball's best ideas, strategies, and coaches from around the world.

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