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

Happy Sunday and welcome to all the new subscribers from around the world! We're excited to have you as part of the community 🙏

ICYMI: Last week, we looked at how the Sacramento Kings are using the 45 Cut around their Gets & Zoom DHOs to create gaps, downhill attacks, and tag confusion. View the full breakdown HERE.

This Week at a Glance:

🔒 SG Plus Content: Alberto Diaz - "No Screen" Mentality & Fighting Over Screens​

🎤 Slappin' Glass Podcast: Ettore Messina {Olimpia Milano}

🥇Best of the Week: Chemnitz BLOB "Rickys" & Iverson Roll/Replace​

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Let's dive in...

Alberto Diaz

A couple years ago on the podcast, Dallas Mavericks Assistant, Sean Sweeney, discussed the benefits of studying the techniques of the game's best defenders as they often leave clues for the rest of us on how the game should be played. Since then, we've taken his advice numerous times as we've pursued breakdowns looking at top players from around the world and their approaches to handling post mismatches {🔒}, perimeter mismatches {🔒}, Drop Coverage "Handwork"{🔒}, and closing out {🗞️}. This week, our focus is on exploring the concept of a "No Screen Mentality" and what it really means to be "be hard to screen."

In today's breakdown, we study one of the top defenders in Spain and Europe, Alberto Díaz of Unicaja Malaga. We'll highlight how he uses his physical tools to continually attack the ball, disrupting opposing point guards' ability to organize possessions, along with pushing them off their screens, and demonstrating his prowess in fighting over ball screens.

Attacking the Ball

In our recent podcast with Tokyo Hachioji Head Coach, Tyler Gatlin, he discussed how the offense should constantly feel under attack from the defense. From a team concept or scheme standpoint, this can be achieved through press defense {🗞️}or aggressive on-ball coverages. What we've come to appreciate from European teams is their willingness to be aggressive in forcing the action and taking calculated risks, such as deploying "Going Away" Traps {🔒}, in the backcourt or employing "Hitting" {🔒}, strategies in the half court.

Focusing our attention back to Alberto Diaz, his ability to attack the ballhandler in the backcourt has become almost a scheme unto itself. In most dead ball situations, offenses will prepare a set of some kind, understanding the PG will be tasked with getting to a proper position to enter the offense, Alberto Diaz takes this opportunity to attack the ballhandler...

Zooming In: Like a snake strike, at a certain point Diaz plants his feet and springs forward to aggressively attack the dribble, aiming to get his chest directly on the ball. As shown above, if the point guard is focused on organizing the offense, then Díaz essentially has a free opportunity to attack the ball without facing any repercussions.

It's important to note that Díaz isn't lunging or stabbing at the ball; instead, he's meeting it with his chest and his entire body. This positioning puts him in a better stance to recover and chase from behind, maintaining defensive integrity even if his initial attempt doesn't succeed.

Oftentimes, the effects of this defensive intensity can be observed in flustering the point guards, leading to rushed decisions such as speed dribbles and early, poor shot attempts.

Zooming In: Understanding the risk involved, the purpose of this pressure isn't necessarily to turn the point guard side to side, but rather to push them into a speed dribble and attacking mode. If this can occur when the other four offensive players are in the process of organizing the possession, they will not be in optimal positions to space and punish the risk. This often forces the point guard into situations where they must either finish the play themselves or find solutions within narrow windows of opportunity.

Lastly, a crucial factor in mitigating risk and supporting Díaz's aggressive defensive approach is his teammates' readiness to execute a peel switch when Díaz forces the point guard into a speed dribble.

Today's breakdown is a great study on a defender who can single handedly disrupt offensive flow and gives insight into the techniques used to avoid getting screened and fighting through screens.

Sometimes when we ask players to pressure the ball, either in the full or half court, it leads to defenders fouling, taking dumb risks, and putting the rest of the defense in compromised situations. With Diaz, he's able to use his skillset and IQ to wreck havoc and take chances without hurting his team.

More much more on Alberto Diaz' on-ball defensive prowess, please enjoy this week's newest breakdown on SGTV...

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Slappin Glass Podcast

This week we revisited one of out most listened to episodes of all-time with Olimpia Milano Head Coach, Ettore Messina! In this terrific conversation Coach Messina shares his wisdom on a number of relevant topics including:

• Building Around Player Strengths
• Playbook Design
• The Value of Brutal Honesty
• And much more

Listen to the entire episode here...

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Together with Hudl

We're proud to partner with one of the best tech companies in the world of sports, Hudl! Every play, every stat, every breakdown. On their own, they’re essential. But all together, they’re undeniable. Hudl recently introduced their newest product, Hudl Instat – a new advanced data platform that integrates with Sportscode and every Hudl product you rely on to create an all-in-one data powerhouse. Hudl Instat’s advanced tagging and next-level stat reports help you develop your team – and its global film library helps you find the missing piece to get the most out of every second of film. Visit ​hudl.com/slappinglass​ to learn more.

Tactical

📺 Chemnitz BLOB - Side PNR • Ricky​

"A side PNR play featuring a "Ricky" comeback screen, designed to bring a shooter back to the ball simultaneously as the ballhandler attacks off the pick-and-roll."

✚ Pair With: Chemnitz use of the "Ricky" screen in their Iverson entry.

🔒 SG Plus Content: Paris HC,Toumas Iisalo's, Iverson Step Up spacing & execution.

📺 Girona - Iverson • Weave • Roll/Replace​

"Attempting to remove the Tag through the Roll Replace and Guard Weave."

✚ Pair With: Girona's stacked flex screen.

🔒 SG Plus Content: Girona defending a popping 5-Man with a "Box & 1."​

Interesting Reads

📚 Turning Pro: The Difference Between Amateurs and Professionals​

"Amateurs worry about what they see. Professionals worry about what they can’t see."

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📚 Napoleon's Best Maxims​

4. Ten people who yell make more noise than ten thousand who keep silent.
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📚 The Acceleration of Addictiveness ​

The world is more addictive than it was 40 years ago. And unless the forms of technological progress that produced these things are subject to different laws than technological progress in general, the world will get more addictive in the next 40 years than it did in the last 40.
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Quote of the Week

Thank you for reading and have a great week coaching,

Dan and Pat

info@slappinglass.com

We're proud to partner with the leading Sports Travel company in the basketball world, Beyond Sports! Follow the link above to learn more about why more than 600 universities have trusted Beyond Sports for their team's foreign trips. Let them know Slappin' Glass sent you!

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