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

Happy Sunday and welcome to all the new subscribers from around the world!

ICYMI: Last week we continued to look at "Dead Corner" solutions, this time through the use of the Inverted Screen when playing the pass to a corner. View the full newsletter HERE.

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This Week at a Glance:

🔒 SG Plus Content: Playing with Multiple Bigs - Transition Spacing​

🎤 Slappin' Glass Podcast: Chris Victor {Seattle University}

🥇Best of the Week: Corner Step Ups & Punishing the Hedge​

📣 3rd Generation Coaching Mentorship Opportunities for SG+ Members!

We are excited to announce the launch of our 3rd Generation Mentorship Program, starting this October, led by Obradoiro Head Coach Gonzalo Rodríguez. This comprehensive 7-month program offers participants the opportunity to elevate their coaching skills through:

• Unlimited email access to Coach Rodríguez for ongoing guidance.
• Monthly personalized one-on-one sessions tailored to your coaching needs.
• Monthly group sessions covering broader coaching topics and tactics.

Participants will also have access to a private group of fellow participating coaches, where they can engage in discussions, share insights, and access replays of group meetings.

Now let's dive in...

Multiple Bigs Transition

This off-season, we've dedicated significant time on SGTV to studying and highlighting the benefits of "5 Out Offensive Spacing" and its various concepts. However, as we discussed in our podcast with Converse University Head Coach, Nick Pasqua, though it is increasing popular and effective, the 5 Out Offense also comes with its own set of challenges, particularly in creating double gaps for players to attack downhill. To expand our exploration of offensive spacing, today we turn our attention to Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach, Oded Kattash, and his "3 Out 2 In" transition flow concepts, which offer a different approach to transition spacing when two bigs share the court.

In today's video breakdown and newsletter, we'll examine how Coach Kattash spaces his two bigs based on different transition scenarios and the concepts that naturally flow out of each, including:

• Corners Filled Transition
• Empty Corner Transition
• Two Trailer Transition

Corners Filled Transition

In two of the three scenarios we'll look at today, Maccabi Tel Aviv will flow into the halfcourt with the two corners filled. In this first scenario, one of the bigs has made an early rim run and so the offense initiates with a Drag Screen by the second big. This Drag Screen acts as the primary trigger, with the ballhandler and screener continuing their action until an advantage is created. Meanwhile, the corners hold their spacing, and the "partner big" mirrors the ballhandler to continuously create space for the roll, forcing the defense into long single-side tag situations.

Zooming In: The primary responsibility of the rim big is to read the ball, continuously following its movement and searching for gaps or pockets of space to be available for a pass or to execute a duck-in seal.

Zooming In 2.0: With the rim big mirroring the ball and the perimeter players holding the corners, Coach Kattash stretches the defense, making it challenging for them to close off the high paint. As shown above, the rim big's re-adjustment pulls his defender out of the backside help. Meanwhile, with the corner player holding their position behind the ball, there is no one available to tag the roll without leaving the corner open for a skip pass and a potential three-pointer.

This defensive conundrum is a cornerstone of Coach Kattash's spacing with two bigs. It forces the defense to choose between helping off the corner, which opens up potential three-point attempts and long closeouts, or, forcing the defensive rim big to manage two players in the paint...

Next Actions or Flow: For those of us who maybe don't have the skilled bigs or trust our PG to attack this way right out of transition, the spacing and concepts here are easily transferrable into other offensive actions. For example, flowing into a "Euro Flow Motion" look is fairly simple by popping the trail big after the Drag Screen and having them play to a two man game DHO/PNR on the next side. The offensive big at the rim would then elevate up the slot and voila! You're in Euro Flow Motion {🔒}.

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Empty Corner Transition

When advancing up the court with an empty corner, maximizing space relies heavily on the ballhandler's ability to drive the ball well below the free-throw line for the initial drag screen, which is set this time by the rim big.

Zooming In: By setting the on-ball screen below the free-throw line, the spacing takes away the ability of the defense to wall up or sit on the nail.

With the nail open, the ballhandler becomes a much greater threat coming off the empty drag screen, necessitating the defensive big's attention. The next question for the defense is... who will help control the roller? This is where Coach Kattash's spacing excels. With the second big positioned at the opposite elbow and the weakside perimeter player spaced just off the corner, the offense creates confusion as to who is responsible for rim protection.

Zooming In: As demonstrated above, the spacing makes it difficult for the perimeter defender to provide help, as they have to cover a long distance. Additionally, if the perimeter defender does pull in to help on the roll, the big at the elbow will need to "X" out to contest the skip pass. Technically, the short help rotation could come from the defensive big at the elbow, but doing so carries significant risk...

Next Actions or Flow: Referencing the example above, if Maccabi doesn't play to either of the two bigs out of the empty drag screen, the alignment allows them to flow directly into their Step-Up Screen spacing and concepts. In this case, the ballhandler will hit the guard stationed in the deep middle third where they can then flow directly into a Reverse Ballscreen. This is where the offense shares similarities with the "Australia Reverse Offense" {🔒} we looked at earlier this year.

For much more on how Coach Kattash's Two Big Offense flows so efficiently, including "Two Trailer Transition" concepts, become an SG+ Plus Member today!

More "Two Big" Resource:

For those interested in other resources on SGTV about playing with multiple bigs, here are a couple:

📺 Landry Kosmalski - Swarthmore's 2 Big Motion Offense {🔒}

📺 Vlada Jovanovic - Playing with Multiple Bigs {🔒}

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Slappin' Glass Podcast

We sat down this week with the Head Coach of Seattle University MBB, Chris Victor! We had a blast diving into Coach Victor's thoughts on all things defense, including shading left, changing ballscreen coverages, and not switching; and discuss off-ball screening actions and improving team passing during the always fun "Start, Sub, or Sit!?"

Listen to the entire conversation here...

Together with Hudl

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Tactical

📺 Euro Motion Flow - Corner Step Up Screen​

"Effective use of the corner step-up screen within the Euro flow motion offense, especially when playing with interchangeable bigs."

✚ Pair With: Coach Pedro Martinez using the decoy middle 3rd Step Up to play back to the big on the weakside for a backdoor.

🔒 SG Plus Content: Our breakdown on the Euro Flow Motion, looping the big underneath the middle 3rd Step Up Screen.

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📺 Punishing the Hedge - Creating a Race​

"Punishing the hedge through corner passes and high-low action, creating a race to the rim for the roller."

✚ Pair With: Using the Pistol PNR to punish the hedge with a deep rolling 5-Man and the 4-Man isolated on the backside.

🔒 SG Plus Content: Our breakdown on the Hedge & Plug Defense and Coach Dusko Ivanovic's Aggressive Hedge Rotations.

Interesting Reads

📚 How Great Leaders Communicate​

"Transformational leaders overcommunicate. They repeat the mission so often, it becomes a mantra. A mantra is a statement or slogan that builds in strength as it’s repeated. Overcommunication fuels its impact. Your mission should take center stage. Shine a spotlight on your company’s purpose across communication channels: memos, emails, presentations, social media, and marketing material. If your mission stands for something, then stand up for it."

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📚 What, CLE Worry? The Guardians Lean into Stephen Vogt's Calm Vibe Atop AL Central​

"I don't ever pretend to have answers. I have ideas. I don't know if they're good or not, but I have a staff that tells me. I just know you can't be on edge for 162 games. You can't be grrrr, pedal-to-the-metal all the time. The old way of getting in there and yelling at the team doesn't work well anymore, in my opinion. There are a lot of ways I can get my messaging out, or I can just stay out of the way and let them play. That's been my biggest go-to."

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📚 Lincoln Riley is Trying Something New with USC Team Captains​

“That’ll change, not necessarily on somebody not doing a good job,” Riley said. “It’s just going to be the five that we think are the most deserving and the ones that we want leading us out each and every week. Kind of like this game of college football, every week you’ve got to earn it.”

*Thanks to Coach Ted Hotaling and his newsletter for some great reading recommendations this week.

Quote of the Week

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Thank you for reading and have a great week coaching,

Dan and Pat

info@slappinglass.com

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