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FIBA EUROPE

by Gregg Popovich

COACHES - OFFENSE

Gregg Popovich was an assistant coachof the San Antonio Spurs for four years,before he went to the Golden StateWarriors in 1992 as an assistant coach.He was named general manager of theSan Antonio Spurs in 1994 and becamethe head coach in 1996. His teams havewon three NBA championships (1999,2003, and 2005), and he was named "NBACoach of the Year" for his efforts in the2002-2003 season. Popovich was anassistant coach on the bronze-medalwinning U.S. basketball team at the 2004Olympic Games in Athens.

The San Antonio Spurs, the most "inter-national" of the NBA teams, beat theDetroit Pistons in seven games, winningthe NBA Championship for the third timein seven years. Tim Duncan won his thirdMVP title in three different finals, provingthat he is the successful leader of theteam. Manu Ginobli played a key role forthe team, especially helping the team inGame 1 and Game 2. The Argentineanplayer had lots of offensive punch and ahighly effective defense during the Finals,lessening the pressure brought toDuncan and Tony Parker by the Detroitdefense.The offensive plays we use have beenmostly built on the perimeter and theyexploit the skills of Tim Duncan, an all-around player, who is able to play closeto the basket, as well as shoot frommedium distance. In addition to Duncan,the team is dangerous to our opponentsbecause of the offensive penetrations ofParker and Ginobili, and the preciseshooting of Bruce Bowen and RobertHorry. Horry is a special player, extremelylethal during the crucial moments, espe-cially in the Game Five, when he scoredthe decisive three-point shot that won

THE OFFENSIVE SETSOF THE SAN ANTONIO SPURS, NBA CHAMPIONS 2005

the game for us. The three-point shot hasbeen one of the most effective weaponswe had against the Pistons, alllowing us todominate Rasheed Wallace and BenWallace, the Detroit Piston players thatworked the defensive lanes.Note: In the following diagrams, playersare identified by the first letter of their lastname.

TRANSITION OFFENSE

Parker dribbles in the middle zone of thecourt and passes the ball to Duncan, whileGinobili runs to the right corner andBowen to the left corner. Parker then setsa pick for Ginobili, who goes to the free-throw line and receives the ball fromDuncan to shoot (diagr. 1).Nazr Mohammed, who is the trailer, occu-

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pies the left corner of the free-throw line.If Ginobili cannot receive a pass fromDuncan, he cuts around Mohammed andgets the ball from Duncan and then theyplay pick-and-roll (diagr. 2).A second transition attack begins whenParker dribbles to the left corner, whereGinobili is located; this is a sign for Ginobilito go and make a backscreen for Duncan,

while Mohammed, sets a pick for Bowen.Duncan receives the ball from Parker(diagr. 3). If Duncan cannot get the ball,Parker passes it to Ginobili, who is out atthe three-point line. Ginobili passes theball to Bowen, while Mohammed, aroundthe baseline, makes a pick for Duncan,who cuts and receives the ball fromBowen (diagr. 4).

MAIN SET AGAINST A MAN-TO-MAN DEFENSE

Parker dribbles on the left side to Ginobili,who cuts from the lane and goes under thebasket; then he comes out to the free-throw line, exploiting a vertical screenfrom Duncan. At the same time, Bowenmakes a double screen with Mohammedon the right side. Parker can then pass theball to Ginobili (diagr. 5).

FIBA EUROPECOACHES - OFFENSE

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If Ginobili can't shoot, Parker cuts to thelane, exploiting the double screen ofBowen and Mohammed. Bowen cutswell around the baseline and goes to theother side of the court. Parker receivesfrom Ginobili and shoots, or he can passthe ball to Mohammed, who's in the low-post position (diagr. 6).If no shot is possible, Ginobili receives ahigh pick from Duncan and receives theball from Parker to shoot close to thebasket (diagr. 7).

OPTION

Ginobili, after the pick from Duncan, drib-bles to the right side and passes the ballto Bowen, who had cut on the baseline togo to the corner. He can also play pick-and-roll with Duncan, who had rolled tothe basket after the pick (diagr. 8).Another possibility with the starting line-up is that Parker can receive a pick fromDuncan out of the lane, while Ginobilicuts on the baseline and exploits the dou-ble screen of Mohammed and Bowen,who, after the pick, cuts and goes to theopposite corner. Parker has two choices:he can exploit the pick of Duncan by drib-bling to the right line and then pass theball to Ginobili (who can shoot or pass theball to Mohammed in the low-post posi-tion), or he can dribble to the left side andpass the ball to Bowen. Parker can alsopass the ball directly to Duncan, who rol-led to the basket after the pick-and-roll.Whomever receives the ball from Parker(Ginobili or Bowen) can pass the ball toDuncan, who is open to the ball (diagr. 9).

LOOP 4 ICE

The ball is in Parker's hands and he is onthe right side of the court: Bowen comesfrom the low-post position and exploitsthe pick from Mohammed, who is in thehigh-post position on the corner of thefree-throw line. He comes out to thethree-point line to get the ball and shoot.While Bowen cuts, Ginobili receives abackscreen from Duncan on the otherside of the court: Bowen can pass toGinobili or Duncan, who is ready toreceive the ball under the basket afterthe pick for Ginobili (diagr. 10).If these choices aren't possible, Bowenpasses the ball again to Parker, andParker to Ginobili, who has cut, going tothe right corner. He has a large portionof the court open to him to now playone-on-one (diagr. 11).

WEDGE ROLL

Parker has the ball, Duncan fakes to cutin the lane first, and then he makes a

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lateral pick to Parker. In the meantime,Ginobili fakes to screen the screenerand then he cuts to the lane to receivethe ball from Parker (diagr. 12).

15 (RUB TOP HEAD)

This is a play that offers the possibility ofa three-point shot for three players. Weuse it when Robert Horry, our three-point specialist, is on the court. Parker receives a high pick in the cen-tral lane of the court from Duncan, whileGinobili, Bowen and Horry are out at thethree-point line. Parker exploits the pickof Duncan and can pass the ball toBowen or to Ginobili in the corners, or toHorry who has come to the middle of thecourt. Parker can also pass to Duncan,who is ready to receive the ball after thepick (diagr. 13).

DOUBLE FIST

Also in this play, Parker has the ballduring the attack, while Duncan andHorry are in high-post positions on thecorner of the free-throw line. Ginobiliand Bowen are on the low corners, outat the free-throw line. Duncan, in thiscase (or Horry), makes a pick for Parker,who exploits the pick and can pass toGinobili in the corner, to Duncan, who isopen to the ball and turns to the basket,or to Horry, who came out to the free-throw line to get the ball. Horry passesto Bowen, who came up to receive theball (diagr. 14).

FLOPPY

Parker passes the ball to Duncan, who ison the free-throw line, as Bowen cutsbackdoor and goes to the right corner.After the pass, Parker makes a pick forGinobili, who receives the ball fromDuncan to drive to the basket, exploitingthe empty space left by Bowen, who hasbeen followed by his direct defender,leaving the left corner of the court free(diagr. 15).

STRONG

Parker, who is in the left wing, passesthe ball to Mohammed, who came up togo to the central position. Mohammedpasses the ball to Bowen on the rightwing.Ginobili receives two staggeredscreens, the first one from Parker, thesecond one from Mohammed, whileDuncan cuts to the lane and goes tolow-post position in the right corner:Bowen can pass the ball to Ginobili or toDuncan (diagr. 16).

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