Detroit Pistons replay center: Blake Griffin post ups

The Low Cross Screen

In another variation of the cross screen, Griffin starts from the low post but other than that everything else is very similar. The positioning for every player changes but the concept is the same. Also, notice Zaza Pachulia‘s high ball screen that is there to distract from the main action.

Both these sets were the main source of offense after timeouts (ATO) and the main difference is that in the second variation the screen is set closer to the basket, which makes it more dangerous. Here, Griffin receives the ball with a foot in the paint.

Of course, for the set to work, the execution has to be there. The players have to time their movements with each other. Furthermore, the coach has to devise a different plan of attack for every different defensive coverage and, through practice, teach his players how to follow that plan. The players, in real-time, have to recognize the different coverages and react accordingly.

For example, Jared Dudley goes under the screen and fronts Griffin. Bruce Brown Jr finds Griffin with a quick nice lob.

But if the lob wasn’t there, Andre Drummond would have popped to the high post to get an easier angle on the pass.

The synchronization of the players’ movements and passes is what makes the set work. Be late to your spot and now the pass is not there. Take too long to make a pass and now the defender has recovered and the advantage is lost. Find yourself in a wrong position and the whole offensive possession breaks down.

Bellow, Brown gets lost in the scuffle and should be sprinting to the corner. Instead, he screens Reggie Bullock’s player which allows his defender to switch and kill that off-ball action. Details like that matter.

Drummond is fairly capable of getting Bullock open with a screen and Brown’s involvement is not only unnecessary but harmful. Griffin makes a tough jumper but that’s besides the point.

Also, the guards have to be good at setting screens, which isn’t always the case. Some distraction before the cross screen also helps. Otherwise, the defender knows what’s coming and can position himself optimally to dodge the screen.

Bellow, the Pistons run a high pick-and-roll with Reggie Jackson and Drummond to distract help defense from the real action, the cross screen.

You can’t see the pick-and-roll in the clip above but you can see that the Rockets have switched Clint Capela and James Harden during that action. Which brings me to my next point, unpredictability.