Detroit Pistons replay center: Blake Griffin post-ups (part 2)

Passing out of the post

Passing, in general, is one of the things that makes Griffin great. He is one of the best passing big men in today’s game collecting 5.4 assists per game. He’s up there with Nikola Jokic, Draymond Green and Giannis Antetokounmpo with 11 potential assists per game and near the top in secondary assists. He’s also fourth in passes made out of the entire NBA.

In the post, a lot of teams make the mistake of helping one pass away. Of course, there’s a good way and a bad way of doing that. Good defenders will kind of stunt at Griffin and get back to their man. But with the right timing, you can get a good shot.

Throwing the pass as the help defender is running away from his man makes it really hard for him to change direction instantly and cover the ground needed to contest the shot. It’s also really hard for the defender to calculate how hard to commit. Commit too much and it’s a wide-open shot.

Defend the space in between and Griffin still has space to make his move. This is more of a fear tactic than help defense.

Granted, some times it works. But I guarantee you that if Jackson was ready to shoot and if Griffin timed his passes correctly they would have gotten a great shot out of this instead of a “Shaqtin” moment.

Adding the off-ball screen in the corner for Jackson gives an alternative option if nothing else works. Jackson gets himself open in this one just by cutting to the corner after he enters the ball into the post.

The thing is that when Griffin posts up, even if it’s the Greek Freak, all eyes turn on him. Opponents almost always shrink the floor. Just look at Eric Bledsoe. He keeps his eyes on Griffin and dies on the screen. If Langston Galloway didn’t have an open three here, a quick skip pass or ball reversal would have created an open corner three.

That’s the attention the Pistons All-Star gets and the team should focus more on off-ball actions like this. Same concept below.

Reggie Bullock makes the entry pass and cuts to the opposite corner. Jayson Tatum thinks “I got to help on Blake”, Griffin dribbles away from the double, Stanley Johnson times the screen perfectly and Bullock gets an open three.

Opposing centers are usually the ones that make it tough for Griffin. Most teams will use their big man as Griffin’s shadow. Usually, they try to send him baseline where a rim protector is waiting.  That narrows the passing lanes for Griffin and makes the skip pass much more difficult, like this one.

You cannot rely your offensive scheme on passes like this one. Most of the times you have to quickly swing the ball around the perimeter to find the open shot before the defense rotates. Here, Jackson acts as the release valve when they double and quickly finds the open man.

Hammer screens should be more of a thing in the Pistons offense. If the opposing center is going to be preoccupied with Griffin then he won’t be able to help with this action and the man in the corner is going to be open if the screen is good enough.

It’s also a great way to utilize non-shooters. A Jackson three is better than an Ish Smith three. So, instead of spotting up, Smith helps Jackson get open. Bruce Brown, take notes.

Another thing to notice is how Zaza himself sets another off-ball screen neat the top of the key dragging his man with him. Robin Lopez can’t shadow Griffin, so the Bulls have to send help from the corner. That’s a great way to take rim protectors out of the picture if they’re too much of a trouble.

Cutting is also very important for non-shooters but the timing has to be there. Nicolas Batum here leaves his man to double and Brown quickly cuts behind him and finds the opening for a pass.

Facing up and looking for cutters makes the pass easier and off-ball screens create confusion for the defense that leads to open lanes to the rim. Smith goes to set a screen for Galloway before he realizes Goran Dragic is ball watching and slips the screen. Unfortunately, he gets blocked but the execution was great up until that point.