Blazers Use Simple Plays To Get Open Three-Point Looks For Wes Matthews And Friends

Off Post-Ups

This season, Aldridge has gone from a nice post-up player to one of the best in the NBA with his back to the basket, and this success has forced teams to start double teaming him in the post. When teams double, they are forced to give up something else, and it usually is a three-point shot. This is because Aldridge is very good at keeping his head up and passing out of a double team quickly as his teammates spot up.

Here, Aldridge makes the catch on the left block, getting an entry pass from Fernandez. After Fernandez makes the pass, he cuts through the lane. As Fernandez cuts through, Matthews cuts to the top of the key and then Matthews’ man leaves his to double team Aldridge. As soon as the double takes place, Matthews moves into an easy passing lane for Aldridge, spotting up on the wing and knocking down the three-point shot.

Again, the entry pass gets made with a shooter at the top of the key, this time it is Batum. As soon as the pass gets made, Batum’s man leaves to double him. What’s interesting here is that Aldridge basically baits Batum’s man into turning his back to Batum, and once that happens he kicks it out. Batum makes the catch, and because his man turned his back, he can’t close out in time, and Batum knocks down the three.

In addition to spot ups, what makes the Blazers so hard to double team in the post is that the team is willing to make the extra pass to a teammate:

Here, the post entry pass gets made from the corner, and the double quickly takes place. Aldridge kicks it out and then the Blazers swing it all the way around the three point line to the opposite corner. The key here is the speed of the passes. The defense is trying to rotate back out of their double team, but they can never get back to their man in time because of the quick passing. Fernandez makes the catch and knocks down the three.

On this play, the double team comes from the opposite corner. Instead of throwing a high-risk pass straight to the corner, Aldridge kicks it out and trusts his teammates to make the extra passes. This is exactly what happens, and Batum knocks down the wide open three.

Off Pick & Rolls

When run correctly, the pick and roll is such a hard offense to stop that it usually takes three defenders to stop it (the two defenders covering those involved in the pick and roll, plus a third man sinking in to cover the roll man). The third man sinking in is usually a defender from the wing, leaving either Matthews, Fernandez or Batum open for three. Again, the Blazers are really good at recognizing the open man and hitting him with a pass, making the defense pay for getting sucked in:

Pick And Pop

The Blazers like to run a quick little 1-3 pick and roll, but instead of rolling, the 3-man setting the screen pops out to the three point line. This is a hard cover for the defense, and it usually results in an open three:

Here, Andre Miller gets a ball-screen for Batum, and uses it to get to the corner. Batum’s man hedges on the screen, as Batum pops out to the three point line. The hedge by Batum’s man in addition with the pop to the wing creates a ton of space and there isn’t enough time to close out and defend Batum’s three point shot.

Double Pindown

Finally, the Blazers like to run a set that sends two of their three shooters off of simultaneous pindown screens, one on each side of the court. This puts a ton of pressure on the defense, and usually ends up getting an open look.

On this play, Matthews and Fernandez set rub screens for each other under the hoop. After that, they both come off of pindown screens set by the big men and Miller has his choice of who to pass it to. Miller picks Matthews and Matthews knocks down the three.

Here is a little variation of this play. As the bigs get in position to set the pindown screen, both Matthews and Batum start towards the middle of the court as if they were going to set a rub screen for each other. Instead, they fake it and use the pindown screen. Matthews curls off of it, forces the defense to commit, and kicks it out to Batum for the three.

Going into this (looking at the Blazers and how they set up their three point shots), I was expecting to see intricate plays that lead to wide open three-point shots. However, that wasn’t the case. Instead, I saw the Blazers’ wings and their ability to move without the basketball into open areas, while creating passing lanes for their teammates who were willing to make the extra pass. When the Blazers did run sets, they were quick hitting plays that put a ton of pressure on the defense, forcing them to make decisions, and leading to open looks behind the three point line.

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