Breakdown: Golden State Warriors Sets For Demarcus Cousins
By Gibson PyperBoogie Cousins is back. It is scary, he looks really good for coming off an Achilles injury – although playing for the Warriors probably has something to do with it. The Warriors are running sets for him to get paint touches and let him handle the ball, we will look at how they are using him in their offense and why it is bad news for the rest of the NBA.
Early Push
As the season goes along and Boogie becomes more comfortable I expect him to push the ball after rebounds it on the defensive end. Draymond is great at rebounding and starting the break, and I think Demarcus Cousins will eventually start to push the ball more and look for early attacks, handoffs and screens.
Hook Thunder
This is a set the Warriors used to run for David West & Andrew Bogut – so it makes sense they will run it for Boogie as well. Starting off with a wide pindown for usually Steph or Klay (most of the time it is Klay) who then curls inside toward the paint, and the screener opens up at the elbow for a pass – this is “Hook” action. After the pass is made to the elbow, Klay will continue into the paint opposite and set a pindown screen for Demarcus Cousins to flash in the middle for a score or a deep paint touch. This is difficult to guard since the switch really isn’t plausible in the middle of the floor, and it is set so deep that Demarcus Cousins can get a deep paint touch.
52 Get – Inverted Ballscreen
An action rather than a set, this could be potentially be a nightmare for opponents since they will use Steph and Klay as ballscreeners with Demarcus Cousins handling the ball. Since I expect him to be more comfortable bringing the ball up this makes more sense having Klay and Steph setting random ballscreens especially when denied.
Slice Punch
A set the Warriors are running for Demarcus Cousins is a slice screen into a post up. Most of the sets the Warriors will run for him will be sets they already used before for their bigs, and using Steph and Klay as screeners will not allow a team to switch the screen. This set is a ball reversal into a slice screen for Demarcus Cousins post up. I have included the video they ran for Andrew Bogut – this action starting in the 2015 playoffs, primarily looking for split cut actions off of it.
Motion Weak
A set that has been run by every team at almost every level is “Motion Weak” by the San Antonio Spurs. After the point guard passes to the wing he will cut through the lane to the opposite wing, and the ball gets reversed to him. During the point guard cutting through, the opposite wing will dive into the lane and set a cross screen for Demarcus Cousins to post up off of.
Split Cuts
This is by far the scariest thing about the Warriors adding Boogie Cousins. I understand the post ups, spacing and play creating that he allows, but running a post up with their center on the perimeter and executing split cuts is just stupid. Stupid in the way that makes no sense from a defensive standpoint and since it is random, incredibly hard to scout. Either running off a screen or slipping to the basket or even into the post after screening on the perimeter is one of the hardest things to guard.
Early Punch
One of my favorite actions that involves Demarcus Cousins is how he will sprint up the floor and bury his man in the post. Looking to seal in the post and then get the ball on the block puts early pressure on the defense, then flowing into split cuts and actions off of it.
Not a ton of new stuff for Demarcus Cousins, but simply plugging him into their old sets makes them so lethal and hard to guard. Once he gets into the flow of their offensive schemes, adding new actions and sets are going to make the Warriors basically impossible to guard. I hope you enjoyed this breakdown, and if you have any feedback or questions let me know!
-Coach Pyper
Breakdown: Kansas vs Kentucky
Kentucky took down Kansas through their length and size, and Kansas tried everything to stop them – including a Triangle & 2 defense. Kentucky does not run anything fancy, but it is very effective and impactful for the personnel Calipari has on a year to year basis. Bill Self has better X’s & O’s in my opinion, but Kentucky’s ability to defend and crash the offensive glass really hurt Kansas. In this breakdown we will look at some of my favorite sets from the game, skills and concepts that we can take away and learn from.
Kentucky “Crashing The Glass”
Kentucky outrebounded Kansas on the offensive glass 17-9 led by Reid Travis and PJ Washington, built on Kentucky using their length and size advantage. One of the biggest things to take away from Kentucky’s offensive rebound advantage was positioning and lower body control. Not only having a relentless effort, but knowing where to be when the ball is shot as well as exploding and recovering from the lower body gives the rebounder a huge advantage.
Kentucky “Boston Lift Pin”
A counter to Kentucky’s best set from last year (Boston) was a good way they created a post up opportunity. The set starts off with an Iverson cut, or a cut from a guard over the top of two bigs toward the top of the key. As the guard clears, the second big lifts to the top of the key and receives a pass from the point guard. Opposite of this action the other big sets a pindown screen for a guard – typically Herro – and then post up no the weakside. The screen down sets up the bigs defender to be on the high side since teams usually defend a pin down with the big showing a hand on the high side and recovering, allowing the screener to seal.
Kentucky Baseline Drive Set
When I first saw this set I was not sure if it was actually a set or just a random action that allowed a baseline drive due to a defensive breakdown. I think it is a set – still trying to find another example of it, but even so it is a good action to show how a baseline drive can impact a defense. The play is designed for a hand off on the wing, then a guard filling behind and kicking back to the point guard who attacks baseline. The reason I think this is a set and not just random is where the big for Kentucky is located – high above at the free throw line, allowing the baseline drive.
Kansas Triangle & 2 Defense
Bill Self went to a Triangle & 2 Defense against Kentucky to try and muck up Kentucky’s offensive flow and it was impactful. Kentucky did get some good looks out of it, but ultimately it stymied Kentucky’s run in the second half and at least made them think about how to attack it.
Kansas End of Game Ricky
A normal set that Kansas runs is a wide flare set with a guard attacking, having the big set it wide to the corner and prevents his defender from helping too much at the rim. Late game against Kentucky, Kansas went to this same flare action but instead had a rescreen action to get Vick an open 3 and pull closer.
Skills & Situations
Two things I learned from this game that I will take away, both from Kansas. The first thing is to always teach your players to have their heads on a swivel and remain disciplined in their passing. Dotson threw the ball to Garret who wasn’t looking for the ball. I am going to teach my players to always cut and act like you are going to get the ball every possession. The second thing is a great example of how to trap in a full court press without fouling, and Kansas forced Kentucky to take a late game timeout.
Kansas Mental Mistake
Kansas Trap
I hope you guys enjoyed this breakdown, I look forward to getting more in depth with these – and if you have any feedback let me know!
-Coach Pyper
Nebraska Wesleyan Point Series (Princeton Offense)
Nebraska Wesleyan won the 2018 Divison 3 National Championship last year and are off to a hot start to this season. I want to give credit to Jordan Sperber (Twitter Bio) who did a fantastic breakdown on the Princeton Offense and how it fits with today's modern basketball. He talked about how Nebraska Wesleyan runs a portion of the Princeton Offense - the "Point Series," which involves some basic action into an elbow touch that triggers different reads. I went into a deep dive into how Nebraska Wesleyan runs their Point Series, and it is one of the best series I have come across this year. In this breakdown we will look at all of the options and reads in their Point Series as well as some counters they run for quick hitters to allow easier scores. In total we will look at the 10 main options as well as 5 counters that Nebraska Wesleyan has run this year, starting with their basic action to trigger their reads.