Hoops Beyond the Huddle Vol. 02

Welcome to the Hoops Beyond the Huddle newsletter! For volume 02, we’re looking at an intricate set from Lietkabelis Panevezys - a Lithuanian team who plays in the LKL. This clip is from round 4 action against Trento (Italy) in Eurocup. Watch the clip and we will break it down below.

There are definitions for all the actions explained in this newsletter, at the bottom. All words that are bolded in black can be found.

This halfcourt set is Horns Pin Down series.

Horns is a common set with guards located in the corners, posts at elbows and ball handler at top (horns alignment). There are countless actions that can be played out of this set. In this example by Lietkabelis, they are running it for a shooter to come off a pin down screen for an open shot to start the game.

The play starts with the 4 popping from the elbow to the three point line to receive an entry from the 1. After receiving the ball, the 4 dribbles towards the 2 in the corner for a dribble handoff (DHO) and relocates to the corner. This action is not played live, but more as a decoy to allow the 5 to set a back screen on the 1. The 3 starts to lift out of the corner (action 1).

After setting the back screen, the 5 pops to the perimeter and receives the pass (reversal) from the 2. The 5 turns to wings and the 3 back cuts after lifting. The 1 relocated to the corner, and as the 3 back cuts, the 1 cuts up to receive the ball from the 5 at the wing (action 2).

The 1 has the ball and dribbles from the wing to the swing. Immediately after the 5 passed to the 1, he dives to set a pin down screen on the 3. The 3 sets up his defender by looking opposite, cuts off the screen and gets the wide open shot at the wing (action 3). While this is the primary action of the set, on the weak side the 4 sets a flare screen for the 2 to keep the defenders occupied.

This set was so effective for Lietkabelis because of the misdirection and timing. They started with the ball going from one side of the floor to the other, the 3 back cuts which allows the defender to rest thinking he is now out of the play, only to blast off a screen for an open shot.

In the video above, watch the defenders on the left side of the floor. The action has them chasing, scrambling and bumping into one another. That is what an effective offensive set can do to an opposing team.

Lietkabelis ran this set again later in the game. When they ran it half way through the second quarter, the defender chases over the pin down screen. The 3 who hit the shot in the first clip, curls and penetrates to the basket. The advantage is so large it causes the defense to collapse.

Although the penetrator gets blocked (and the 5 follows it for a put back), there was a very open offensive player. What do you think he should have done?

Yup… should have kicked to the shooter in the strong side corner (and so did he).

That’s this week’s playbook breakdown! The horns set is common in European basketball due to its versatility and numerous actions. I chose this set as play of the week because I thought it summarizes what Hoops Beyond the Huddle is all about: displaying European sets to North American basketball. Although this set had a lot of moving pieces, the pace and precision that Lietkabelis executes it at is elite. The off ball movement and timing was instrumental in the success of this set.

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Cheers,

Keevan

Founder of Hoops Beyond the Huddle