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Hoops Beyond the Huddle Vol. 04

Hoops Beyond the Huddle Vol. 04

FC Barcelona: Euro Ball Screen

Keevan Veinot
November 15, 2023

Welcome to the fourth issue of Hoops Beyond the Huddle!

This week we are taking a look at an ATO (After Time Out) from FC Barcelona- a top Spanish team who plays in the ACB. This clip is from round 6 action against Crvena Zvezda (Serbia) in Euroleague.

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 set is called Euro Ball Screen.

Euro Ball Screen is a simple, yet very effective continuity offense that has grown in popularity throughout professional European basketball. The idea of the offense is to have side to side ball movement, empty wing PnRs, backdoor cuts and high/low opportunities. Barcelona runs it with a cross screen for a post touch.

The set starts with an empty wing PnR between the 1 and the 5. On the weak side of the floor, there is an overload with the 4 at the swing, and the 2 and 3 at the wing and corner (Euro Ball Screen Spacing).

Euro Ball Screen Spacing // Action 1

Barcelona runs this set to start the second quarter. In Euroleague, you inbound the ball on your opposite baseline to start. Therefore, the 1 dribbles up the left hand side of the court to initiate the play. As mentioned above, the set starts with an empty wing ball screen between the 1 and the 5. After the 5 sets the screen, the 5 rolls to the low block (Action 1).

In a typical Euro Ball Screen play, this empty wing ball screen would be live. However, since this play was called during the quarter break, they know what action they are looking for and do not look to score out of this. The 1 swings the ball to the 4. As the 4 receives the pass, the 2 back cuts from the wing to the rim. The 3 cuts up from the corner to fill the wing (Action 2).

Action 2 // Action 3

The 5, who rolled to the rim in the first action, stayed at the block. The 2 continues to cut across the key and sets a cross screen for the 5 (Action 3). The 5 comes off the cross screen on the low side, gets the entry deep in the paint, takes a power dribble and goes up for the hoop and the harm.

Small details that gave this set a greater chance of success:

The 1 initiates the set on the left side of the court. This is a point of emphasis as it allows the 5 to get the ball on the right block and go up with their strong hand.
The 2 cuts from the wing instead of the 3 as that player has the smaller defender on them. On the cross screen, the defender of the 2 does not bump resulting in the 5 being even more open. If the 3 were to have cut and set the screen, the defender of the 3 is more physically imposing and could have bumped hard or even tried to switch and front the 5.

Key Terms & Definitions:

Euro Ball Screen: empty wing PnR with weak side action on reversal (typically wing cut)

Empty Wing PnR: empty side corner ball screen

Cross Screen: off ball screen for player to cut horizontally towards ball

Back Cut: cut behind defender to basket

Swing: location on the court where lane of key extends up to meet 3 point line

Wing: location on court where foul line extended meets 3 point line

Corner: location on court where the baseline and sideline meet

Low Block: location on court that is closest to the rim but outside the key (painted rectangle)

That’s this week’s playbook breakdown! Barcelona (as they usually do) executed this set perfectly. They got an easy post touch, a hoop and the harm, and it only took them 12 seconds. Is there a better way to start a quarter?

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Cheers,

Keevan

Founder of Hoops Beyond the Huddle