In a world of isolation offenses, the Milwaukee Bucks have found success in three plays when facing the Toronto Raptors.
For the second time in a three-year period, the Milwaukee Bucks will be making an appearance in the NBA playoffs. Set to face a strong opponent in the Toronto Raptors, proper offensive schemes become crucial.
Granted, the NBA is not renown for strategic play-calling. Ignored are the continuous-motion offenses that the college game requires to create a wide-open shooter. Instead, the best shooters in the world only need a glimpse to get a shot off. Offensive strategy then revolves around a rather simplistic model of pick-and-roll and one-on-one isolation plays.
In fact, the Bucks have gone as far as allowing all five players to sit outside the arc. While this is a frequent occurrence in pickup games after lugging our beer guts up and down the court for 10 minutes, it’s inevitably time to relax and pray for our real-life Reggie Miller moment.
What’s crazy is that this play works for the Bucks! Players confident in beating one-on-one matchups like Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo will immediately drive towards an open paint.
On the other hand, others will call for a screen before making their way to an open layup. A ridiculous occurrence for sure, but in watching the Milwaukee-Toronto games from this season, this occurs far too frequently to be considered chance.
These professionals do not require plays to score, but it certainly helps. Therefore, we’ll take a look at the three most effective play calls from Jason Kidd in facing Toronto. And hopefully, they include at least one player inside the arc.
Play 1: Low-Post Down Screen
Both the shooting guard and small forward start below the hoop before screening around the center and power forward. In this particular play, the shooting guard looks to hide in the corner, while the ball moves to the small forward on the wing.
The small forward then has the option to shoot, drive, or work it down to the posting-up center. In this case, Middleton passes to Greg Monroe, who makes a move to the hoop before a surprise pass to Tony Snell for the three.
Play 2: Corner Down Screen
Very similar to our first play with some key differences. Both big men screen down, giving the point guard two open options to pass to. But instead of this occurring in the low post, this happens closer to the sideline. Upon catching the pass, the guard then has an open road to the hoop.
If the defense collapses, as it does in this case, the guard can find a big man rolling to the basket. In this example, Jason Terry barrels around the Mirza Telotovic screen and finds Thon Maker for the slam.
Play 3: Elbow Post-Up With Cutters
Point guard finds the power forward sitting in the high paint. Both the point guard and shooting guard cut to the hoop with the hope of an easy layup. If in need of an outlet, the small forward works around the arc.
This play works best with a versatile player such as Giannis at the 4. Because of his athleticism, he was able to ignore the moving options around him and use his post game to finish.
At the end of the day, the NBA is all about matchups and opportunities. Expect Giannis to run a lot of pick-and-roll with the point guards. Middleton will look to capitalize on one-one-one isolation opportunities.
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Toronto tends to be over-aggressive with guards defensively. If Kidd is able to properly utilize the mentioned down screens and pick-and-rolls, the Bucks can take advantage of the Raptors intruding defense and look to take an upset.