In this deep dive we are going to look at how the Mavericks defended the Flat & Ghost screen variations from the Thunder in the 2024 NBA Playoffs. We look at how the Thunder run ghost screens, the different variations and then the most common ways Ghost screens are defended.
Full breakdown on the Thunder’s offense from this past season:
More articles & plays on Ghost screens:
Milwaukee Bucks "Ghost" vs Switching
There are a couple of different philosophies when it comes to attacking switching defenses, and the primary way for NBA teams is to get the mismatch you want and then attack 1 on 1. Overall the 3 main ideas when it comes to facing switching defense are:
USA Angle Small
In the 2024 Olympics team USA captured gold behind ridiculous performances from KD, Steph & LeBron. It wasn’t easy and when it hit crunch time or the USA needed a score they went to a simple set that was unstoppable with Steph Curry & LeBron James.
Boston Celtics Playbook Breakdown
The Boston Celtics currently have the best offense in NBA history, currently they have the best offense ever over the incredible 20-21 Nets by currently scoring 120 points per 100 possessions. I don’t know if we have come to a complete conclusion, but the “Bubble Years” for efficiency seem like an anomaly since 7 of the top 10 are all from 20-21 - a project for another time. Any way we look at it, the Celtics’ offense is currently at a historic level and if they keep this up it will result in the best offense ever.
Boston Celtics ATOs: Creative Guard Design
The Boston Celtics are currently the #1 team in the NBA in After Time Out scenarios scoring 1.01 PPP currently. After Time Out data is wildly inconsistent without hand-tracking but I always love the insight on what teams are the best in these situations even with the data just from Synergy’s tracking.
I also include some practice film of how we run this same action and how we defend it in a 2 on 2 scenario.
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Coach Pyper
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