The Team that Doesn't Dribble

[Goudelock]

Watch on YouTube

This is about a college team (that has started 0-4), but I still think it's cool enough to post about on here. This style reminds me of 1950s basketball with the constant cutting and motion, or perhaps Pep Guardiola's teams in the EPL. All five players have to move without the ball almost constantly, and have to be great passers themselves. The film breakdown starts at 6:12.

Do you think this style of offense, one that basically ignores dribble drives, could work in the NBA with better talent (but also against much better defenders)?

[Liam_Gallagher]

Maybe that's why they're 0-4.

[Flash Falcon X]

Would be fun to watch Jokic in this sytem.

[xdrta+]

Maybe they're playing by the original rules, when dribbling was not allowed. "...The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it..."

[Flash Falcon X]

I don't think the 0-4 start means the offense doesn't work, it could be because the team's defense is bad or they don't have enough of the right players who can run it properly.

It's like with Kerr's offense, this season people love how the Warriors move the ball around, but 2 years ago when everyone was injured that same system wasn't working because they didn't have enough high IQ guys to successfully run the offense. Same system that got them one of the worst records 2 years ago is the same system that has them with the best record in the league right now. Gotta have the right guys.

[picc]

Do you think this style of offense, one that basically ignores dribble drives, could work in the NBA with better talent (but also against much better defenders)?

No.

This is called “outsmarting yourself”.

Entertaining gimmick/video though.

[bbalnation]

This was **** cool, and is the staple of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Warriors and Kerr basketball imo. Thanks for sharing.

[Goudelock]

I don't think the 0-4 start means the offense doesn't work, it could be because the team's defense is bad or they don't have enough of the right players who can run it properly.

FWIW I just put the "0-4" line in there because I knew that if I didn't, one of the geniuses on this board would make a big deal out of that omission.

They've played Purdue, Murray State, and Gonzaga through those four games, so I think it's just a talent-deficit. The offense works, but there's only so much a great scheme can do against future NBA players.

[Dom801e]

The Warriors run the same base offense. Scissors action into motion. But since the NBA has 24s shot clock instead of 35 there is more of a need for iso scoring when the shot clock is low.

[matt6715]

Lots of old guys in rooms filled with sports memorabilia are nodding their heads in agreement to this team's offensive system right now

[lambchop]

Surely, teams like the Spurs have elements of this in their gameplan, especially, those Duncan era years. That said, it isn't the best way to maximize NBA players' talent. Having a healthy dose of that heavy ball movement will definitely help, but if you don't strategically exploit mismatches and punish teams on switches, you're putting yourself at a disadvantage.
Another reason this works in college is cause there are no salaries, therefore, egos, contract expectations etc. aren't a factor at all.

[mastermixer]

That was really dope. Thanks for sharing.

This is the way I see it for an nba team to try to run something like this

The pros:
- a pass is always faster than a dribble, why not exploit that?
- it’s much harder for a defense to guard a player without the ball. It’s a very reactionary position, all you can do as a defender is shadow the off ball player, which means by the time he gets the ball on a cut to the basket, it’s too late to get set and he should score.

- maybe too much movement and confusion for a zone to D to work against?

The negatives:
-this style seems exhausting for your players. How do you have energy to go play good defense on the other end when you’re constantly moving all five guys on offense?

-does it generate enough 3s? Although a pass is faster than dribble… a 3 is 1.5x more points per make than a 2. Every offense in the NBA is geared towards making more 3s simply because they are worth more points and guys can hit the shot with ease now. Does this offense maximize that or are we making 2s while the opponent sprints down and makes transition 3s on you on the back end?

- getting back on D. Seems like it would be a mess to get back and guard your man on D. Nba players would be able to lose their man and sprint back basically cherry picking on the other end




Very interesting style and entertaining to watch tho. Glad it’s found some success in the NCAA. It’s fun to see different teams play with different styles

[Goudelock]

- getting back on D. Seems like it would be a mess to get back and guard your man on D. Nba players would be able to lose their man and sprint back basically cherry picking on the other end

This is something I didn't think of when I posted the video. I'd imagine a team with a great outlet passer like Lonzo Ball or Nikola Jokic would tear a team that ran that offense to shreds.

[johanliebert]

The team that nobody watches. The nba has elite athletes this would never happen.

[Capn'O]

I feel like this would be a very useful scrimmage drill. But games? Come on...

[Buckeye-NBAFan]

Maybe that's why they're 0-4.

They just moved to D1, have had no home games, and their opponents are 16-0 with wins over UNC, Texas and Villanova, but sure.

[Buckeye-NBAFan]

The team that nobody watches. The nba has elite athletes this would never happen.

Agreed. Could you imagine a team like the Warriors just running an offense of cuts and screens to get Curry open?

Of all the things said about the NBA, I don't ever think I've heard the argument that role players move too much off the ball.

[Time for Change]

Were the highlights from last year? They were leading big in almost every highlight in the vid, how did they end up blowing all these games?

[Bologna Smasher]

Although it wasn't too this extreme, the Spurs used to play similar to this when they limited shots off of the dribble/isolations. Almost all of their shots were spot ups with constant movement. Kerr and the Warriors have done something similar.

[NoStatsGuy]

my problem with this is, its a noble idea to honor the game if you wanna call it that. but if you want to win, this does not help at all.

watching most of this offense for legit at least 10 seconds no one on the team created pressure on the defense, they didnt look like they wanna shoot and obvioulsy they dont attack the rim. the opposing team can completely focus on playing passing lanes and close outs. they wont play pick and roll and take away a huge part of the game for themself and handicap themselves with this type of playstyle.

like other people said, its a nice drill to develop movement off ball, efficient cutting and passing skills. but this is just bad from a winning basketball perspective.

And this also fks with the players imo. driving to the basket is a big skill to have aswell as good ball handling. i can tell you in my younger days ive always hated that drill. because i actually like to dribble the ball. thats how a coach loses his players