How the Rockets and Spurs are pursuing the next offensive trend – smaller balls

Regardless of what you hear about the innovation of NBA offenses, most teams in the league copy each other when it comes to the Xs and O’s.

You’ll hear players – especially those who have changed teams – talk about how easy it is to pick up a new playbook. The advanced scouts who collect data on the opponent don’t just do it for defensive game planning. Depending on the success rate, this information flows into a team’s offensive approach. There are only a limited number of pistol variants a trainer can perform.

When small ball was revolutionized, first with Mike D’Antoni and the “seven seconds or less” Phoenix Suns in the mid-2000s – and again with Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors’ “Hamptons 5” lineups at the end of the year In the last decade, the focus has been on ground clearance. Opening up the available playable area and having the right personnel gave certain teams an advantage.

Since then, the league has largely followed the same format. And while most teams don’t have the luxury of X-factors like Draymond Green or Shawn Marion or the ability to field smaller lineups for 48 minutes at a time, there are workarounds. In-game packages used at the right time (using faster, more athletic wings or shooting big balls) can give teams the upper hand, especially when the opponent is not prepared or equipped for a counterattack.

Basketball’s elite teams are constantly experimenting on the fringes. And one of the worst-kept coaching secrets is that pre-season preparation is less about conditioning and more about tactical experimentation.

For coaches like Ime Udoka in Houston and Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, diversifying their offensive approaches is a high priority. According to Cleaning the Glass, both the Spurs (26th in offensive rating) and Rockets (20th) were among the NBA’s most offensively inefficient teams last season.

So how do both teams improve their efficiency? There are two coaches in the NBA with similar problems who can find relief in different ways. If you look closely, the Rockets and Spurs are trying to make small balls smaller. They just do it their own way.

To be clear, this is not about downsizing the entire five-man unit on site. Last season, the Charlotte Hornets had a lineup consisting of Seth Curry (listed at 6-foot-1), Tre Mann (6-3), Vasilije Micić (6-3), Grant Williams (6-6) and Miles Bridges (6-3 ). 7) That was an increase of 2.6 in 30 minutes. I’m shocked at the performance of this cast – we’re talking about Charlotte – but that’s for another day.

The Rockets’ approach: primary shooters who are good playmakers

In recent months, Udoka has made his fixation on floor spacing and 3-point volume clear publicly and privately. On Thursday, after the Rockets’ 129-107 victory over the Spurs, Udoka almost shuddered as he talked about his team making seven 3-point attempts in the first quarter.

When the Rockets selected Reed Sheppard (6-3 on the roster), widely considered the best shooter in the draft, it was to improve Houston’s spacing and 3-point efficiency. The former Kentucky guard is expected to play a big role in Udoka’s rotation. There is a plan.

At various points in the preseason, Sheppard was paired alongside starting point guard Fred VanVleet (listed at 6-0). Udoka wrote that he had a “good look” at some lineup combinations, but VanVleet was among the top 10 in 3-point field goals made during the 2023-24 season. At Kentucky, Sheppard made 75 of 144 threes, a rate of 52.1 percent – all in a reserve role. If the Rockets are planning on becoming a better outside shooting team, why not see what they look like together?

“I just wanted to see her for a few minutes,” Udoka said. “We’re not really worried about the size there. We just wanted to see how they both played with and without the ball. They are very similar in many ways and complement each other.”

You’ve probably heard me talk about the interchangeability of Udoka’s attacks, one of his tenets. The goal of having VanVleet and Sheppard on stage together is to create an open look for them. However, since basketball is not always a black and white process, other plans must be included. Amen Thompson is a premier playmaker and athletic finisher paired with Steven Adams, the best screener on the team and an underrated passer. Dillon Brooks scores with his good floor spacing (he shot 50 percent from 3 on 5.3 attempts per game in the preseason), but it could easily be Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr. or someone else.

Notice how far out VanVleet uses that Adams screen and how much of the floor is now playable (Sheppard is not pictured, but he is in the right corner).

VanVleet is well behind the 3-point line and Sheppard on the strong side forces the defense to respect it. Brooks is able to put the ball on the ground, punch it and throw it to Sheppard in the corner, who redirects the ball back up to VanVleet. He hits that open look more than once, and the result isn’t that important in a preseason game.

“Fred obviously knows how to play, control the tempo and put everyone in their place,” Sheppard said The athlete. “So it’s really cool to be able to watch him all preseason, be on the field with him and just play with him. “Seeing how he approaches the game and plays with control, just learn as much as you can .”

There is also another variation of this half-court setup where both VanVleet and Sheppard are stationed outside the arc rather than one of them. This type of positioning makes it difficult for the defense to reinforce on one side and requires them to direct their most aggressive defenders to the top of the key.

As you can see, it’s not liquid yet. Sheppard and Adams are still learning to play together and with their other teammates. But the process is there. And while Sheppard and VanVleet understand their shooting abilities, they are also good playmakers. Sheppard knows his ball pressure draws attention, which opens the floor for those around him. Brooks has plenty of time to fix his braids before releasing this one.

“Stand off the floor,” Sheppard said. “Make the right play. I’m just trying to be the best teammate I can be and help the team as much as I can.”

The Spurs approach: Primary playmakers who can also shoot

With Chris Paul (6-0) and Tre Jones (6-1), the Spurs have two of the most capable distributors in the NBA. According to Cleaning the Glass, Paul was in the 98th percentile for support to usage ratio. Jones? Not far behind, finishing in the 93rd percentile.

Since Jones isn’t the shooter that Paul is — the fourth-year guard is making 33 percent of his 3s compared to Paul’s 37 — San Antonio will have to do things a little differently. The scout report on Jones says that he loves going downhill and Paul prefers to do his damage traveling east to west. The goal is to get the best shot, primarily for the other three teammates on the field, but ultimately it depends on what the defense presents. For example, if there is a gap in the middle of the field, Jones — who finished second on the team in drives per game (8.3) — can outplay Paul and take advantage.

“We intentionally played them together to see if there was chemistry or how they played off each other,” Popovich said. “They did pretty well. We like it. If we do that, we will implement a rule that will not allow any team to post them.”

San Antonio is fortunate to have such trustworthy ball handlers in Paul and Jones, as both players can quickly identify and attack actions. But an additional twist to Spurs’ squad is the addition of a five-man, Sandro Mamukelashvili.

The Georgia star appears to have settled into a good role in the preseason, averaging 9.6 points per game and shooting 54.5 percent from three. The Zach Collins experiment as a shooting center is ongoing, but Mamukelashvili appears far more comfortable making threes, and he should be able to provide a nice spacing alternative when Victor Wembanyama is off the floor. With Devin Vassell out, San Antonio still needs shooters to relieve Wembanyama’s pressure, and those options exist on the roster. Jones and Paul look like they’ve played together for years because of their shared understanding of half-court basketball.

“Chris and I are both point guards, obviously, but we also have our own games,” Jones said The athlete. “They both have the mindset of being point guards, we know how each other plays, we know how to play off each other. We talked a lot, he helps me understand how I can play him a little more and vice versa. While we’re there together, our games don’t change. I’m still trying to go downhill and create for others and he knows that. He manages to make the floor a little bigger. He doesn’t always play with other point guards out there. But when he gets the ball, he can set up and manipulate the defense.”

Popovich sounded pleased when discussing the presence of his two point guards, and from the looks of things, the Spurs will be there a lot from opening night. It’s still early, so the results may not be as smooth as you’d like, but once the regular season is in full swing, expect the two to click – even if there aren’t any moves planned for them .

“I’ll take what the defense is giving us so far,” Jones said. “It’s still early in the season so we’re not planning too much yet, but as the season progresses we’ll find things that work for us and we’ll run with those things.”

(Photo of Reed Sheppard and Fred VanVleet: Logan Riely / NBAE via Getty Images)