The Iowa Wolves were one of the best offensive teams in the G-League this past year. By the numbers they were 3rd in total offense, 2nd in half court offense, and 1st in Half court man offense. They were also 3rd in handoffs in the entire league. In this post we are going to look at some of the handoff concepts that they used.
Gets
The Mash
3 ways to punish the switch on a split cut
Why flips are better
High Handoffs out of Corner Action
Gets
Gets are a popular concept in Europe and could also be called a throw and go or chase action. To me a “Get” is used as an independent action whereas a throw and go comes as part of another action (IE I come off a ballscreen and throw it back to the big, then go get the ball from the big).
A get is another way to play 2 man game for the offense and effective when you have offensive players that might not be as effective in traditional ballscreen situations. Plus a Get is a great way to get a possession reignited if the offense loses advantage and needs to get the dominos falling.
Gets are effective in transition situations. #26 Wiggington brings it up and hits #14 Murphy. Wiggington sprints and gets the quick pitch back for 3 when his defender goes under. The pace of this action makes it super effective.
The Wolves run a pin down into a touch action back to Wiggington. One of the things they do well is soften up the defense on the get with the back screen Murphy sets for #25 Trenton Duval. Wigginton stops behind the hardback to get his shot vs the switch.
When the offense loses advantage it is crucial to be able to reignite offense. This becomes even more important with a shot clock. The Wolves use this action a lot in these situations when they are neutral.
The Wolves run through some offense and when it stalls they need to create their advantage. Murphy does a great job of softening up the defense with a cut, to get the ball from Wigginton. Wigginton cuts and is able to get downhill on the drive.
Similar to the previous clip, once the offense gets stalled #9 Barry Brown calls for #55 to flash. They play get game which results in a layup.
Gets can happen all over the court. Wing Gets are effective offensive tools because the angles involved and the fact that it is another guard that can fake the handoff and make a play. A lot of times this will end up looking like a pistol action with the trailing big. It would be common to see a side Get and then a ballscreen or a side Get and then a top Get.
Wiggington throws it ahead and sprints into the pitch back from the wing.
Here is another side get look that could also be classified as reigniting offense. #4 throws it to the wing and chases for the handback. Due to the angle and speed of cut it opens up the baseline drive.
If the defense takes away the initial get action, the offense can flow into 2 man game with the next player. #55 Spellman doesn’t hand it off on the get and immediately goes into a dribble at with Wiggington
The Mash Action
The mash action involves screening a player into a dribble handoff. It is an effective way to help a creator that needs some help to create advantage (IE Joe Ingles). This action can be extremely difficult for the defense to navigate, especially when it happens with pace. The Wolves do a great job of strong side action, swing to the top and then have a mash action on the second side. All five players are involved and the defense is softened up.
The Wolves do a great job of getting to the Mash on the second side. On #29’s catch he dribbles it to the player coming off the pin down. On the handoff #29 does a great job of adjusting his angle at the last second to create more space for the ball handler.
Another second side mash with a great pindown screen from #18 James Webb. The defense tries to switch it late, but on the flip #30 Kelan Martin is able to get his feet set before the defense can get to him.
On this clip the defense tries to get under the handoff. However because of #29’s angle and the read from the guard he is able to get an easy 3.
A great set here that is basically a double mash. Once the ball gets to the elbow #6 Mclaughlin and #17 Gill set a stagger for Martin out of the corner. #11 Reid sets a good screen on the handoff and rolls hard.
Punishing the Switch
The Wolves love getting to the handoff off of split action on the side. A common defensive tactic against the split is to switch. Here are 3 creative and effective ways to punish the switch.
#4 hits the post at the top of the key and goes into split. Mclaughlin reads the switch and tight curls. #4 has top leverage on the defender and does a great job of pausing and using this to get spacing on the handoff.
Not sure if this is a design or not but its really creative. This time they go into corner Split and when #4 reads switch, he immediately cuts to the middle to get the handoff from Murphy as he spins.
A more common concept is the double cut. On the split, Wiggington reads switch at the top of his cut and cuts to the basket. Wiggington causes indecision for the defense and that allows #9 Brown to slide up to space for a 3.
Why the flip is better than a handoff.
The standard handoff that has been taught a lot (and I taught it too) involves a football like handoff to the cutter. This is effective in certain situations for sure and the wolves use it at times. However, I think a quick flip is more effective for a couple of reasons.
Ability to change angles: The flip gives the screener time to adjust his angle on how the defender is playing the cutter. If he reads low, he can adjust his screen to get a piece of him or give the cutter an open 3.
Gets the ball handler into space faster to make a decision: Once the flip is made, the ball handler has space to make a shot, drive, pass, decision.
Gets the screener going downhill: Like in a ballscreen, after the flip the screener can sprint or smash. If he reads that his cutter already has space, he can sprint out to a roll to attack the drop.
Defensive indecision: Is it a handoff? Is it a ballscreen? If the defense has multiple coverages in these situations, than they have to determine it on the fly to guard the action.
Here is a mash action with Jordan Murphy flipping it to Kelan Martin. You can see that with the good mash screen and the flip, they build up a ton of space. With Murphy reading this, he sprints out early which flattens out the drop defender for the Swarm.
When Murphy gets the ball at the 9 Second mark they go into a mash action with #25 Trenton Duval. Murphy reads the defender trying to go under and because he flipped it early, is able to get in the way on his roll
Murphy reads the defender trying to get under and is able to turn his body and screen for an easy 3.
Reid flips it to Martin and catches the defense in a late switch because of the contact he is able to make with Martin’s defender.
High Handoff out of Corner Action
The Wolves will run this Corner offense look with the inside cut. They get a lot of good looks out of this quick turn to a high handoff. I believe it is natural for the defender guarding the cutter to put all his attention on the spin, which opens up the cutter for his shot.
Here the Wolves get a stepback 3 vs a switch when Murphy flips it to Webb. Webb’s defender is a step behind and when Murphy sprints out, he tries to catch up.
Same concept out of a delay look. Webb’s defender tries to get under the handoff and #29 is able to turn into him to create more space. Because the Legends are in a deep drop with their 5 man, it basically turns into a 2 on 1 for the Wolves.
On this one Murphy flips it to Webb for an easy 3. The defender guarding Webb is slow to react at first and the only thing the defense can try is a late emergency switch.