MADRID (Spain) – Classical definitions of positions in basketball these days are starting to make less and less sense. When we once talked about numbers, now we’re talking more about quarterbacks. Perhaps you could base the scope of this quarterback role on the more traditional, pass-first trick-style quarterbacks and score-first, shooting guard-type quarterbacks. But even then, the old definitions remain more of a story, a narrative than reality. Through the lens of pick-and-roll, a quarterback’s most powerful tool, BCL’s bests don’t always fit exactly into the category you expect them to be.
The data above shows which players create the most opportunities to score for themselves during pick-and-roll* and which ones create the most chances for others (thanks to Todd Whitehead of Synergy for the idea). Of course, simply looking at the volume of chances created misses the productivity context and does not give us an idea of who actually scored the most points out of the opportunities created or who produced the most points per position. But it gives us a great chance to understand the inclinations and intentions of the players. Starting with score-oriented players, the top five are as follows:
Names that give priority to the score
1. Marcelinho Huertas (Lenovo Tenerife) – created 82 scoring opportunities.
2. Troy Caupain (Darüşşafaka) – created 80 scoring opportunities.
3. John Roberson (SIG Strasbourg) – Created 74 scoring opportunities.
4. David Holston (JDA Dijon) – created 70 scoring opportunities.
5. D’Angelo Harrison (Prometey) – Created 62 scoring opportunities.
Pass-focused players are as follows:
Names that pass priority
1. David Holston (JDA Dijon) – 107 chances were created.
2. Joe Ragland (Hapoel U-NET Holon) – 103 chances were created.
3. DeWayne Russell (Nutribullet Treviso) – 100 chances created.
4. Marcelinho Huertas (Lenovo Tenerife) – 89 opportunities created
5. Patrick Richard (U-BT Cluj Napoca) – 88 chances are created.
* Data above includes players from teams that have played in the last 16 only.
Few would have expected to see Marcelinho Huertas, one of the best assists in BCL history, in a league-leading position among the lucky players. Likewise, Patrick Richard is described as a shooting guard, but we find him in the top five on the list of opportunities for others, usually in the area reserved for number one. We also see that there are two players in the top five in both categories, and when it comes to pick-and-roll, they clearly stand out among the best in the basketball world. And these two names shouldn’t surprise anyone…
Marcelinho Huertas
With 171 scoring positions created for himself and 185 points generated from these chances, he is currently ranked 1st in BCL among players still in the league in the category of points obtained from pick-and-roll. While scoring 0.73 points per game in the positions he created for himself is not the most productive stat in the league, the team’s 1.4 hours per position more than compensates for the opportunities it creates for his teammates in Tenerife. In fact, only teammate Joan Sastre provides a more efficient scoring rate on her 1.5 points-per-game chances, but Saster does this by preparing only 10 scoring positions.
To begin with the opportunities he created for himself, anyone who has watched Marcelinho Huertas throughout his career will think of only one shot type: the teardrop-style two-shots Marcelinho’s patented shot, running towards the basket, then bouncing off on one leg. When you watch the clips below, you’ll notice that each of them is on the screen in the pick-and-roll against a defender trying to stay behind the screen player, and the defense is doing its best to defend 2v2. We will come to the reason for this later, but above all, watch a real master at work and enjoy.
But when Huertas gets the opportunity to go to his left, he doesn’t just create a position for himself. Going to his right, you’ll probably see a pull-up jumper where he suddenly hits the brakes and stops moving. Note again that in all but one of the videos, the defense falls behind the player on the screen trying to keep their 2v2 mobility. Also note that the shot decision is always made on the second dribble after leaving the pick-and-roll. The level of composure of the quarterback on the basketball court and his ability to make decisions in “if/then” scenarios can be compared to a coder using the C/C++ programming language.
So why is Huertas able to create so many chances for himself this season against the defenses left behind by the screen player? When teams have a large number of outside shooters on their opponents’ roster, or when there is a playmaker who is proficient in penalizing any defense that requires two defenders to be on the ball; They try to defend their 2v2 pick-and-roll game. For example, a team with Kyle Wiltjer, Sasu Salin and Aaron Doornekamp on the perimeter and whose games are set by Marcelinho Huertas and Bruno Fitipaldo…
So what happens when teams send two defensive players to stay in front of the ball against Huertas during the collective play screen? Let’s watch A and B, please. In the first clip, Falco tried to steal the ball from Huertas by trying to defend hard with #6 Keller, but Huertas easily got around him. This meant that help from the weaker side was inevitable in order to defend Shermadini’s overthrow, and Rodriguez #13 would be empty around the corner. Huertas made a flawless, millimeter jumper pass to his fellow pitcher. In the second clip, help came from #50 Bonzie Colson to the player who was knocked down. Seeing everything that happened in the game, Huertas threw a pass over the head to #20 Dejan Todorovic.
David Holston
He’s at the top of this statistic among players still playing in the BCL, with 177 positions created (just ahead of Markel Starks, Holston, who created a total of 187 points for himself and others). A total of 172 points were produced from these 177 scoring opportunities, placing Holston in second place behind Huertas in the pick-and-roll generated statistics. Holston hits 40% of the chances he creates for himself and generates 0.98 points per game.
It’s all about Holston’s ability to stop and start again, starting with the chances he’s created for himself. We’re talking about a player who can create a space for himself even in a phone booth, and not only does he create that space, but he does it when it really matters most. I know you’ve watched the gameplay in the tweet below, but please watch it again and note the curtain release acceleration and then the ability to stop and jump at the same speed.
Holston’s primary weapon in terms of creation in pick-and-roll is the crossover curtain. Staying in front of him in the open and then dealing with the screening is a daunting task even for the best defenders. If you watch the clips below, you will see the same acceleration and sudden braking from the first clip in the tweet above. Also, notice how much the free throw line likes to go all the way down there to create the curtain before using the curtain on the ball. This east-west approach after coming off the curtain gives him more room to create space. This makes decision making more difficult for the on-screen player’s defender, as the further they move away from his own man to slow Holston, the more room there is for the player to be knocked in.
And if they get dragged, they can still face BCL’s most agile guard one-on-one.
The other risk for the defenses when they choose to be more aggressive towards Holston in the pick-and-roll is that they leave the pass door open to the knocked down player and there is no point guard in Europe who understands better than Holston the angle of passing the knocked down teammate.
This last clip may be my favorite assist of the season. Watch carefully how Holston rushes to the curtain with the same east-west approach, then dribbles halfway over #45 Kravish to get away from him. In the sequel, the moment he joins Akoon-Purcell he leaves player 44 with an impossible decision. Akoon-Purcell was normally supposed to bring help to the knocked down player, but the next obvious pass would be across the field to his man, number 24 Galliou. Holston clears the ball and waits for Akoon-Purcell to return to Galliou before bringing Alingue to the ball. It’s an easy dunk, a set that only took place with Holston’s pace changes, understanding of pass channels, and a little bit of cheating on the other side. It’s the full package in one game.
