Billy Donovan’s Playbook: From University of Florida to Oklahoma City
By Shawn Woods
Double Hi
Most of my criticism with Scott Brooks was his reluctance to create movement when the offense was at its worst. Morrow was always supposed to be in the corner when Durant or Westbrook had the ball, which works perfectly for Morrow. However, the same can’t be said for Roberson or Dion Waiters, both below-average shooters.
The Thunder have been one of the more traditional teams starting and playing two big men most of the time. Donovan’s “Double Hi” set utilizes the big men by having both big men set screens at the top of the key. This action draws at least one defending big man out of the lane, and the other two players are positioned in the corner.
The Clippers ran something similar to Donovan’s “Double Hi” set with one major difference. The two big men would set the screen closer to half court than the three-point line. This gave Chris Paul a running start at the defender and more room to operate. If that worked well for Paul, imagine what Westbrook could do with more space to operate.
One of the big men rolled to the rim (Adams or Kanter) and one popped to the top of the key (Ibaka). This could lead to an open mid-range or three-point attempt from Ibaka, a relatively easy pass to one of the big men sealing his defender or an open pass to the near corner if his defender is helping on the post.
Instead, the big man passes to the guard in the corner and an immediate pick-and-roll happens on the wing with the guard getting a running start toward the big man. The offense is still spaced evenly with a shooter in the opposite corner.
The guard settles at the top of the key with an easy pass to the post available. Even with two traditional big men on the floor, Florida has four players on the perimeter, and one can almost guarantee that the big man at the bottom of the picture is nowhere near the shooter Ibaka is.
After the entry pass, the post player has the freedom to attack his defender, but on this particular play, the defender in the near corner turns his head to get a better look at the action. That’s all the time Waiters or Roberson will need.
The idea that Donovan’s offense can improve a team that, when healthy, had one of the best offenses over the past few years is almost overwhelming to a fan base that suffered as much as it did last season. If Donovan is able to generate the amount of movement in Oklahoma City that he did in Florida, that same fan base could be in for a treat this season.