ATO Review: The Miracle in Miami

Yeah, I know we're beating this to death a bit, but as Brad Stevens points out, it's the attention to details that can make the difference between success and failure.  Winning basketball isn't about running fast and jumping high, it's about execution and that means details.  Some people are bored by this stuff and just want to enjoy the flow and energy of the game, so be it, but I find it educational and post these threads for myself as much as for anybody else.

What this analysis leaves out is that after KO forced LBJ wide with his pick, he then rolled back and sealed Bosh on the inside just enough to slow him down so he couldn't tip the pass, starting the clock and save the game for them. That's the little stuff that doesn't make the boxscore, nor the highlight film, but that coaches see and love.


ATO Review: Jeff Green's Miracle in Miami
By Kevin O'Connor  @Kevin__OConnor on Nov 10 2013, 7:00a 101




What is an ATO? ATO stands for "after timeout," or plays that are run "after the timeout." Last night, coach Brad Stevens constructed a game winning ATO play for the Boston Celtics.


Move over, Doug Flutie, last night the Boston Celtics produced their own version of the Miracle in Miami with their galvanizing victory over the Miami Heat. With only 0.6 seconds left on the clock, coach Brad Stevens composed a brilliant ATO play for Jeff Green, freeing him to sink a game winning three-pointer.

For this edition of ATO Review, I'm going to go in-depth and analyze the play Stevens arranged, how the Celtics executed it to perfection, and how a crucial mistake by LeBron James contributed to the play's final result. If you haven't seen the play already, here it is. I know I can't see it enough:




Down two points with less than one second on the clock, Boston lines up in a traditional box set, which is something coach Stevens has utilized frequently this year. This setup is extremely flexible and allows for a number of different plays to be run. In this situation, the play would have to be executed to perfection for it to come close to working.

On the floor for the Celtics were three shooters, Jeff Green, Avery Bradley, and Jordan Crawford; one screener, Kelly Olynyk; and the inbounder, Gerald Wallace.




As Gerald Wallace is given the ball, both Jordan Crawford and Avery Bradley begin to create some action underneath the rim. Concurrently, Jeff Green and Kelly Olynyk start to ease down into the paint. This collective movement is used to create congestion and confusion inside, which later expands into spacing on the outside.




At this point I thought the play was designed for one of the two guards to receive the pass; and I know LeBron James thought so too, as you'll see soon.

The reason for this movement was to create the illusion that Kelly Olynyk was setting a screen to spring Jordan Crawford loose for three, when in reality, he was preparing to block Chris Bosh off from the corner.

Next, Crawford clears out as Green times his release through Olynyk's screen. Wallace also throws a subtle pump fake, possibly intended to draw the attention of LeBron James.





The issue for LeBron is that he pays absolutely no attention to his man, Jeff Green. For a little over one second, he looks in the direction of Crawford and Wallace, thinking the ball is going that way. Look at the image below, and you'll see that LeBron actually takes one step towards the perimeter when Green is going the other way.




Unfortunately for LeBron, that mistake would be costly. Green is given a head start, and ultimately additional space once he takes the final shot.

Another obstacle in the way of LeBron is the incredible screen being set by the rookie, Kelly Olynyk. Not only is KO battling hard to distract Chris Bosh and keep him away from the corner, but because of the force of his push, he is positioned with a wide base.

This stance deters James from having a clear path to Green, as he must go all the way around Olynyk. This is even more evident in the next photo, which is also when Wallace makes the unbelievable pass required to make this play work.




With the pass in the air, Bosh managed to escape from Olynyk's grasp, but he couldn't get to the ball soon enough. James is also late to the ball because of Olynyk's wide screen, as well as his previous error in judgment.




Jeff Green caught the pass at his waist, gathered his feet behind the arc, and then elevated for the shot. Moments like this are what basketball players live for, and Green followed through, draining the shot for the win.

Even though Jeff Green will understandably receive most of the praise for this play, the credit deserves to be shared. Brad Stevens created a brilliant play and put the correct personnel on the floor, including Gerald Wallace, who stayed patient and made a pass that would make Rajon Rondo proud, and Kelly Olynyk, who successfully screened both LeBron and Bosh, giving Green the space necessary to take the final shot.

When it comes to execution, I don't think it gets much better than this.



bob



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Interesting breakdown of the play. Thanks.

This is a separate article, but it's about ATO, so I thought I'd just use this thread.


http://greenstreet.weei.com/sports/boston/basketball/celtics/2013/11/11/stat-man-brad-stevens-post-timeout-brilliance/


It was quite a week for Brad Stevens. Seven days ago, his Celtics dropped to 0-4 and rose to the top of ESPN’s Tank Rank. Now, his C’s are riding a three-game win streak punctuated by a pair of plays in the span of 3.6 seconds against the two-time defending NBA champions that emphatically announced the coach’s arrival.

In the final moments of Saturday’s Heat upset, Stevens concocted a pair of post-timeout plays that offered the first NBA glimpse of the brilliance that everyone who knew him at Butler has raved about for the past four months.

The first: Since Shane Battier had previously fronted Gerald Wallace in the post, Stevens called for Jeff Green to lob an entry pass to Wallace under the basket for a layup that cut a four-point deficit in half with one second left.

And second: Weighing the risk of throwing crosscourt against the reward of potentially freeing up a shooter where LeBron James might sag defensively, Stevens called for Wallace to return the favor, lobbing an entry pass to Green in the far corner for a 3-pointer that beat the buzzer. Both seemingly made more brilliant by the fact Dwyane Wade made the youth basketball mistake of missing the rim entirely on a free throw attempt between them.

During his tenure in Boston, Doc Rivers was rightfully praised for his post-timeout play calls, but he also had Paul Pierce to help him look good despite so often calling the same isolation elbow jumper. Stevens doesn’t have that luxury and requires a bit more creativity in engineering scoring opportunities for a team without a playmaker.

In the aftermath of the two most remarkable play calls during Stevens’ brief NBA coaching career, now seems as good a time as any to examine the Celtics coach’s success in post-timeout situations.


On 45 occasions through seven games, the Celtics have owned possession following a timeout. Nineteen of those opportunities have resulted in points (14 field goals, 5 drawn fouls) for a success rate of 42.2 percent. Seventeen ended in missed shots, another eight on turnovers and one with the clock running out on the first quarter.

In total, the Celtics have scored 39 points on 45 post-timeout possessions — an offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) of 86.7 that pales in comparison to their overall rating of 99.7 that ranks 25th in the league this season. Those eight turnovers have to drive Stevens bananas, because the Celtics have generated a 108.3 offensive rating on the 36 post-timeout possessions when they’ve actually gotten a shot off — efficiency that would elevate their offense among the league’s top five if averaged over the course of this season.

The balance with which Stevens has called plays out of timeouts makes him absolutely unpredictable. Nine different Celtics have had their number called following a huddle: Kelly Olynyk (3-8 FG, 0-1 3P), Green (3-6 FG, 1-3 3P, 4-4 FT), Brandon Bass (3-4 FG, 2-2 FT), Wallace (1-3 FG, 0-1 3P, 2-2 FT), Courtney Lee (1-4 FG, 0-3 3P), Avery Bradley (1-3 FG), Vitor Faverani (0-1 FG, 1-2 FT), Jared Sullinger (0-1 3P) and Phil Pressey (0-1 3P).

[Note: Faverani put back a pair of C's misses on post-timeout possessions.]

The C’s shot locations in such situations have been all over the map, too. Of the C’s 31 post-timeout field goal attempts, 12 have been long jumpers, 10 3-pointers and nine tries around the basket. Remarkably, Green’s 3-pointer against the Heat was the only successful beyond-the-arc attempt in 10 post-timeout tries this season.



bob


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I wonder how many times this season Comcast viewers will see that shot. My mind freezes after "plenty."

Thanks for posting the great description, Bob. The replay happens so fast that it's difficult to take everything in at the same time.

Sam