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Ah, summertime… a chance to enjoy some sun, sand, and pay grossly over-priced parking and entrance fees to an AAU tournament at 8am to watch a recruit jack a couple “hezi” combination step-backs. For us, it was also a time to consume a TON of zone defensive film run by some of the best teams in the world, #hotzonesummer.
It has been, without a doubt, a fun summer of zone exploration for us as we’ve witnessed a growing number of coaches across all levels achieving success with various coverages in the biggest moments. From Sergio Scariolo winning the European Championship with a Box & 1, to the 3-2 “Monster” Zone being utilized across the ACB, along with Real Madrid Head Coach, Chus Mateo, switching to a zone to mount their historic comeback 0-2 series comeback and eventually win the Euroleague title (more on this to come…stay tuned! ????). And, of course, the Miami Heat terrorized the Eastern Conference with their zone in route to another NBA Finals appearance.
Today, we are excited to present Part 1 of our two-part “Film Room” collaboration with Merrimack Head Coach, Joe Gallo. In this collaboration, we study and discuss the similarities, differences, and key rotations Coach Gallo noticed when analyzing the Miami Heat’s Zone Defense.
Coach Gallo runs arguably one of the best zone defenses in the game today, a topic we had the privilege to discuss with him in the past on both the podcast and a break down on SGTV. Coach Gallo acknowledges that the Heat’s zone is one of the closest iterations to what they run, so we are thrilled to partner with him to dissect the film of both the Miami Heat and Merrimack Zone defenses. Over the next two weeks we will share insights into both zones’ unique bumps, peels, rotations, and the philosophies behind their success.
Covered in Today’s Newsletter we share a few key takeaways from Coach Gallo including:
- Accountability & Removing the “Grey”
- NBA Player are Not Immune to Unforced Turnovers
- Punctures: “Below & Outs” and Baseline Drives
- Forward Bumps & Positioning
- Defending Step Up Screens
Accountability
To initiate our discussion with Coach Gallo, we inquired about the reasons behind coaches’ occasional hesitancy to incorporate a zone defense in the first place. This hesitation often stems from a false belief that the coverage involves too many ambiguous situations, making it challenging to both hold players accountable and rectify mistakes. However, as Coach Gallo discusses with his zone at Merrimack, the zone defense is built on a series of distinct bumping actions, rotations, and rules that are derived from ball movement and offensive spacing. So, in other words, there is no grey area.
Once these principles are clearly defined and practiced, players can be held accountable in the same manner as any other defensive coverage when it comes to rotations, bumps, and closeouts, leading to points being conceded. Following the analysis, Coach Gallo and his coaching staff can monitor rotations according to player positions. This assessment allows them to identify the vulnerabilities that lead to breaches and point losses. They even take the step of enforcing a points-per-minute threshold for each position, holding players accountable to this standard.
Turnovers: NBA Players are not Immune
Even before delving into the finer intricacies of rotations and bumps, the mere act of dropping into a zone can cause hesitancy, confusion, and passivity in an offense. This effect holds true whether you are coaching at a youth summer camp or during the intensity of the Eastern Conference Finals.
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In addition to the hesitancy, zone defenses often compel the offense to adapt to a spacing and reads they are less accustomed to. Offenses often modify their usual spatial arrangements in response to the formation of the zone. While this is not a bad strategy by any means, it can lead to the offense operating at higher positions on the court than usual and struggling to maintain their floor balance. As Coach Gallo discusses, the result is that even the best ball handlers and decision makers can find themselves uncertain about their passing options or the positioning of their teammates during penetrations.
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Another advantage of employing a zone defense is its capacity to compel non-playmakers to assume decision-making roles. To create high-quality shots or opportunities, the offense frequently engages in lateral ball movement to manipulate the positioning of the zone. Consequently, the ball finds itself in the possession of players with lower usage rates and a tendency to make suboptimal decisions. The common example of this is a high post catch by an offenses’ 4 or 5 who is uncomfortable making passing/scoring decisions in traffic.
This scenario works to the advantage of the defense, provided they maintain unwavering effort and energy. By actively running offensive players off the 3-point line and engaging in swift rotations to induce additional passes, the defense’s proficiency in compelling multiple passes heightens the likelihood of forcing turnovers. In the video Coach Gallo breaks down a number of the Miami Heat’s great effort on rotations…
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Punctures – “Below and Out”
Transitioning into the shared rotational aspects between the defensive approaches of both Miami and Merrimack, one of the pivotal rotations is the “Below & Out” movement executed when the ball travels from the top to the wing. As the ball is passed to the wing, the responsibility of the low forward is twofold: 1) prevent the catch-and-shoot opportunity while 2) simultaneously being positioned in the passing lane to the corner (Part 2).
In order to avert an immediate catch and drive down the lane by the wing player, the guard must approach this rotation with precision. This involves adopting an appropriate angle on the rotation over to the ball. Referred to as the “Below & Out” rotation by Coach Gallo, it necessitates an initial first step down to discourage a direct line pass to the high post, concurrently positioning oneself beneath the ball in order to rotate out in the driving lane.
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Zooming In: If the guard on his rotation turned and sprinted directly to the shoulder of the wing, he would concede not only the pass to the high post but be opening up a driving lane through the elbow. As we’ll highlight further in Part 2 of the discussion next week, the forward isn’t pausing for the guard to initiate the bump down action. So, as the forward vacates his stance near the ball, it becomes imperative for the guard to get below the ball to thwart any potential penetration.
Punctures – Baseline Drives
A fundamental principle Coach Gallo discusses in the film is that when the offense does breach the zone defense via a dribble the top guards must refrain from entering the paint. Rather than pursuing penetration into the paint, the guards are instructed to promptly peel off and fan out to shooters and specific locations on the floor. This strategic adjustment facilitates swift rotations and, in certain instances, steals…
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Zooming In: Rather than collapsing too far into the paint in response to the baseline drive, as seen in the example above with Caleb Martin, the strategic approach involves fanning out. This decision is based on the recognition that when the offense executes a baseline drive, their intention is often to create an opportunity for a corner shot and potentially an additional pass to a player on the weak side.
Forward Bumps & Positioning
To begin with, a unique staple of Coach Gallo’s Zone is their forward bump. Tasked with taking away the “Point to Wing” three-pointer, the forwards stunt aggressively with their outside foot and outside hand into the shooter’s foot space, then immediately pushing back off their top foot into the passing lane to the corner…
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Zooming In: As discussed in today’s video, Coach Gallo tells the forward not to wait for the guard to bump him off the ball. The forward’s sole duty is to take away the catch-and-shoot. It is up to the guards to execute their “Below & Outs” (see part 1) as quickly as possible to arrive on the ball as the forward retreats.
Here is Miami executing the same bump…
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So where is the difference? Whether it’s a difference in emphasis or positioning, Coach Gallo discusses Miami often appears to be more willing to allow above-the-break 3-pt attempts when compared to Merrimack (Coach Gallo’s zones are well-known for not allowing 3-point attempts). Miami’s forwards were not extended as high and wide on the perimeter, resulting in their bumps being lower and rarely encroaching into the shooter’s foot space.
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Zooming In: Whereas Merrimack aims to have their forwards arrive on the catch in their opponent’s foot space to prevent the shot, Strus’ positioning here is lower, leading to his stunt being at the 3-point line.
Of course, considering the prevalence of the corner three and the distance of the NBA 3-point line, extending this bump beyond the 3-point line could potentially spread their zone too thin. However, it was noticeable that Merrimack, with its emphasis on taking away catch-and-shoot 3-pt attempts, position their forwards higher on the perimeter and extended their stunts beyond the 3-point line on wing catches.
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Not that Miami was thrilled about giving up 3-point shots, but considering all the ways an opponent could exploit their coverage, allowing an above-the-break three a few feet beyond the arc appeared to be a risk they were willing to take depending on the personnel, time, score, etc…
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Zooming In: As shown above, this is still an incredibly difficult shot to make when faced with a stunt and a guard closeout. As mentioned in Part 1, zones can induce hesitancy in the offense, so rarely will an opponent beat the coverage on a steady diet of “Point to Wing” 3-pointers against the stunt.
Defending Step Up Screens
Turning our attention to ballscreen coverage within the zone, one of the main points of differentiation was in how each team chose to defend the Step Up Screen. Miami opts to switch the “Home” guard onto the ball and peel the on-ball defender into the high post.
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Zooming In: This type of tandem defense between the “Home” guard and the on-ball guard is a strategy we’ve explored previously in Coach Igor Milicic’s Match-Up Zone Defense.
Merrimack, on the other hand, opts to Ice the Step Up Screen back to the “Home” guard where they could execute their “Dribble Tag.”
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Zooming In: Once the ballhandler reached the basket line, Merrimack’s “Home” guard will switch onto the ball, with the on-ball defender dropping into the high post, a strategy they termed a “Dribble Tag.”
Should Merrimack’s guard get stuck in the screen, they simply treat it as a slot penetration. With both their guards getting to the elbows and having the center pick up the penetration.
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In our closing remarks with Coach Gallo, he shared how they often do not see such wide Step Up Screens like in the NBA but did run into some trouble against Virginia Tech, who did a great job attacking through this screen (*note…this long two point jumper is a shot Merrimack is more content to live with overall though)…
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Which is why Coach Gallo discusses how he admired Miami’s handling of the Step Up Screen, and has him contemplating how they will defend this action in the upcoming season and whether to instruct the “Home” guard to switch over or task the wing defender with executing his “Wing” bump.
It has been an incredible two weeks having the opportunity to sit with Coach Gallo and go through the film with him. We appreciate his willingness to share his insights and delve into the finer details behind the success of these two defensive coverages. What has been covered in these past two newsletters is just a small sample of all the knowledge he shares in our 2-part “Film Room” session.
To hear more of Coach Gallo’s thoughts on these topics, plus:
- Anticipation
- Peel switching
- “Inside” & “Outside” ballscreens
- Corner awareness & closeouts
- Getting off of penetration
