Euroleague Championship Plays Part I

The recent Euroleague Championship game between CSKA Moscow and Panathinaikos featured two of the greatest coaches in European basketball. Ettore Messina of CSKA and Zeljko Obradovic have not only dominated their domestic leagues in Russia and Greece, but delivered championships over the past 20 years. The 2009 game won by Panathinaikos was a classic battle and it would not be a shock to see both teams in the final four next year. 

Both teams have a variety of half court sets that they like to use (Part II follows next week). This first Panathinaikos play can be used as an entry to the flex. Coach Obradovic uses this set to get the ball into the post.

In the diagram, 2 pops out to either side of the floor using 4 and 5 screens. 3 cuts opposite of 2. In this example, 2 goes to the left side of the floor.

The opposite post, 5, steps out and 1 reverses the ball. On the reversal, 2 makes a flex cut off 4 into the lane. 4 immediately ducks in and post.

5 uses the dribble to get a better angle to make the post feed. 5 could also pass to 1 if the defender on 4 gets caught on the high side.

The next play can be run out of transition or as a half-court set. 5 cuts off 4’s screen toward the wing area. 

1 immediately drives the ball to the middle of the floor off 4s ball screen. At the same time, 2 backscreens for 5.

1 has a number of options on this play. One of the most popular options is passing back to 2 coming off 4’s down screen. 2 can then look to shoot the jumper or make the post entry to 4.

Both teams like to run the Horns or A Set since their post players have three-point range.  Panathinaikos used this play a number of times during the final four. 1 dribbles off 4’s ball screen to the side of the floor. 

4 clears and 1 looks to quickly change directions to the middle of the floor as 5 sprints over to set the ball sceeen. 5 rolls to the basket and 3 fills the wing.

This play presents many options, such as 1 hitting 5 on the roll, passing to 4 who can make the high-low pass to 5, or kicking back to 3, who then looks for 5 posting.