We’re back! Welcome to the five highest-IQ plays of the week!
Sure, we love the high-flying dunks and the deep, off-the-dribble step-back threes, but this is a place for the under-the-radar plays that might not get the credit they deserve. The plays that get the basketball sickos and nerds out of their chairs. The plays that even YOU could make in your weekly rec league game.
Each week, the plays will be ranked from five to one—one being the smartest—and will only be taken from games that occurred within the past week. For this week, games from December 24th to December 31st are considered. The C’s went 3-1 this week, with wins over the Bulls, Kings and Clippers and a loss to the Nuggets.
5. Using slowness to your advantage
Anthony Edwards once said that he learned his slow-step move from Luka Garza, and people laughed. But Garza has long been using his lack of athleticism as an advantage. Here, Batum gets completely confused and jumps way too early to contest Luka’s layup. I don’t blame him, though; Garza throws an incredibly heady and convincing up-fake during his first step (this is known as a pinoy step), and he uses a super slow second step to take advantage of Batum’s poor timing. Special stuff from Garza.
You’ll often hear coaches tell players not to throw cross-court passes, especially those with lots of air time. But here, White knows a lollipop pass is the only way for the ball to get through to the corner without being intercepted, and he throws it early enough that the defender doesn’t have enough time to react to it—he literally passes Hauser open. Furthermore, Garza makes an incredible last-second exit screen to buy Hauser some time, making for an awesome zone buster.
3. Blind pig and then some
I discussed the Celtics’ usage of blind pig action a couple weeks back in my Week 8 high IQ plays, but this play goes even another step. Queta quickly pitches the ball over to White and then immediately dives to the hoop and receives the pocket pass back from him. It’s simply a really smart play and some pretty special decision-making from Queta and White. This is the type of quick and decisive passing that made Indiana so effective last season. Pretty stuff.
The Celtics have the 6th highest offensive rebounding percentage in the NBA at 33.8%, and it’s a big reason why they’ve been so effective offensively. Part of this is strategic crashing, though—Boston has clearly emphasized crashing from the corner. Corner players are often not being guarded closely because their defender is the low man, so they therefore have a long runway to the rim for putbacks without facing a boxout. For players like Gonzalez, Walsh and others, this allows them to find a role in the offense without having to touch the ball, and it also allows worse shooters who have less gravity to be more effective role players.
1. Flare screen on the move
Another big-time screen here from Queta, who’s developing into one of the smartest screeners in the entire NBA. As White starts his drive to the rim, Hauser moves with him towards the corner—this is an off-ball movement pattern on the rise in the NBA, most notably used by the Grizzlies last year and the Heat this year. But Neemy’s flare screen gives Sam even more room, because he knows Brook Lopez isn’t going to sprint out to the perimeter—he’s more concerned with Derrick’s rim attack. This is such a smart play and I’m honestly not sure how to defend it. Great stuff.
