In what can easily be called the Nets best win this season and it came during the best stretch of basketball the Nets have enjoyed in two years, but it wasn’t easy. Late in the Nets’ 88-79 victory over the Eastern Conference leading Boston Celtics, the Nets were clinging to a two-point lead, but used some excellent execution to get some breathing room.
Let’s take a closer look.
Probably one of the most skilled pick and roll players in the game today, the Nets wisely opt to put star point guard Deron Williams in another such situation. It wasn’t just your classic 1-5 or 1-4 high ball screen, instead, the Nets used lots of motion and had plenty of options out of this set.
As you see here, the play is beginning with Deron Williams setting a cross screen for Brook Lopez. After screening, Deron Williams cuts to the top of the key and runs of a Kris Humphries screen. As you can see Humphries waiting to screen at the top of the key.
This screening the screener action is used quite regularly in set basketball plays.
After Williams comes off the Humphries screen and receives the ball, Hump immediately turns around and sets a ball screen for Williams. As you can see at the bottom of the screen, Brook Lopez’s defender, Glen Davis, has his head turned and loses sights of Brook. Lopez takes advantage of this, and cuts behind him, beating him to a spot directly under the rim.
Brook does a great job sealing off Davis in the paint. There is a great window for Williams to pass into, and Williams, the master creator does so, executing a picture perfect one-handed bounce pass. His pass was perfectly timed, and perfectly placed, leading Brook right into his jump hook shot.
A thing of beauty and an encouraging sign of chemistry between two of our cornerstones.
Watch it all unfold live:
