Golden State Warriors Pistol Handoff Play by Reggie Bibb
(Modified to fit our personnel)
Steve Kerr, in his first as head coach of the Golden State Warriors, has done an amazing job. He inherited a team that has grown and improved in each of the last 3 years, and has been able to take them to another level. It’s hard to believe that just 5 years ago, the Warriors were 22-56 and coming off a stretch of 14 of 16 losing seasons.
He has been able to piggy-back off of the success of Mark Jackson by maintaining their defensive prowess while helping them grow offensively.
Golden State does a great job of running their shooters through multiple actions and off multiple screens/handoffs/ball screens in trying to create great looks for them and others. They also do a great job of getting good spacing and playing ‘after the play.’
Here is a modification of a pistol handoff play that I’ve seen them run. The Warriors have used it to get Thompson and Curry attacking off a pin down into a dribble handoff. We have modified it for my high school team who runs a 4 out motion offense.
We want to run this play for our undersized 4. He is really good at getting speed quickly and exploding off of handoffs. We begin with the 4 on the weak side wing and we have our 2 screen away for him to get a touch at the guard spot. Having him start in the wing instead of the guard spot allows us to get some movement/ screening action and makes the defense react to something early by screening him up.
Our 1 reverses to the 4 who completes the reversal to the 2 on the wing. Our 1 screens away for the 3. After completing the reversal to the 2, the 5, who plays at the high post for us, sets a UCLA screen for the 4. That is our first look. If he’s not open, the 2 hits the 5 at the high post, then sets a pin down screen for the 4. The 4 curls the pin down to receive a dribble handoff from the 5.
The 1 sets a fade screen to the corner for the 3 to occupy the defense and to catch the 3’s defender sleeping so we can get an open three from the corner.
On the penetration from the 4, he has the 3 fading to the corner, the 5 rolling to the basket, and 2 in the opposite corner, and the 1 directly behind him for a throwback.
I have linked a few videos demonstrating the Pistol Handoff Play action. One shows the Warriors running the set and hitting Bogut rolling to the basket. The second video is a clip I caught from the 4/22/15 Michigan vs Ohio State game. The third clip is the Charlotte Hornets first play in a game against the Dallas Mavericks. None are exactly how we draw it up, but both show how effective the penetration can be.
Good luck to you all implementing this action.
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Coach Reggie Bibb is a former college basketball player who has coached at the college, high school, junior high school and AAU levels. He started out as an assistant coach at Seminole State College where he helped head coach Tom Mills earn two conference top two finishes in three years. In two out of his three seasons in Seminole, the Seminole State Trojans won at least 20 games, including one regular season conference championship and another trip to the conference tournament championship game.
Reggie has since coached at the junior high and high school levels, and even spent a year as an assistant principal.
His strengths are in player development, building team culture and chemistry, and building offensive and defensive systems that accentuate his players’ abilities and that help his players utilize what they do best to allow them to have individual and contribute to team success. He also is a great communicator and great at building relationships with his players, parents, and administration.
Reggie currently lives in Lavon, TX, just outside of Dallas, with his wife, Alyssa, and his three daughters: Alexa, London-Mila, and Zoe.
“I hope that I can bring you all content that can help you build your own personal philosophy as a person and as a coach, content that will help you reach and grow your players, and content that will help you put your team in position to be successful through effective strategies, systems, and quick hitters.”
Twitter: @Rhbibb
Instagram: Bibbr
Facebook: A Coach’s Diary
Click on the pdf link to download the Golden State Warriors Pistol Handoff Play:
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