One aspect that greatly intrigues me is delving into the philosophy of a new coach. When a team appoints a new lead in charge of x’s and o’s, the specific adjustments made to offensive and defensive strategies are particularly fascinating to analyze. In the case of Nate Tibbetts, who recently joined the Phoenix Mercury without prior WNBA and limited head coaching experience, understanding his strategic approach and observing the transformation he brings to the Mercury’s offensive tactics is my primary focus.
I analyzed nearly every offensive possession of the Mercury this season to uncover the strategies favored by Tibbetts and the impact he has brought to the team. Here are my findings.
The Principles
The Phoenix Mercury runs a very simplistic offensive scheme. They don’t require many advanced sets or actions because when your team has two safety valves, you don’t necessarily need them. While the ball can get stuck at times, many Mercury possessions end in Diana Taurasi or Brittney Griner’s hands, and it’s hard to argue with that for the two future hall-of-famers. Overall, they run a “41” offense where they have four-out across the three-point line and a big on the post, typically on the weak side. On occasion, especially when Griner is on the bench, the team will run five-out with Natasha Mack or Liz Dixon.
This team is full of on-ball creators, so a four-out offense portends to great spacing for Kahleah Copper or Natasha Cloud drives, drive-and-kicks for open Sophie Cunningham or Rebecca Allen threes, iso opportunities, and plenty of staggered screens to get open shots.
Four-out also gives plenty of room for backdoor cutters to get to the rim for high-percentage shots. Like in the clip above, when Phoenix spreads out, it can empty the strong side, leaving a player to cut backdoor for the layup.
Most possessions consist of some combination of back, down, and pindown screens to produce pick-and-rolls and pick-and-pops, but whenever things get stagnant, a quick screen for a deep Taurasi jumper or a Griner entry into the post will always be there to bail them out.
But those simple actions aren’t why you called. Let’s look at some of their more advanced actions to get the looks they’re seeking.
Ram
“Ram” action involves a sequence where one player sets an off-ball screen for another player, who subsequently sets an on-ball screen. This play can be highly effective due to the challenge it poses for the defender of the initial screener, who often finds it difficult to recover, thus forcing the defense into a scrambling situation. Effective defense against the ram screen necessitates cohesive communication and swift rotations to avoid defensive breakdowns such as double-teaming one offensive player, which can lead to open opportunities for other players. The ram screen offers multiple variations and options, complicating defensive strategies and making it a challenging play to guard.
Because the Mercury has said on-ball creators, their offensive outcomes exhibit a wide range of possibilities. At times, it may involve an Allen pull-up jumper, while in other instances, screening actions create opportunities for Cloud to drive to the basket. This diversity proves to be an effective strategy for Phoenix when they require quick scoring.
Horns
Let’s look at one of the most basic layers teams add to an offense. A horns set usually has two bigs at the elbows and two shooters in the corners, taking the shape of horns. The set contains a plethora of variations to get nearly any player on the court a good look at the basket.
In the clip above, note the different ways they run horns. Depending on the look they want to get, it can be a series of screens to open up a shooting or driving lane.
Miami and Guard-Set Screens
Let’s kick it up a notch. Running Miami action is one of the most common actions in both the men’s and women’s leagues. It consists of a dribble handoff (DHO) where the passing player then sets a ball screen. It’s called Miami after the LeBron James-era Miami Heat teams who loved to run the action. It’s a great way to get a shooter the ball in space.
As shown in the clip above, the Mercury loves to use Miami on the wing, where the angle can lead to both open shots and driving lanes for easy twos.
Sometimes, using a guard to set a screen for another guard rather than a big or a guard on a big can confuse the defense and get a switch that the offensive player can better take advantage of, like in the clip below.
Ghost
One of the Mercury’s favorite screening actions is the ghost screen, which ironically, isn’t a screen at all. It sets up as a player moving to set the screen then at the last moment, clears into space weakside without actually setting said screen. This action can freeze the defense, causing the defenders to double the ballhandler, leaving the ghoster wide-open.
The Mercury love to run this action for any of their shooters, especially Taurasi and Cunningham. The utilization of a straightforward yet highly effective ghost action explains why nearly one-third of their points are generated from three-point range.
Spain
Spain action, popularized by the namesake country, is when a screener engages in pick-and-roll with the ballhandler, and then receives a back screen as they roll to the basket. Like each action above, Spain opens wrinkles within the offense for the ballhandler, roller, and back screener. Spain pick-and-roll is difficult to defend because no matter which path it takes to cover the action, someone is bound to be open, as in the clip below.
DHO Spain Leak
Despite the simplistic offensive scheme, the Mercury do run this action often (and credit to the great Evin Gualberto for helping me with the name). This is a variation on Spain action where the ballhandler engages in a DHO, flowing into a pick-and-roll. The roller receives a backscreen (the Spain action) from a guard, who “leaks’ out to behind the arc for a three. This is mostly run for Taurasi, as you’ll see in the clip below.
One Hitters – Actions They Use On Occasion
I wanted to showcase a couple of other actions I’ve seen the Mercury run.
Hammer
A critical element in effective offensive operations is occupying help with weakside movement. Hammer is a great way to do that. While the ballhandler drives to the basket, typically baseline, a shooter drops to the corner, often through screening, prepped for the skip base and the shot. It’s somewhat surprising not to see Phoenix use this more considering they have good spacing.
Chicago
Nearly the opposite of the Miami action, Chicago comprises a pindown screen for a player to receive a DHO. The action creates space for the ballhandler because the defender has to navigate through the initial pindown and the DHO.
Veer
Ram action’s cousin, veer entails a player who sets an on-ball screen, then immediately moves into an off-ball screen rather than rolling. The action typically pulls the tagging defender from the ballhandler, clearing space.
Chase and Pinch Post
Two related actions operate in the mold of “give and go”. In chase action, a player passes to a teammate, following that pass into a DHO or pitch, an easy transition to getting downhill to the rim. In pinch post, which the Mercury runs well with their bigs, Griner is the only player on her side of the court. The pass comes into her at the elbow, giving her options for the passer to move in a DHO, tossed back in a pitch, or faked for a turnaround jumper.
