Film Room: Episode 10

“Film Room” is a segment on The Basketball Dictionary which breaks down random game clips via narration to dissect every component of a play. The idea is to demonstrate how small decisions — both by players and coaches — make a large impact on the outcome of possessions. A lot of terminology will be used, including much of what is already covered on the Dictionary itself.

Today’s episode focuses on the aggressive pick-and-roll coverage used by the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Utah Jazz in the first round of the NBA playoffs. It is commonly suggested that OKC has struggled to defend Utah because they are unecessarily aggressive, but a deeper dive into their coverage details reveals that it is execution, and not strategy, that has failed them.