Today, we're continuing with our "Summer League Playbook" mini series and will be focusing on some of the "Zoom Actions" we saw the Boston Celtics run.
On July 30, we looked at how Matt Reynolds and the Sin City Celtics leaned on Chest Actions to generate open threes and clear drives toward the rim. Baylor Scheierman was the primary beneficiary of those sets.
Today, we're continuing with our "Summer League Playbook" mini series and will be focusing on some of the "Zoom Actions" we saw the franchise run.
Before we start looking at clips, now is probably a good time to define what a Zoom action is...
A Zoom action – AKA Chicago or Pistol – is arguably the most common play in the NBA outside of the pick-and-roll. It consists of a wide pindown for a player in the corner (usually a shooter or slasher) and a dribble hand-off from a big man around the top of the perimeter.
The above clip is a good example of a basic "Zoom Action." The play above involves Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White and Jayson Tatum. Tatum sets the pin-down for White, who then curls out of the corner to receive a hand-off from Porzingis. Zoom action complete. What happens after the hand-off has occurred is usually part of a read-and-react system.
In the instance above, White kicks the rock back to Tatum as the defense chases White and reacts to Porzingis' roll, thus creating an open three. That's the whole idea behind this type of play – with three moving parts, the aim is to create an advantage which can be exploited on the fly.
Let's dive into some of the "Zoom Actions" that we saw during Boston's Summer League.
Zoom Keep
The first variant of Boston's "Zoom" actions that we're going to look at is the "Zoom Keep." The only difference here is that rather than initiating the hand-off as a player curls off the pin-down, the big man opts to keep the ball. This variation usually occurs when the cutter's defender has navigated the pin-down and is right on their heels. By keeping the ball, the offense is allowing itself time to reset, or to attack a defense that's in rotation.
Amari Williams comes into the NBA having proven himself to be a talented passer for his position. During his time at both Drexel and Kentucky, Williams was also allowed to attack off the bounce, largely due to his tight handle and reliable decision-making.
So, when Scheierman's defender navigates Max Shulga's pindown, and his defender is right on his hip, and able to shoot back in front of him on a potential drive, it makes sense for Williams to decline the hand-off. From there, Williams makes the quick decision to drive the ball. You can see his defender has a split second where he's considering shading over to Scheierman, which allows Williams to create some panic as he turns the corner.
Williams does a solid job of getting to the rim off the drive. Unfortunately for him, his defender controls the angle well, absorbs contact, and forces a missed layup to render the action null and void.
As always, I'm more focused on the process over the results. Not every "keep action" will result in the big man driving the rock. Neemias Queta would likely lean into making the pass or initiating another dribble hand-off. Whereas Luka Garza's handling of that situation currently stands as a mystery to me (haven't seen enough film).
Zoom Reject