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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Playcalling is a powerful tool for an NBA coach, if one constantly challenged by the scouting apparatus that envelops the league. Most teams have a detailed understanding of what their opponents might run in a given game. That knowledge makes every little twist of creativity all the more important. Even an old standby can find new life with a slightly different setup, as a play\u2019s design draws power from its inability to be recognized.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Flexibility is key. The playbook itself is something of a living document, changing shape over time to keep ahead of the scouting curve and meet a team\u2019s evolving needs. Today we\u2019ll take stock of eight examples\u2014some old, some new\u2014that balance those factors to put X\u2019s and O\u2019s into effective, creative action.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;\u2022 MORE NBA: The rise of Porzingis&amp;nbsp;| Give and Go: Why was Blatt fired?&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Dallas Mavericks&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Inbound situations\u2014particularly those in close games\u2014have trained defenders to expect all kinds of layered cutting and screening to free up a particular shooter. Rick Carlisle and the Mavericks, meanwhile, engineered a closing set against the Celtics in which the target of the play barely moved at all before scoring.&amp;nbsp;Zaza&amp;nbsp;Pachulia, Dirk&amp;nbsp;Nowitzki, and Wesley Matthews lined up at the free throw line, which brought their individual defenders to line up accordingly.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The operative action is a Matthews cut; by jumping between his own defender (Avery Bradley) and&amp;nbsp;Nowitzki\u2019s&amp;nbsp;(Jae Crowder), Matthews manages to draw the attention of both. All the while,&amp;nbsp;Nowitzki&amp;nbsp;backs up slowly to the three-point line and moves&amp;nbsp;Pachulia&amp;nbsp;into position as a protective screener. By the time the Celtics know they\u2019ve been had, it\u2019s far too late.\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Charlotte Hornets\u200B&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The NBA is in an age of misdirection. Players understand basic play actions so well that they sniff them out almost immediately. Those triggers that might not catch their eye are well scouted and discussed at shootaround. To counter that, the best offenses in the league litter their set plays with all sorts of loose ends\u2014setup sequences that appear as though they might be relevant to a play\u2019s progression as to occupy a few defenders.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Working with that kind of misdirection, however, requires that players sell certain possibilities. Kemba Walker takes that role here for Charlotte. After receiving the inbound pass from Nicolas Batum, Walker essentially follows Batum in his cut across the court. Marvin Williams, who had screened for Batum at the elbow, then cuts across the floor in the opposite direction while Walker mirrors.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Walker goes through the motion on those sequences before taking the play to its natural end: A crossover into high pick-and-roll that comes almost immediately after Williams\u2019s cut, when Cody Zeller\u2014who had set a cross screen for Williams\u2014repositions himself to screen off Walker\u2019s defender. The spacing created in Charlotte\u2019s preamble gives Walker all the room he needs to draw in the help defense of Trey Lyles and kick a pass out to Williams for three.\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Golden State Warriors&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Golden State runs some really nice plays out of timeouts made all the more terrifying by the fact that they don\u2019t much need Stephen Curry in order to function. Here he\u2019s the inbounder \u2014a crucial role, to be sure, but one that doesn\u2019t draw any particular value from Curry\u2019s gravity as a shooter. The key is creating moments of defensive hesitation.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Watch the Pacers here as they attempt to track Leandro Barbosa:&amp;nbsp;When Barbosa sets a screen for Andre Iguodala on the left side of the lane, Budinger has little choice but to hesitate as he waits for his teammate to clear the screen. From there, Barbosa curls around an immediate screen from Harrison Barnes and darts down the lane. C.J. Miles, who had been defending Barnes, is just a moment late in recognizing Barbosa\u2019s cut for the threat it is and has no chance of recovering into good position. Indiana converges, though by then Barbosa is already at the rim.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;\u2022 MORE NBA: Stephen Curry gets the better of Kawhi Leonard&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Los Angeles Clippers&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This baseline inbounds play from Doc Rivers is a welcome reminder of the power in encouraging defensive overreaction. A single cut from Jamal Crawford pulls two defenders\u2014Alec Burks and Trey Lyles\u2014off balance. From there, Lyles\u2019s mark (Paul Pierce) is able to duck behind a DeAndre Jordan screen at the three-point line and play off of Utah\u2019s desperation. Neither Lyles nor Trevor Booker want to surrender this look to Pierce, which causes both to scramble into Jordan\u2019s screen and out of good defensive position. The play only ends as it does because Pierce is sharp enough to recognize this development immediately, though he\u2019s aided by the fact that this entire sequence was designed to that end.\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;San Antonio Spurs&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Basketball die-hards should be well acquainted with this play, which Gregg Popovich occasionally dusts off to make an opposing defense look foolish. Most every color commentator in the NBA will issue a general warning about the inbounder on possessions such as these; a defense\u2019s natural preoccupation with the four opponents actually in play grants a certain invisibility to the inbound passer after initiating the play.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;San Antonio twists that idea even further by using one of its bigs (usually Boris Diaw, here LaMarcus Aldridge) at the elbow to catch and enable the inbounder\u2019s backdoor cut. Scouting this play closes the back door with relative ease. Defending it as one would any other sideline inbound situation, however, leaves little time or capacity for help after Manu Ginobili makes his move.\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Toronto Raptors&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this design, the Raptors run what amounts to two simultaneous pick-and-rolls at the top of the floor. While DeMar DeRozan works the two-man game with Patrick Patterson on the left side, Kyle Lowry (along with his own screening counterpart, Luis Scola) prepares for a kickout in the middle. Once the pass comes, Lowry goes\u2014putting into motion a sequence in which four defenders are pulled in varying directions as Scola rolls, Patterson pops, and DeRozan thrives off of the defense\u2019s preoccupation.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;\u2022&amp;nbsp;MORE NBA: Inside job: DeRozan continues to thrive in the paint&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Atlanta Hawks&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What makes this play so devious is that Atlanta typically uses inbound situations as a fairly basic entry point for its offense. Jeff Teague or Kyle Korver might run around some screens to catch the ball in a particular space on the floor, from which the Hawks can flow into their usual, trained rhythm. It\u2019s something between pure improvisation and a set play; the scripted movement is arranged simply to get a playmaker some momentum as Atlanta rolls into its usual stuff.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mike Budenholzer plays with that expectation here. Kent Bazemore lines up at the top of the key with Teague stationed at the free throw line and both bigs (Al Horford and Mike Scott) lined up at the left free throw line extended. Bazemore\u2019s defender, Suns rookie Kevin Booker, is cooked the moment he sets up to deny the pass. Positioning himself between Bazemore and the inbound passer (Kyle Korver) may take away any curl toward the ball, though in doing so Booker leaves himself vulnerable to an up screen from Teague at the free throw line. All five defenders have vacated the paint in anticipation of more complex screening action, thus affording Bazemore a clean look at the rim. The Hawks collect.\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Portland Trail Blazers&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;With the right personnel, the simplest movement can make all the difference. Everything here is fairly routine; Allen Crabbe comes off of Meyers Leonard\u2019s down screen to retrieve the ball at the top of the floor; Damian Lillard, having given up possession, darts around an Ed Davis screen on the weak side only to double back; and Davis, having rolled into open space, makes himself available for a pass and score. Within that simplicity is a reminder of the power of personnel.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;\u2022 MORE NBA: SI.com presents its NBA&amp;nbsp;midseason&amp;nbsp;awards&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This basic progression is made powerful by the fact that the defense can\u2019t allow a shooter like Lillard to make a catch with a clear view of the rim. When he doubles back, two Heat defenders come with him. Lillard punishes the attention with a quick, high pass to Davis. Some defenses will live with a player like Davis having to make decisions under duress. That they have to make that concession, however, is a testament to how Lillard\u2019s very presence catalyzes play action.\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/nba/2016/01/26/nba-playcalling-rick-carlisle-gregg-popovich-steve-kerr-warriors-spurs-mavericks>