Wing Reverse

In today's post we will take a closer look at the wing reverse.

We've seen the wing reverse play before in the context of the moment of truth.  Let's take a look at some of the options of the wing reverse.



In this clip we see the Hawks applying half court pressure.  At the moment of truth, we see Scottie Pippen pop out from the wing to receive the ball and Toni Kukoc pop out for a blind pig.  Pippen's defender is ready to pick off the pass, so Ron Harper passes to Luc Longley at the high post.  Because Pippen is being denied, he goes backdoor to the basket (hence the term "Wing Reverse").  Pippen gets the pass on the move and finishes with the easy two hand dunk.

Let's take a look at the Lakers last game against the Knicks:



We see Steve Blake encountering full court pressure.  Pau Gasol responds by flashing to the high post.  Luke Walton is being denied at the wing, so the Blake initiates the wing reverse by passing to Gasol in the high post:
- Walton, being denied by his man, cuts backdoor
- The lead guard, Blake, sets a screen (called "guard squeeze action") for the off guard Shannon Brown
The Knicks decide they don't want to play defense and allow Brown to waltz in for the nasty dunk.



Artest is denied at the wing, so Fisher passes to Bynum at the high post:
- Artest cuts backdoor
- Fisher frees Kobe off the squeeze action
The Knicks lazily communicate for a switch.  Felton, instead of switching to Kobe, foolishly gambles for a steal leaving Kobe wide open for a catch and shoot three


Let's see how a triangle can be formed out of the wing reverse:



In this October game against the Rockets, the Lakers call a wing reverse out of a side out of bounds: Pau receives the ball at the high post, Kobe cuts backdoor, and Odom receives the handoff off the squeeze action.  Odom and Gasol engage in a side pick and roll.  Odom dribbles off the pick and delivers the ball to Fisher, who makes a direct entry into the wing position.  From here a quick triangle is formed:

The ball is passed to Artest, who has the mismatch in the post.  He quickly makes his move, so Yao has to come over to help.  Ron dumps the ball to Gasol and Yao has no choice but to foul to stop the easy layup.