Learning from Tuomas Iisalo’s Defense Techniques

This blog provides a brief overview of Tuomas Iisalo’s clinic for the Serbian Association of Basketball Coaches. 

 

Iisalo has enjoyed tremendous success over the last few seasons, coaching with the Crailshelm Merlins and Baskets Bonn in Germany, before making the move over to Paris Basketball and winning the EuroCup in the 2023/24 season. This preceded his move to the Memphis Grizzlies as lead assistant for the 2024/25 season, where he was announced as Head Coach this off-season.

While his principles of play stand out as being incredibly effective, what is clear from the Serbian clinic is that he embraces contemporary skill acquisition. He even made reference to the need to move on from blocked drills and for coaches to embrace variability in practice.

One of the main take-aways from watching Iisalo’s Bonn and Paris teams is the level of specificity and intentionality with his principles of play. There is no generic or “random basketball” offensively, with his teams notable for their relentless pace, extreme coherency with their coverage solutions, effective spacing templates and relentless target hunting. Defensively, he has employed schemes like tagging up to great success, but one of the cornerstones of his defensive system is his pick and roll defense. 

With Paris, Iisalo had the top pick and roll defensive efficiency in the league. In the clinic, Iisalo makes a point of highlighting how with the extreme frequency of pick and roll in the modern game, it means that if you can defend it well, it is likely your team will have a high defensive rating. As Iisalo says “be good at the things which happen most.” It is impossible to have a good defensive net rating without a good pick and roll defense. This makes it really clear for coaches as to where priorities should be placed on the defensive end!

In this blog, we have summarized some of the key take-aways for coaches from the clinic…

Roles and Responsibilities in the Pick and Roll

The type of show coverage shown in the clinic is unique, and it was interesting hearing how this coverage emerged. Iisalo explained that this principle of play was adopted as a result of not having guards able to fight over screens and get back in front, as well as having switchable bigs. 

Iisalo states that if you want to create long closeouts offensively, you should not give them defensively. The solution therefore when playing the show is to keep it 2-on-2. This is very different to how we see a traditional show coverage used with a consistent tag from the “last” defender.

Iisalo stated how the first priority is the screener’s defender calling left or right to give the direction of the screen in relation to the handler. The on-ball defender then sends the handler towards the screen to take away the reject. The most important thing is that they must be able to contain 1-on-1 and not concede a blow-by if there is a slip or ghost screen. Note the different terminology we use at Transforming between both: a slip is where no contact is made and the screener goes towards the rim, whereas the ghost is no contact but popping beyond the 3PT line. The handler’s defender chooses whatever foot angle they can to accomplish this. 

The second part of this is the screener’s movement. Versus a slip, the screener’s defender “dances” with the screener. When the screener comes to set, on the slip they will short and violently stunt with one step towards the ball, before they then recover. This means without “setting” it on the ball screen, it is effectively treated as a 1-on-1.

Against a touch and go screen, where contact is briefly made, the screener’s defender tries to reroute the handler, taking one very short step up before recovering. The goal is to NOT put two on the ball. The handler’s defender cannot get hit as the defense will not work if they run into the screen. The first option is to bully over but if they can’t, avoid the hit and chase. The screener’s defender must then recover to the screener with vision, seeing handler and ball.

Then finally, against a hit and hold where contact is made for longer = “as long as they (screener) stays, you stay.” When they go, you go. The concept of this is to show with a loaded leg to be able to sprint back and recover as opposed to being off balance. 

 

Other Notable Points

Screener’s Defender: Keep the ball handler confined to one-third of the court (e.g., middle).

 

Ball Handler’s Defender:

• • Apply pressure on a potential pass.
  • No rejects at all costs.
  • “Plug” the pass to the roller before moving back out to the ball handler as the screener recovers 
  • No screen = play it 1-on-1

 

X-Out Situations:

• • Rub: Execute an X-out on passes to the corner.

Side Spacing:

• The “last”defender has more time to recover.
• Utilize a goalkeeper approach for both spacings. 45 defender is in the line of the pass to the corner to make it a slower pass. 

• Drag Screens:
  • Push into the stunt; maintain contact with the roller at all times.

• Double Drag: Watch how Iisalo proposes defending the double drag.