With head coach Juwan Howard deep into his second season at the helm, now is a good time to look at some of his more frequently used sets on offense. With six years experience as an NBA assistant with the Miami Heat, one would expect a heavy NBA influence and that is exactly what we're seeing. 

Pistol is a set that Heat head man Erik Spoelstra dials up to successful results often, and considering his reputation as a premier schematic coach, Juwan Howard was smart enough to incorporate this very action in Ann Arbor. 

Overview + How The Heat Run Pistol

Pistol action is a three-man game, with the most basic variation having the PG bringing the ball up the floor on one side of the court with a wing set up above the free-throw line and a big at the top of the key. 

The first action is generally a pass from the PG to the wing, which then gets into a give-and-go situation where the wing passes back to the PG. From there the PG has a few options. Attack the rim, or wait for a ballscreen from the big. 

Here, an elite defender in Jaylen Brown switches, so Dragic opts to wait for the ballscreen. That proves to be the better decision, as you then put an undersized Daniel Theis in drop coverage where he's not quite big/long/agile enough to deter Dragic from penetrating while simultaneously taking away the lob. This possession ends in a lob to Bam Adebayo for an easy deuce.

While it's important to note that it will rarely work out this spectacularly/easily at the college level because that level of talent simply doesn't exist for the most part, the basic framework of Pistol action is very much on display in Michigan's offense. 

Michigan Pistol Action (Wing Ballscreen)

The Wolverines most often use a variation that I'll label as Pistol Wing Ballscreen for purposes of making things simple and easy to understand. This generally involves Franz Wagner at the wing in the aforementioned set-up, with Eli Brooks getting a solid amount of reps in the same position. Hunter Dickinson is usually the big at the top of the key that will set the screen. 

The first possession in the clip we see Eli become the wing in Pistol and Smith finds him on a dribble hand-off before Dickinson sets the screen. Really not much going on for the weakside, other than Franz clearing out and Livers relocating to provide spacing. Brooks hits Reuvers with an upfake, and Eli connects on a turnaround.

The second possession goes a bit deeper in the progressions. Same setup here, but Franz is the wing now, with Dickinson setting the ballscreen. Look at the weakside, Johns sets a flare screen for Brown on what could've been an open shot but for a mishap (more on that below). Instead, Wagner puts Davis "in jail" as he applies backside pressure and Trice reaches in to commit a foul once he recognizes his teammate is in a compromised position. 

The mishap - Brown doesn't appear to know where he's supposed to be on this particular possession. On the weakside, you can clearly see Johns signal to Chaundee to relocate so he can set the flare screen. That split second indecision really doesn't give Franz the ability to make a read in the manner it was designed. Still, Wagner makes the best of it by making an NBA level read by putting Davis in jail.

The third possession is the identical variation and three-man game personnel, with Chaundee replacing Johns as the weakside screener and Livers replacing Brown as the shooter coming off the flare screen.

This should've been a Franz pass to an open Livers for three (you can literally see Livers waiving his arms), but Wagner never even looks that way. He's pre-determined what he's going to do and puts Davis in jail again. He then proceeds to take a bad contested two despite 23 seconds remaining on the clock.

But in terms of coaching, you want designed actions leading to open shots that maximize the personnel. Those possessions would have done just that but for lack of awareness and proper reads. So from a coaching evaluation, the second and third possessions would grade out very good, but the decision-making from the players (Brown and Franz) would not. Any time you can get an open catch + shoot 3 from Brown and/or Livers that is a good set. 

[Hit THE JUMP for another Pistol variation and confirmation that Juwan Howard is running the show]

Michigan Pistol Action (Five Down)

Howard went to the Five Down (you can hear Howard calling this set out in the first possession despite RCMB claims that Martelli is the de-facto head coach!) variation of Pistol against Wisconsin. The setup is a bit different in that the wing (Franz/Eli) is now set up several feet outside the corner 3-point line and the big (Dickinson/Davis) sets up precisely at the corner 3-point line rather than the top of the key. Hence, the "Five Down" language, since the big is stationed lower in relation to the variations detailed above. The basic premise here is that Wisconsin, by using a soft hedge approach, invites a layup from the roller or an open triple on the skip pass because of the angle/positioning of the action in relation to the defensive approach. 

The initial action is much the same, with a give-and-go between the wing and the point guard, but the big sets a side ballscreen for the guard and rolls to the rim. The threat of the easy layup from the rolling big is what makes this variation work. On the first possession above, Smith leverages that threat, Wisconsin helps two passes away (that would be Wahl on the first possession) and is banking on Smith lacking the requisite vision to beat them with a skip pass. Smith makes the skip pass, and the Badger defense is in scramble mode. Franz attacks the closeout and Ford helps, as Livers pops open after relocating to the top of the key. Easy triple.

The second possession exploits the Wisconsin soft-hedge approach better than the first, but an execution error by Smith doesn't provide the intended result. Wisconsin was burned earlier by tagging the roller with the defender guarding the wing shooter, so this time Gard has the guy tasked with defending the corner shooter (Davis on this possession) provide the help on the roll. Only Davis is a bit late so there is a window for a dumpoff and easy layup. Smith sees the window, but doesn't utilize a bounce-pass and the ball is deflected. The play blows up and Eli forces a one-leg runner with adequate time left on the clock to get something better. But the open shot was there. Again, that's what you want from your coach.

Howard dialed up the identical set in the second half and this time Smith has learned his lesson. After the give-and-go + ballscreen, Smith delivers a beautiful bounce pass to a rolling Davis.......but he cannot reel it in. This would've been a sure layup/dunk and likely a +1, as Wahl was late with the tag and still moving. Again, the available points are there, the execution not so much. 

The final possession comes against Maryland, where Turgeon uses a hedge + recover approach because they are rightfully haunted by Hunter Dickinson points in the paint. Wiggins and Scott are both helping here in an effort to deter Smith. Mike makes a good read and finds Livers with the skip pass and the Terrapin defense is in scramble mode. After Livers attacks with two dribbles, Maryland brings help and Isaiah finds Franz after collapsing the defense. Wagner attacks the closeout, Michigan plays all-around the world before finding Livers for an open triple. Swish.