“Miami”
Term: Miami
Definition: a DHO (dribble handoff) followed by a ballscreen
Synonyms: Orlando, DHO ballscreen
See Also: Chicago (a screen → DHO rather than a DHO → screen), Pistol
Origin of the Name: The Miami Heat
How It Works: In the diagram above, the ballhandler on the right wing (1) DHOs to the guard coming from the right corner (2). That guard then receives a ballscreen from the big coming from the top of the key (5).
Sometimes the guard who receives the DHO will execute a “throw and get” with the big. Instead of dribbling into a pick-and-roll, he passes the ball ahead to the big and gets it back via a second handoff.
Why It Works: PG-SG or PG-SF DHOs on the wing were a favorite of the LeBron James-era Miami Heat, whose point guards — such as Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole — were never the team’s best playmakers. A DHO on the wing was an easy way to get the ball out of Chalmers’s hands and into LeBron’s or Dwayne Wade’s hands instead.
Coincidentally, a guard-to-guard handoff on the wing is sometimes called “Jayhawk,” after the action used to set up the 3-pointer Mario Chalmers hit to help his Kansas Jayhawks beat Derrick Rose’s Memphis Tigers in the 2008 NCAA Championship game.
Like Chicago action, Miami is a great way to get the ball to an off-guard like Bradley Beal with an opportunity to score, instead asking him to initiate the offense against a set defense. It can be a designed play after a timeout or part of a flow offense, especially in transition.
Examples:
After a timeout, the Atlanta Hawks run Miami out of Horns — Leak:
Cedi Osman pull-up 3 from Miami — throw and get:
Sometimes Miami action is followed by a double ballscreen, making the play Miami Double Drag or Miami 77:
And then sometimes a team runs Miami Double Drag Veer Stagger Gaggle:
