The EuroLeague is the second-best league in the world after the NBA, and like the American professional league, its offensive style is fairly uniform: the average offense in the best league in the world outside the United States typically consists of an entry action, followed by an attempt to generate an advantage through a pick-and-roll, handoff, screen for a shooter, or post-up, followed by a read based on the defense's response. There are exceptions - teams like Valencia and Paris Basketball rely on aggressive defense, high pace, and quick shots - and then there's the distinctive style of Oded Kattash, Maccabi Tel Aviv's head coach.

If you had to describe Kattash's basketball in one sentence, you'd say its foundation is the coordination between the point guard and the bigs at the 4 and 5. Kattash likes the ball in his point guard’s hands, and his point guard often receives multiple ball screens in a single possession - with lots of re-screens and handoffs. Meanwhile, the bigs must be perfectly synchronized with one another: each needs to understand who is cutting to the paint and who is clearing out to create spacing. They also know that Kattash's point guards -Tamir Blatt in particular - will find them if they seal their defender in the paint, especially in transition.

Kattash's small forward - this season that's OShae Brissett - is expected to be ready to shoot threes from the corner, crash the offensive glass, and occasionally be involved in a corner pick-and-roll or handoff. The corner reference is no coincidence: floor-spacing is their primary responsibility, and their starting position is the corner. As for the shooting guard, Kattash prefers pairs of combo guards, like Wade Baldwin and Lorenzo Brown. This season, his shooting guard is Lonnie Walker - first and foremost a scorer - and the mismatch is noticeable: in Maccabi's last three EuroLeague games, Walker has shot 1-for-18 from the field.

The go-to action - 32 continuity ball screen

The go-to offense when Maccabi fails to score from a set play or in transition is the 32 continuity ball screen, with 3 perimeter players and 2 designated ball screeners.

Here's an example: Tamir Blatt rejects the ball screen, moves the ball to the corner, then spaces out to the top of the key. While Santos (#3) moves to set the screen, Zach Hankins (#35) pops out to the opposite elbow, to enable a possible Santos roll to the paint. Santos continues to set a screen for John DiBartolomeo, who swings the ball back to Blatt. Hankins sets a ball screen for Blatt, rolls, and finishes after a laser Blatt pass.

The key - this time Santos pops out. That's a continuity offense where the bigs set ball screens and constantly relocate to maintain ideal spacing.

Staple no. 2 - the transition double drag

Another staple of Kattash's offense is the transition double drag, where Maccabi's bigs often slip early to get lob passes from Blatt. Here, the first screener slips even before he actually screens, and Blatt finds him with a lob - which results in a foul. Meanwhile, Brissett comes off a screen to the opposite corner (an exit action) to pull the tag defender away.

This time, though, Blatt finds Jaylen Hoard, who picks and pops, and then gets the ball back with a handoff, before finding the rolling Hoard. Again, the second big, Santos, spaces the floor while the other big rolls, and Hoard finds Santos for a three-pointer.

The Playbook - Zoom-Ghost-Wing Spain Ball Screen

This play shows just how central the point guard is in Kattash's offense. Blatt receives the ball after a swing, in a zoom action. Blatt now dribbles left, receives a ghost screen from DiBartolomeo, who continues off a flare screen to the weakside wing. After dribbling left, Blatt gets a ball screen on the left wing - and the screener, Santos, receives a back screen (a Spain ball screen). Blatt typically finds the bigs in motion, as happens here.

Notice the recurring element in Kattash's offense: as Santos receives the back screen, the second big, Gur Lavy (#4), moves to the weakside elbow. One big move inside, the other creates spacing outside - a fundamental part of Kattash's system.

Here's the exact same play, this time from a sideline out-of-bounds set. Blatt can't deliver the ball to Roman Sorkin cutting inside off the back screen, so he swings through Jaylen Hoard, who flashes to the weakside elbow, and from there to Jimmy Clark III, who rejects the empty side ball screen and finishes with a three.

The Playbook - Get Slip Double Staggered Ball Screen

This is another play that illustrates the core principles of Kattash's offense - the point guard receives multiple pick-and-rolls in a single possession, and the bigs move in coordination. Will Rayman zips to the elbow, receives the ball from the point guard Iffe Lundberg, returns it in a handoff, and slips to the weakside. Lundberg receives a staggered ball screen, passes to Sorkin, gets the ball back, and then receives another ball screen before finishing with a short jumper. Notice Jaylen Hoard, creating space by moving to the weakside elbow - ready for a possible cut to the paint by the second big, Sorkin.

The Playbook - ATO Danilovič

Kattash's Maccabi also uses the Danilovič cut - a sharp front cut from the corner toward the basket - as an ATO (after timeout) play. The action starts with a “Knicks action”: a wing pick-and-roll followed by a ghost screen for Blatt in the middle. The play's punchline is Brissett's cut, known as the Danilovič cut. He receives the ball from Blatt and finishes with a dunk.

The Playbook - Shuffle Handoff

This play also begins with a ball screen, but this time it's only a decoy. Sorkin sets a ball screen for Clark, who passes to Jaylen Hoard at the elbow and cuts to the corner. Hoard swings to Sorkin, makes a shuffle cut off a screen by Lonnie Walker, and Walker receives the ball in a handoff from Sorkin. Walker drives and kicks to Clark, who finishes with a three.