Paris 2024 Olympics Preview: The Exhibition Tour
Extending the Pressure
If it wasn’t already clear from last summer, Jordi Fernández likes to play small, at least when it comes to the SMNT. By playing 4 guards/wings around Dwight Powell, Canada was able to switch every screening action and lean into their perimeter defensive talent. As I covered earlier in the Paris Olympics Preview series, it was this very lineup construction that powered Canada to a Bronze Medal at the 2023 World Cup.
However, playing small does leave Canada vulnerable defending inside the paint and restricted area. Aside from Khem Birch, the remainder of Canada’s big man depth are not rim protectors by trade. The Canadian wing tandem of Brooks/Dort/Barrett also aren’t high flying sweepers from the backline, capable of covering for their teammates’ breakdowns. Given that a layup/dunk remains the most efficient action in basketball, there’s legitimate concern that by playing small, Canada is gift-wrapping opponents easy buckets.
So what can Fernández and co. do? One option was brought to my attention by Caitlin Cooper and draws from the Indiana Pacers playbook. Among the many things Andrew Nembhard does well, his ability to pick up 94 feet and hound opposing ball handlers stands out. In the clip below, it’s his individual defensive effort alone that shaves 12 seconds off the shot clock and keeps the USA from getting into their actions until late into the possession.
Extending ball pressure offers two main advantages. It allows Canada to generate turnovers and kickstart their transition offense. Arguably more importantly though, it keeps opposing teams out of the paint, addressing one of the major concerns I have with playing small for extended periods of time. Canada really reaps the benefits from extended pressure when their opponents lack high level ball handling and perimeter creation talent. For example, in the game against France, Canada was ruthlessly aggressive in extending their ball pressure, especially in the 1st half. Off of a FT make, Canada routinely had 4 players in the French backcourt, matching up and marking an opponent. As a result, the French offense stalled and often had trouble even generating a touch within the arc until much later in the shot clock (there were even possessions where they never broke the arc).
As an aside, this isn’t the first time the SMNT has went to consistent full court pressure. As I covered back in the February AmeriCup Qualifiers Window, Canada (under current assistant coach Nate Bjorkgren) had a similar scheme to extend their ball pressure against Nicaragua. Here’s a direct excerpt from that edition of the Canadian Roundup:
With Nicaragua’s lack of premier ball handling talent at the guard positions, Canada was ultra aggressive defensively. Bjorkgren had the SMNT pick up full court, sometimes even going as far as bringing all 5 Canadians into the Nicaraguan back court to matchup and press in the 1st quarter.
Canadian Roundup: 2025 AmeriCup Qualifiers Window 1
Sound familiar? And just to drive the point home, here’s a nearly three minute video of Canada pressing and disrupting the Nicaraguan offense.
At the Olympics, I fully expect Fernández to continue to extend Canada’s ball pressure. It’s a tactic that fits well with the roster he has and can be the starting point for some huge Canadian runs that turn a tight contest into a blowout.
Integrating Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Jamal Murray
Back in May of 2024, I created a thread listing some of my minor concerns (and potential solutions) with the fit between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray. Don’t get me wrong, they are undoubtedly the most talented backcourt in Canadian Men’s Basketball history. However, my main concern lies with how Fernández can integrate the two stars together on the court.
Let’s start with the obvious — two-man actions. Given that Gilgeous-Alexander and Murray are relatively the same size, two-man actions between them invite opposing defenses to switch and fall back to their defensive shell. It’s really difficult to bend and challenge a defense consistently when they feel comfortable switching the primary screening action, essentially defending it with only 2 players. Contrast that to when teams play drop, they often have to bring a third defender into the play (to tag the roller). The rotation from the extra defender may seem inconsequential, but that’s all it takes for a cerebral PnR operator to pick apart and compromise a defense. One of the reasons (among many) the Murray-Jokić PnR is so fundamentally lethal in the NBA is most teams don’t have the personnel to just switch it. Most guards (heck, even centers) can’t defend Jokić down low and Murray’s superhuman shot making can punish even the most agile of bigs on the perimeter.
With their physical “likeness” in mind, can Canada still run a heavy dose of guard-to-guard PnR’s with SGA and Murray and find success in Paris? Probably (I really like “Ghost” action as a quickhitter in the 4th Q). SGA’s slithery one-on-one advantage creation and Murray’s outlier shotmaking can win Canada elimination games. However, drawing from the Nuggets’ offense, I think three-man actions (primarily with a playmaking big like Olynyk/Powell/Lyles) are a more seamless fit for the star backcourt.
While Gilgeous-Alexander and Murray didn’t share the court for an extended period of time throughout the exhibition tour , in the limited time they did play together, Fernández tried a variety of three-man actions! I’ve hand-tracked these aforementioned three-man actions in the following clips:
- Clip #1: “Spain PnR”. Not much comes of it, but I really like the idea of Murray being able to leak out of this action and stretch the floor (much like Gary Trent Jr. with the Raptors).
- Clip #2: “Miami” action (DHO into a screen). Leads to a Olynyk post-up vs the smaller Booker and eventually a Barrett corner 3.
- Clip #3: “Flex” action into a empty-side PnR for Murray.
- Clip #4: BLOB “Zoom” action. Murray gets a wide open 3 out of it but just misses.
My favourite set under this three-man umbrella is “Veer” action. In the possession below, Powell first sets a screen for SGA, before going to set an off-ball screen immediately after (instead of rolling). The idea is Powell’s defender (Embiid) will be occupied by Shai’s initial foray into the paint, opening up some space for Murray curling off the second screen. Canada’s execution wasn’t the cleanest (maybe Booker should be flagged for holding here) and that’s why I had hoped for more in-game reps for Gilgeous-Alexander and Murray during this exhibition tour.
The “Point Series”
As I wrote in my Jordi Fernández retrospective piece, the defining action of Canada’s offense at the 2023 World Cup was a Princeton-inspired series — the “Point Series”. The ball would go to the big at the elbow, who functioned as a playmaking hub, responsible for making reads and engaging in DHO’s with Canada’s perimeter players.
After the three game exhibition tour this summer, it’s clear that utilizing the Canadian bigs as DHO hubs remains foundational to Fernandez’s offensive system. Given the passing acumen and reps that Dwight Powell, Kelly Olynyk and Trey Lyles have accumulated in similar roles, Jordi’s vision of a “read-and-react” offense is in good hands.
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