Win card2-1Harding plus the glass
Harding plus glass. If Harding is human, the offense gets thin fast.
Harding plus the glass
Identity
Harding makes the game about threes, Greene and Banker make the game about second chances
Win condition
Extreme scorer plus rebound monsters
§ Defense
What FFLT give up
PPG allowed64.7
FG% allowed35.0%
2P% allowed40.9%
3P% allowed31.5%
3PM allowed10.3
REB allowed36.0
AST allowed11.0
FTA allowed13.7
TO forced6.3
Most 3PM allowed (league-high)· 10.3 per game on 34.3 attemptsFewest turnovers forced· 6.3 per game
Our attack theme
This is the cleanest shooting matchup. They allow a league-high 10.3 made threes on 34.3 attempts, and they force the fewest turnovers at 6.3. That screams ball movement, paint touch, kick-out, reverse, shoot.
Bottom lineSpacing, 3-point volume, low-pressure half-court execution.
Per-game averages allowed, derived from 3 games per team in the uploaded league box scores. Small sample — real signal, still small.
§ Exploit
Bulldogs exploit sheet
Weakness to forceThree-point volume and easy half-court creation. FFLT allows 10.3 made threes per game, the most in the league, and forces only 6.3 turnovers, the fewest.
This is the cleanest shooting matchup on the board. Greene and Banker rebound, but they do not want to defend in space. Plumlee is the best Bulldog to punish that with pull-ups, turn-the-corner drives, and pocket-pass reads. Burton is the second hunter because once their bigs step out, the roll and offensive glass open. Benson is the connector here because Harding is the one perimeter matchup that can burn energy. Use Benson to create and make Harding work on defense instead of forcing hero scoring.
First 3 actions to call
- 1Plumlee-Burton high PnR at Greene or Banker
- 2Spain PnR with Burton rolling and a back-screen on the big
- 3Benson off-ball curl or pindown to make Harding chase and rotate
Shot dietGreen light from deep, but only off paint touch or a forced switch.
Staff cardPlumlee first. Burton rolls and cleans. Benson creates. Call: high PnR, Spain, off-ball curl for Benson.
§ Shot diet
Target shot diet — Green light from deep
Mark Plumlee
Primary shooter
Most 3PA should go to Plumlee, Attila, and Benson, with Smith next if available. Mueller is out for the season, so his 3PA are redistributed — Plumlee absorbs the extra stretch-five volume. FFLT allows 10.3 made threes per game, the most in the league. Their structural weakness is defending space around Greene and Banker. This is the matchup where our real shooters should get real volume.
This is the matchup where real shooters get real volume.
What actually beats Bulldogs here
- Harding gets comfortable early
- Greene and Banker own the glass
- Bulldogs try to answer with quick threes instead of pressure at the rim
This game gets lost when Bulldogs get emotionally dragged into Harding's shot-making. The answer is not to win the same game harder. The answer is to make the game about workload, rebounding, and rim pressure instead of pure shot trading.
§ Read
Matchup read in plain language
FFLT is not balanced. It just feels that way when Harding is on fire and the bigs are cleaning up misses. If Harding is crowded and Greene and Banker are boxed out first, the offense gets thin fast. Bulldogs should treat this as a star-containment game with a rebounding tax attached.
§ Playbook
From the Bulldogs playbook
What beats us
Harding plus second chances
What to attack first
Greene and Banker in space
§ Cross-matches
Starting cross-matches
- Benson on Harding
- Plumlee on Greene in space or as the first switch body
- Burton on Banker first, then as glass anchor
- Attila on Manseth
- D. O'Reilly on the other rebound piece or bigger wing
§ Coverage
What to deny · What to dare
What to deny
- Harding rhythm threes in transition
- Harding clean catches off screening action
- Greene and Banker free runs to the glass
- The temptation to play their pace and shot diet
- Easy kick-ahead threes after long rebounds
What to dare
- Greene jumpers
- Banker anything outside point-blank finishes
- Manseth creating under pressure
- Walk, Dineen, Rusk, Webb proving they can score enough to matter
- Greene and Banker trying to make plays on the move instead of just cleaning glass
§ First five
First five priorities
First five — offense
- 1Make Greene or Banker guard in space on the first two trips
- 2Attack the rim before the defense loads up to the arc
- 3Run after rebounds because their bigs are slow getting back
- 4Force Harding to defend movement and not rest
- 5Touch the paint before trying to punish with kick-out threes
First five — defense
- 1Face-guard Harding immediately
- 2Chase every Harding screen action hard
- 3Hit Greene and Banker before they hit the ball
- 4Keep Burton home enough to end possessions
- 5Do not foul Harding into rhythm
§ Script
Scripted first five possessions
- 1Early drag screen with Benson and Burton at Greene or Banker
- 2Plumlee catch and attack before help is set
- 3Burton rim run after a defensive rebound
- 4Re-screen action to make the same big defend twice
- 5Empty-corner drive with weak-side rebounding coverage ready
§ Why
Why those first actions matter
Those first actions are designed to do two things. First, they make FFLT's bigs guard movement instead of just camping near the glass. Second, they force Harding to play both ends. If Harding is allowed to rest defensively and just hunt shots, Bulldogs are helping the wrong player stay fresh.
§ Bench
Bench and rotation notes
- This is a Morrison and D. O'Reilly game if the glass gets ugly
- Smith matters if Bulldogs need another scorer without sacrificing spacing
- Small lineups are fine only if they still rebound
- If Burton gets two fouls, Bulldogs need frontcourt rebounding before they need spacing
§ Scout
Opponent personnel & directives
Identity: Harding is Their Entire Offense
33.7 PPG, 60.6% 3P, 11 3PA/game. When GN sold out on him (Apr 16), held the rest of FFLT to 20 pts. Sell out on Harding, live with everyone else — they're all sub-30% shooters.
33.7 PPG · 50% FG · 60.6% 3P · 6/9, 7/10, 7/14 across 3 games
🚨 FACE-GUARD. Never leave. Chase through every screen. Hard-show or trap on all ball screens. Force ball out of his hands. Benson primary, Plumlee in switches.
10.7 PPG · 29% FG · 19% 3P · 13.3 RPG
5.7 PPG · 36% FG · 13.3 RPG · 0% 3P on 7 attempts
7 PPG · 41% FG · 7 TOs in 1 game
Turnover-prone under pressure. Force him left. Apply on-ball pressure.
§ Halftime
Halftime trigger tree
If Harding has 20 plus
- Trap him off every ball screen
- Box-and-1 is live
- Make somebody else start the offense for a full stretch
- Live with the wrong guy taking rhythm shots if that is the cost of taking the ball out of Harding's hands
If Greene and Banker have 8 plus offensive rebounds combined pace
If the role players are making shots
If Bulldogs are chasing the game
§ Late
End-of-half and late-game details
This is not the team to foul casually. Bulldogs are better off making them score over structure than helping them stabilize with free throws. Offensively, the team should still think paint first, action second, kick-out third. Burton is the late foul-line priority (Mueller out for season).
§ Close
If ahead · If behind or tied
If ahead
- Do not foul if it can be avoided
- Use Burton as the late free throw handler (Mueller out for season)
- Make Harding defend a real action before every late-clock touch
If behind or tied
- Benson starts the action
- Burton finishes the foul math
- Do not let the possession end in a bailout jump shot trying to answer Harding heroics
- If Harding gives it up, crowd the return pass hard
§ Dossier
Shorthand game plan — original dossier notes
When we have the ball
- Attack Greene and Banker in space.
- Transition — they're slow getting back after rebounding.
- Attack the rim — FFLT allows 50% 2P.
- Don't get into a 3-point shooting war.
- Run the floor through Benson and Plumlee.
When they have the ball
- Trap Harding off every ball screen.
- Face-guard him off the ball.
- Burton sags off Banker to protect the rim.
- Box out — FFLT is the #1 rebounding team.
- Don't foul Harding (81% FT, 60% FT in game 2).
Keys to win
- Trap Harding on every ball screen — force someone else to beat us.
- Transition offense.
- Attack Greene and Banker in space.
- Protect the glass — Burton at 10+.
- Don't jack 3s — don't play their style.
One-sentence bench message
This is Harding first, glass second, everything else third.