Breakdown: Boris Diaw is Super Sneaky

Nov 15, 2014; Sacramento, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) high fives forward Boris Diaw (33) after scoring a basket against the Sacramento Kings during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Sacramento Kings defeated the San Antonio Spurs 94-91. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Some players play bigger than their height — others, smaller. Boris Diaw doesn’t play taller than 6’9, but he does play thinner than his considerable (though noticeably slimmed down) girth.

One might expect a player of Diaw’s width to have trouble moving around the court without being noticed. It’s actually the opposite for Diaw, who’s downright sneaky, especially around the rim.

Diaw used all of his sneak tactics to their fullest extent against the Cleveland Cavaliers, popping up at the rim from seemingly out of nowhere with nary a Cavalier in sight.

Sneak tactic number one: Be like a shadow — or a parasite — unto your opponent.

Watch how Diaw sets his off-ball screen on Shawn Marion. Most screeners will set their pick, then, after their teammate is freed, go off to their next spot. It’s a fast action, normally. Diaw’s screen is lazier, for lack of a better term — not because he whiffs on the screen, but because he takes a few minutes pause to almost rest on Marion.

After his brief nap, Diaw crouches behind Marion, using him as a hiding spot. They can’t guard what they can’t see, he seems to think. And he’s right, because the Cavs, in their defensive frenzy, forget about Diaw until the very second it’s too late: when Tim Duncan hits him, wide open, underneath the basket.

Sneak tactic number two: Always let your opponent underestimate you.

This is more taking advantage of some awful miscommunication by Kevin Love and LeBron James down low. Love fronts Diaw, but as soon as he sees Kawhi Leonard cut across the lane, he cheats off Diaw to help LeBron, who doesn’t seem to actually call for help. But, hey, it’s cool, the Spurs would never actually call a play for Diaw, right?

SURPRISE! This time, Diaw’s actually the target of the play, and Leonard is the decoy. Diaw takes a few, simple quick steps around the basket and towards the ball, hand awaiting Corey Joseph’s perfect pass.

Sneak tactic number three: Why run when you can walk?

The Spurs love to get out in transition, and the Cavaliers do a good job here of getting back and preventing an easy basket. In fact, for a short time, the Cavaliers appear to have a 5-on-4 advantage on defense, as Diaw still hasn’t made it down the court — perhaps he stopped off for a croissant or a nice glass of Chateauneuf Du Pape.

However, this is more of a perceived advantage, as the Spurs, rather than wait for Diaw, initiate their set anyways, forcing the Cavaliers to move around before they can set up their defense. By the time Diaw makes it up the court, the Cavaliers forget about him and focus only on Tim Duncan, who has the ball deep in the post. The Cavaliers double, — maybe even double and a half — but none of them notice Diaw casually sauntering down the lane wide open. Now, it’s the easiest thing in the world for Duncan to get Diaw the ball, and easier still for Diaw to hit a floater.

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Diaw’s not often celebrated for his off-ball movement, probably due to the fact that he doesn’t fit the ideal of a cutter: his movements aren’t sharp and precise, but rather methodical and almost in slow motion. He almost seems to get in the right place on accident. But this is the truth of the ever-sneaky Diaw: he fits like a glove in Popovich’s system, not just because of the way he moves the ball, but also how he moves without it.