We build our basketball lexicon like we build our vocabulary, basic to advanced. I teach that basketball is a game of "cutting and passing", with the goal of creating and preventing separation leading to 'high quality scoring chances." Cutting constitutes a basic building block of "help your teammate".
Elementary school coaches teach the "V-cut" and advance from there. I won't discuss reading screens in this piece.
This BBallBreakdown piece demonstrates typical NBA cuts - Flex (Celtics run this a lot), Zipper (many SLOBs), UCLA, and shuffle.
Core principles.
- See the defender and watch the passer. If the passer cannot see you, then timing a cut can't get results. "Invisible cutters don't get the ball."
- "Think change of direction and change of pace." You can go slow to fast, literally walking into a cut.
- "Set up your cut." Add deception to your movement.
- Choose wisely - cut to the ball, cut to open space (including basket cuts), move and replace yourself, cut to move your defender, cut to screen, cut off screens, stand then sit (on the bench).
- If the defender plays "high" (above left), take her higher and go low (back cut/back door).
- If the defender plays "low" (above right), take her lower and go high (front cut/face cut).
- The tighter the defense, the more vulnerable to back cuts and screens.
- A front cut goes away from the ball, then to the ball.
- A back cut goes to the ball, then away.
- You get more separation but cutting TO the defender, then away.
Basic cuts. Make the right cut by reading defenders.
- V-cut
- Front cut (face cut) - Figure 1, right. Front cuts or back cuts can lead to give-and-go
- Back cut - Figure 1, left.
Advanced cuts.
- Head turners (when the defender turns her head and cannot see you, back cuts (especially along the baseline) are opportunities
- Circle cut (circle away and return, above)
- Hands up (throw hands up as though receiving post pass and flash)
- Spins (put foot between defender's feet, and reverse pivot to the ball...see 3:58 in this video)
- Edelman cut
This isn't so much a "thing" as I think it could be. Usually to cut, you plant the inside foot and drive back.
The "Edelman" uses both feet to create "spin and seal" action.
Excellent cutting helps your teammates (Phil Jackson's "basketball is sharing") and creates opportunities for you...the best of both worlds.