Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Basketball: Getting into Ball Screens

Deception is a core element to basketball. Players use ball fakes, shot fakes, set up cuts, slip screens, fake digs and doubles, "pull the chair," and more. 

Players, think about screening legally, angling into and of the screen, protecting yourself, and always sprint to screen. Screen hard but clean. 

Even when we're "known" to favor ball screens, disguise them. Here are a few ways among the virtually infinite number:


Horns allows for a lot of interplay among the top three. If we have bigs who are strong PnR players, disguise entry and occupy help side defense with a pindown. Small on big screens often create mismatches for switching teams. 


Blatt Horns DHO Plus. Former Cavaliers' coach David Blatt used another horns variation with a DHO into a ball screen at the elbow. 


Multiple options challenge defenses. Urgent cutting sets up a backscreen basket cut into a wing ball screen out of horns. 

Excel at "micro actions." DHOs are excellent ways to establish ball screens. "Jump stop and platter." 



We like to practice this with "Continuous DHO" (below) with penetrate and pitch out action into a sequential DHO. First practice without defense, then add soft defense, then live action. Add elements like "dribble at" where if defense overplays, then the receiver cuts backdoor. 


Pitch into Screen. 


Under Jason Kidd, the Bucks ran this post-pitch action into ball screens. 

Ball screen from special situation. 


Most NBA teams have SLOBs beginning with ballside zipper cuts. GSW ran it to the other side for Klay Thompson. 

Ball watchers? 


Ball screens can set up other actions. The Celtics ran the ball screen into backcuts from either the "three" or "two" side. 

Find what works for you.

Lagniappe. Motivation.