Recently basketball coaches all over have been utilizing more and more pick and rolls into their half-court offense. They do this is because immediate mismatches can be created within a matter of seconds.
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How to beat on the-ball defensive traps in basketball
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How to Beat On-the-Ball Defensive Traps-hoopskills.com
How to Beat On-the-Ball Defensive Traps
-by Coach Dave Stricklin
http://www.hoopskills.com
Recently coaches all over have been
utilizing more and more pick and rolls into
their half-court offense. They do this is
because immediate mismatches can be
created within a matter of seconds.
Perhaps no duo was more famous at
creating these types of mismatches than
John Stockton and Karl Malone of the Utah
Jazz. During their stint together they played
in over 1400 regular season games and
won numerous division titles. Ever since
this combo mastered the art of the Pick and Roll coaches all over the world
have rediscovered how hard this action is to defend.
As mentioned before, the main objective of the pick and roll is to create
mismatches. From an offensive perspective there is always going to be a read
based on what the defenses does. One common tactic that defenses use to
prevent offenses from running this action is trapping the ball handler as he comes
off the screen. Doing this will surely draw the attention of the ball handler and
will limit his vision when trying to find his open teammates.
Instead of deviating from your offense, the next time you face a defense that
traps on ball screens try these 3 counters!
Secondary/Slip: Perhaps the most used tactic when facing a defense that double
teams the ball handler coming off the screen is to simply have the screener slip. A
slip is when the screener comes to the point of setting a screen, fakes it and slips
(cuts) to the basket.
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How to Beat On-the-Ball Defensive Traps-hoopskills.com
The reason this is effective is because as the screen is being set, the screener's
defender will often cheat up in order to get in better position for the trap.
Therefore, the screener's defender is not in proper position to react to the slip.
This slip will most likely result in one of two shot opportunities for your offense.
Either the screener who is slipping to the basket will get a wide open layup or the
defense will collapse on the slip, leaving a perimeter player open for a catch and
shoot opportunity. This is a great option if the screener in your offense is also a
great finisher around the basket!
Pick and Pop: The next tool that offenses can use to exploit the defense is the pick
n pop. When the ball hander dribbles off the screen, the defense will immediately
look to trap the ball. Instead of having the screener roll to the basket, have him
simply pop out to the perimeter instead.
This is a much more manageable pass for the ball handler to make from the trap
and will usually result in an open catch and shoot opportunity. To guarantee that
the screener is open after popping, instruct the ball handler to take at least 2 or 3
dribbles coming off the screen. This will drag the defense farther away from the
offensive player popping out, which in turn will give him more time to get his shot
off. This is the option of choice for teams who have screeners (usually post
players) who can step out and shoot from the 15-18 foot range.
Same Side Post Up: Out of the three strategies mentioned in this article, this
action is perhaps the least practiced and used by most offenses. Because it is the
least practiced, many defenses and coaches are not accustomed to defending it.
In most pick and roll scenarios the ball handler is looking to attack either the
middle or the opposite side of the floor.
Instead of doing this, have the ball handler dribble off the screen once again while
looking to drag the trap. Once the two defenders are dragged as far away from
the strong side as possible have the ball handler pass it to a team mate on the
same side of the floor in which he came from. The screener now rolls to the
basket looking to post up a help side defender. Either the player on the perimeter
will have a scoring opportunity or a dump pass can be thrown into the post player
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How to Beat On-the-Ball Defensive Traps-hoopskills.com
who is posting up on the same side. Either way, the offense is surely to get a great
shot attempt!