The ballscreen is the way the game is being played right now. The whole goal of offense is to be able to create advantage and the Ballscreen is one of the quickest ways to get there. Ballscreen defense has become a huge part of every shell drill. Which is one of the reasons that offenses have begun to get so creative with how they get into their ballscreen attack.
Offensive efficiency improves with the number of ball reversals (up to a point). We have all seen the numbers on the correlation of ball reversals to points per possession. Brad Stevens measured this back in his Butler days and put out a chart that showed how efficiency went up on ball movement. Here it is:
Zero reversals = .63 ppp One reversal = .83 ppp Two reversals = 1.1 ppp
For this post we are going to look at how different teams get the defense moving and get into ballscreen action. The three teams I picked were Saint Mary’s (California), Hapoel Jerusalem, and EB-Pau-Lacq-Orthez (Pau) out of the Champions League. I picked them because I think they all do a good job of running action to get the ballscreen away from the first side. They each do it a little differently, but have the same idea.
This movement can be through player movement or just ball movement. Even simple action, can get the defense distorted enough to make the ballscreen more effective. Defenses are really usually really good on static ballscreens but adding movement can take them out of the coverage they want. Its small things that make a difference. Having to guard a ballscreen from a gap closeout is way different than being on the ball waiting for the screen. Its the same for a big that has to go from guarding an action into a defensive coverage.
“There is a direct correlation to the number of ball reversals and defensive breakdowns.”
Kevin Eastman
If you think of offense as a video game (Think Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat), every thing you do in those games takes energy away from the opponent until you hit them with the finisher. This is the concept of getting to the ballscreen after movement. Every thing you do leading up to the ballscreen takes mental and physical energy from the opponent. It weakens them to the point that your finisher leads to the end of the possession. Which is getting to dominos and scoring off a great shot.
I wanted to organize this into 3 main ways that teams get into the ballscreen off movement. So we will look at “The Reset”, “The 2-Hit Combo”, and the “The thru cut”.
The Reset
The reset is a concept that through action, basically gets the offense back to the start through a set of action. This can be through a screening action either by the ball handler or an off ball creator. Basically, we move the defense and get the ball to the decision maker with a live dribble. This concept usually takes place in the middle of the court, but it doesn’t have to.
In this clip, Hapoel Jerusalem runs a horns look with a fake handoff into a down screen to get the PG back to the top with the live dribble. The big turns and goes into a ballscreen where he receives the pocket pass on the roll. You can see that the weak side does a great job of moving to keep the help defenders occupied.
Similar concept as their other horns look. This time the PG hands off to the forward who receives a ballscreen to the wing. This is a setup to get the PG back on top, where the big will turn and ballscreen for the PG. This simple reset gets them back to the starting point, but the PG has a live dribble.
The offense runs through a chin set and gets to the middle ballscreen. This is actually defended really well by the defense. However,through the movement and spacing, they have got the dominos falling and move the ball for an open 3.
This clip is off an Iverson look. They send #14 down to the block and have him set a back screen for the post on reversal. The big passes to #14 where they get into a middle ballscreen. The action puts the on ball defender a step behind and keeps the hedge on the ball long enough to open up the roll. Because of all the movement and action, the help defenders outside of the screen are not in help positions.
Eventhough this is not for the PG bringing the ball up it is still an example of a reset because it gets the decision maker to the top with a live dribble. One of the benefits of running movement into your ballscreen is that you increase the chances of the defense making a mistake. In this clip you can see the screener get open on a slip action. With the other three defenders stretched out, they get a layup.
Same play as before and a similar result. This time the screener does a great job of sprinting into it which causes the hedge to overreact enough to get beat on the slip.
The 2-Hit Combo
The 2-Hit Combo is a newer concept to me (Assist to the guys at Efficient Sauce) and I really like the concept. Basically you are going to use the threat of 1 ballscreen to set up the second one. The first ballscreen is a great way for the off ball guys to get into space behind the defense to set up an attack. When added with the arrival screen (arriving on the catch to set the screen) it is a great combo.
This 2 hit combo out of a diamond look with a Ram screen to set up that first screen even more. On the wing ballscreen, #0 has to help on the nail and #12 does a great job of setting an Arrival screen as #55 gets the ball. The timing of the second screen creates all the space needed to hit the shot.
This is a great example of a 2 hit Combo out of a diamond look. At the point of the first ballscreen #0 is in the gaps protecting the nail, which gives #55 more space. The 5 man goes into a step up ballscreen and with his timing does not give much time to his defender and the on ball to adjust. What makes this play even deadlier is that it becomes a single tag situation on the weak side and that weak-side defender has almost no chance.
This could be both an example of a reset and a 2-hit combo. Out of their wedge look, #23 gets the ball and does a great job of setting his defender up. The defense shows a hard hedge on the first ballscreen. On the pass to the PG up top, the defender has to go from in the gap to on the ball. #23 runs a slice cut that hits the on ball defender, causing a reaction and then the big comes and sets a ballscreen. The PG sells the screen and rejects it for a layup. The act of moving the defense before getting into the action makes the defense have to position and re-position.
This wedge action uses the 2 hit combo with a slice cut to get the PG downhill. The use of the slice cut, makes the on ball defender have to adjust enough that he is put behind the play on the ballscreen. The center sets a screen that reroutes the defender over, which gives the PG enough space to get downhill vs the drop coverage.
Thru Cut
The thru cut is a simple way to get your PG from one side of the floor to the other with some ball movement. This opens up a side ballscreen opportunity with a live dribble. A lot of teams will run the opposite post into the ball screen off a sprint or set him a ram screen to prevent the coverage.
In this clip, the PG comes off the Thru cut to receive a side ballscreen. On the catch, he sells a hard reject baseline that makes the on ball defender react enough that he is totally behind the play and gets caught going underneath. This results in an easy pullup 3 for the PG.
In this clip, the PG comes off the thru and because of the low post screen he gets ahead of his defender. On his catch, he is able to rip and get to the basket as the ballscreen is coming for him. The open corner with 3 guys on the weak side means that the only person that can help is the weak side low guy who is late for the charge.
All three of these types are effective and have the same idea behind it. Move the defense, move the ball, and get into the ballscreen to create the advantage.