Creating an Advantage with the MPnR Part 3: The Screener as the Silent Assassin
A modern 4 and 5 skills package has expanded from traditionally playing as a back-to-the-basket player to a facilitator of offense. In the modern game, bigs make tactical decisions with DHOs on second-side actions, though Gets with guards at various points on the floor, and through setting ball-screens. In many free-flowing offenses, the screener makes just as many decisions as the Creator does to create, keep, and leverage an offensive advantage against the defense. Knowing what type of coverage dependent screen to set at the point of the screen , how to separate from the coverage after the point of the screen and where to roll to put stress on the different defensive coverages at the point of the screen and put stress on the back-side rotation after the point of the screen establishes the Screener as a Silent Assassin in the pick and roll. The Screener is a silent and deadly asset when seeking to kill the defensive coverage since much of the defense’s attention is focused on what the Creator is doing.
The next four principles will aid our Screeners in being facilitator’s of offense as Silent Assassins, completing the offensive advantage the pick and roll creates.
- SPRINT into the Screen
“Spacing before advantage” (from Liam Flynn) also applies to the Screener to create this advantage before the point of the screen. The starting point for the Screener should be behind the backboard, “under the defense,” providing more space for the Screener to sprint into the screen all the way to the point of the screen. The tactical goal of sprinting into the screen provides the Screener the advantage of “Arriving Alone” and his defender arriving late and off-balanced trying to catch up to the Screener sprinting into the screen. “Arriving Alone” opens up a larger window for the Creator at the point of the screen to make “Pocket Decisions” to deliver a pocket pass to the Screener, or attack the Screener’s defender in the coverage. There are many tactics the Screener can use to setup his screen to “Arrive Alone”. Setting or receiving an off-ball screen, faking a back-door cut, or “ducking-in” on a post-up are tactics the Screener can employ before sprinting into the screen.
As the Screener is sprinting into the screen, it’s vital for the Screener to “Fly at the Feet” of the Creator’s defender. To “Fly at the Feet” means the Screener will not set the ball-screen based on what the Creator is doing, but sets the screen based on where the Creator’s defender’s feet are pointing. If the Screener is sprinting into a screen to send the Creator to his right but at the last second the Creator’s defender jumps the hip and gets into ICE coverage, the Screener should read the feet of the defender and flip the angle of his screen. Flipping the angle of the screen at the last second forces the Creator’s defender to chase over the top of the screen enabling the Creator to get separation from his defender and open his Slicing Angle to attack both the rim and the coverage.
2. SEE the Coverage
As the Screener sprints to the point of setting the ball-screen, it’s essential to read the coverage as early as possible. Anticipating the coverage will empower the Screener to make the correct decisions to kill the coverage. An integral piece to the Screener being a Silent Assassin in the pick and roll is to know what type of screen to set and where to roll after separating from the coverage. The types of screens the Screener will set is coverage dependent and recognizing the coverage early will lead to creating an offensive advantage.
A. HIT AND HOLD vs. Drop Coverage
On a “Hit and Hold” screen (terminology from Liam Flynn), the Screener will get full contact on the Creator’s defender and hold the screen a split second longer to enable the Creator to get one-on-one with the Screener’s defender to attack both the rim and the covearge. As the Screener is sprinting into the screen, if he sees his defender is not attached, he should expect conservative coverage (ie. Drops). Since the coverage is conservative, the Screener should set the screen outside the 3 point line to provide more space for the Creator to get one one one with the big in Drop Coverage (Zico Coronel). Scott Morrison, Assistant Coach with the Boston Celtics, teaches his Creator to “piggyback” the on-ball defender at the point of the screen for a one-count to allow the Screener to separate from the coverage with speed, either with a Hard Dive or Pop, to kill the coverage. Once the Screener releases the “Hit and Hold” screen, a “Pop” decision could be made for a shooting big, and a Hard Dive decision could be made by a non-shooting big to kill the coverage.
B. TOUCH and GO vs. Hedge Coverage
On a “Touch and Go” screen (terminology from Liam Flynn), the Screener will stride stop at the point of the screen, getting very little contact on the Creator’s defender. After this “Touch” on the Creator’s defender, the Screener will “Go” to the nail on a short roll looking for a “Glance” pass from the Creator or an “Advance” pass from the front-side 45. As the Screener is sprinting into the screen, if he sees his defender is attached, he should expect aggressive coverage (ie. Hedge/Blitz) and set the “Touch and Go” screen to separate from the coverage.
Since the coverage is aggressive, the Screener should set the screen on the 3 point line so the Screener can slip early to the nail if coverage turns into a trap (Zico Coronel). The goal of attacking a Hard Hedge or Blitz Coverage is to get “2 on the ball” at the point of the screen and beat the coverage with fast, attacking passes. The Screener’s short roll to the nail after the point of the screen opens up passing windows for an attacking “Glance” pass from the Creator or an attacking “Advance” pass from the front-side 45.
It’s crucial for the Screener to be a great “Short-Roll Decision-Maker” to kill the coverage with the 4on3 offensive advantage behind the coverage. When the screener has caught the attacking pass at the nail, he now has three “first touch decisions”: 1.Drive it/shoot it 2. Move it 3. Lob it. Being a Silent Assassin in this 4on3 offensive advantage makes the Screener a vital player when seeking to KEEP an offensive advantage to kill the aggressive coverage. We teach our guards to “move it early, move it twice” when attacking the aggressive coverage with the pass. We teach our Screener that “fast passes equal slow rotations” when KEEPING the advantage with his “first touch decisions” to move it to the 45 or lob it to the rim after his teammate ghost cuts from the corner.
C. EARLY SLIP vs. Switch Coverage
As the Screener is sprinting into the screen, if he sees his defender above his outside shoulder, the Screener should anticipate switch coverage and “Early Slip” to separate from the coverage. On an “Early Slip” the Screener will ignore setting a screen altogether to open a passing window for the Creator to make the “Glance” pass as the Screener’s defender switches on to the Creator. When attacking the mis-match after the switch, its important to remember Ettore Messina’s advice, “When we create an advantage with the PnR, where we pass the ball determines if we make a bigger advantage or if we lose the advantage.” If the “glance”pass is not available the Screener should keep contact with the Creator’s defender to leverage position for a deep paint catch, from the 45 who had just received the “advance” pass from the Creator. These fast, attacking passes are the best method to killing switch coverage.
After the “Early Slip,” the Screener must dive diagonally, opposite of the back-side to elongate the weak-side tag or Triple Switch. As the Screener dives, if the Creator’s defender Top Switches (as shown), the Screener should do work early by keeping contact on the mis-match. As he keeps contact on the switching guard, the Screener must position himself for a “High-Seal” (terminology from Francesco Nanni) by nudging the guard higher towards the elbow for more space to catch the Hi-Low pass from the 45 or from the Creator.
When diving diagonally, as the 4 man in the Triple Switch is rotating, the Screener must dive to get Deep Position (opposite of a “High-Seal”), and not be satisfied with just Front Position. Establishing Deep Position empowers the Screener the advantage of gaining a deep paint catch. The deeper the catch, the higher the percentage of leverging advantage against the Switch to kill the coverage. Lastly, when hunting to keep the advantage against the switch coverage, the guards must “move it early, move it twice” with fast passes. The 2 in this case must have the 3D vision to read X3 and X1 rotations to decide where moving it “Twice” would be most effective. This would consumate Messina’s advice with passing the ball to make a bigger advantage, thus leveraging advantage and killing the switch coverage.
D. TWIST vs. Under Coverage
The type of screen the Screener sets is always coverage dependent. Regardless of the coverage at the point of the screen, if the Creator’s defender goes Under the point of the screen, the Screener will automatically “Twist” and re-screen. To keep advantage on the “Twist,” the Screener should set the second screen at at an angle on the lower-half of the Creator’s defender to force the defender to go over the top of the second screen. The Creator can pull-up for a “Pocket 3” if within range or use the re-screen to setup the second usage of the ball-screen, leveraging advantage and killing the coverage.
If the defensive coverage is “Under”, the Screener will automatically “Twist” the screen and from the point of the re-screen, will read the coverage. The type of screen that is set on the re-screen is coverage dependent. In this example, x5 is in Drop Coverage so the Screener would set a Hit and Hold screen and separate from the coverage by a hard Dive to the rim if a non-shooter or separate from the coverage with a Pop to space if a shooter. If the
“Twist” prompted an agressive coverage at the point of the re-screen then the screener would “Touch Go” and short roll to the nail to separate from the coverage.
3. SEPARATE from the coverage
The final step in killing the pick and roll coverage is the through the footwork the Screener will use to “separate from the coverage.” Because we want the Screener to “roll with vision”, there are two specific types of footwork that can be utilized to keep the advantage as the Screener rolls to separate.
A. Roll and Run
Separating from the coverage after the point of the screen with a “Roll and Run” will empower the Screener to catch speed as he runs to the rim. The Screener’s footwork on a “Roll and Run” will be a front pivot at the point of the screen and after the point of the screen, the Screener must get vision on the Creator for a pass at the rim. A non-shooting big should utilize the “Roll and Run” footwork after the point of the screen to separate from the coverage as this technique usually ends with the Creator making a late lob pass at the rim.
B. Open and Options
Separating from the coverage after the point of the screen with an “Open and Options” footwork will provide the Screener with numerous decisions to become a facilitator in the offense. The “Open and Options” footwork is a reverse pivot after the point of the screen as the Screener separates from the coverage. The Screener will “Open” his chest and square his shoulders to the ball (“Open with Vision”), looking for an early pocket pass from the Creator after the point of the screen. The “Options” the Screener has on the catch is skill dependent and the Screener must be a great “short-roll decision-maker” with his first touch decisions. On a Pop, the Screener can shoot it, drive it, or get into a second-side action such as a DHO or a Pass & Screen. On a Dive, the Screener can drive it, move it, or lob it to leverage advantage.
A Screener can not be considered a Silent Assassin in the pick and roll until he has mastered the decisions of what type of coverage dependent screen to set, how to separate from the coverage and where to roll to force rotations by the back-side defense. When we weld together the correct decisions in the pick and roll by the Creator, as the Magician, and by the Screener, as the Silent Assassin, we leverage an offensive advantage that is burdensome for any defensive coverage to hault.
In part 2 of “Creating an Advantage with the MPnR”, I highlight how the Creator can act as a “Magician with 3D vision triggering correct “Pocket Decisions” in the pick and roll. If you have missed Part 2 you can click this link to view.
In Part 1 of “Creating an Advantage with the MPnR”, we discussed the necessity of “Spacing before Advantage, Advantage before Shot” and the “Corner-Midde-Corner” Concept before the point of the screen. If you have missed Part 1 you can click this link to view.
https://medium.com/@coachbtipton/creating-an-advantage-with-the-mpnr-part-1-a55e76b64815
