3.4: On-Ball Screens II: Named Ball-Screen Actions

Chapter 3: Offense

Ram, Spain, ghost, slip and twist: the ball-screen actions that exist because the coverages got good at guarding the plain pick-and-roll, and the names heard for them that are not yet entries.

New terms introduced (6): Flat screen, Ghost screen, Ram, Slip, Spain pick-and-roll, Twist. Diagrams: 6.

Lecture 3.3 ended with the pick-and-roll as one action with one variable changed at a time. The actions in this lecture change the pick-and-roll itself. Each was built to beat a specific coverage from lecture 4.3 that had become good at guarding the plain version: the big who arrives at the level of the screen, the defender who drops to meet the roller, the two defenders who both jump to the screen the moment they see it coming. Each answer is a screen that arrives differently, a roller who is screened for, or a screen that is never set at all.

Section 1 is the ram, which screens the screener before the screen. Section 2 is the Spain pick-and-roll, which screens the roller’s defender after it. Section 3 is the pair that punish a defense for anticipating: the ghost screen and the slip. Section 4 is the twist, a second screen from the other side. Section 5 is the flat screen, the ball screen with no angle for the coverage to read. Section 6 names the actions heard on broadcasts for which this site has a description but not yet an entry, so a reader knows what was said even where the database does not yet have a card.

1 Ram: screen the screener first

The coverage that arrives at the level of the screen depends on the big’s defender getting there. The ram stops him. Just before the big sets his ball screen, a wing sets a pin-down on the big’s defender, so the big sprints into the ball screen and his defender arrives a step late, as in Figure 1. The handler now comes off a screen that nobody is guarding at the level, and the drop coverage the defense wanted to play is a drop by a defender who is still running.

Figure 1: Ram. A wing pins down on the big’s defender; the big sprints off it straight into the ball screen. His defender arrives late, so the handler comes off with nobody at the level of the screen and the roll is open.

Setup: The handler at the top with the ball. The big on the block. A wing between the big and the top, ready to screen the big’s defender. The other two in the corners.
Trigger: The wing’s pin-down lands on the big’s defender as the big starts to sprint up.
Read: The big sets the ball screen while his defender is still behind the pin-down. The handler comes off it. If the big’s defender is late, the handler is at the free-throw line with nobody in front of him and the roller behind. If the big’s defender skips the pin-down and sprints to the ball, the pin-down screener is open where the big’s defender left him. If the defense switches the pin-down, the wing’s defender is now guarding the big’s ball screen, and a guard is guarding the big.
Payoff: A pick-and-roll in which the screener’s defender is a step late, which turns any coverage into a late one.
Beaten by: Switching the pin-down so the ball screen is guarded by whoever is nearest, which is the switching of lecture 4.5; or the big’s defender going under the pin-down and beating the big to the spot.

Action 1: Ram: a screen for the screener, so his defender arrives late to the screen that matters.

2 Spain: screen the roller’s defender

The drop coverage meets the roller with the big’s own defender dropping back. The Spain pick-and-roll takes that defender out. A third attacker, a shooter, starts under the ball screen at the free-throw line. As the big rolls, the shooter back-screens the dropping defender, so the roller is free to the rim; then the shooter pops out to the arc behind the play, so if the dropping defender’s teammate helps on the roller, the shooter is open at the top. It is also called the stack pick-and-roll, from the two players stacked at the top. Figure 2, Figure 3 and Figure 4 show the three beats.

A high pick-and-roll at the top of the key. The handler starts above the arc right of center with his defender below him. The big stands to that defender's left with a screen bar between them, and the handler dribbles left over the top of the screen. A shooter, labeled shooter, stands on the free-throw line under the screen, with the big's defender between him and the screen and his own defender below him. Two more attackers wait in the two corners, each with a defender. — Figure 2: Spain, first frame. A high pick-and-roll. A shooter stands at the free-throw line under the screen, which the defense reads as one more player to guard.

The handler has the ball on the arc left of center, with his defender below him and to his right. The big rolls from the screen down the lane toward the rim. The shooter, still on the free-throw line, sets a screen under the big's defender, who is between him and the top of the key. The screen is drawn as a bar between the shooter and that defender, labeled back screen to its right. The shooter's own defender is below him and to his right. Two attackers wait in the two corners, each with a defender. — Figure 3: Spain, second frame. As the big rolls, the shooter back-screens the dropping defender. The roller is now free to the rim.

The shooter has popped out from the free-throw line to just beyond the top of the arc, labeled pop, and the big has rolled to just in front of the rim, labeled roll. The handler, on the arc left of center with his defender below him and to his right, has two dashed pass arrows: one across to the shooter and one down to the roller. The shooter's defender trails inside the arc right of center, and the big's defender trails in the lane above the roller. Two attackers wait in the two corners, each with a defender. — Figure 4: Spain, third frame. The shooter pops to the arc after his screen. The handler has the roller at the rim or the shooter at the top, and both defenders are a step late.

Setup: A high pick-and-roll at the top, with a shooter at the free-throw line below the screen and the other two attackers in the corners.
Trigger: The big rolls and his defender drops to meet him.
Read: The shooter back-screens the dropping defender and pops. The handler reads two things. If the back screen lands, the roller is open at the rim: throw the lob. If the dropping defender fights over the back screen to stay with the roller, or a corner defender comes to the rim, the shooter is open at the arc. If the shooter’s own defender stays with the shooter and never helps, the action is a plain pick-and-roll against a drop with one fewer help defender.
Payoff: A roller whose defender has been screened, and a shooter at the arc guarded by a defender who just got screened for.
Beaten by: Switching the back screen, so the shooter’s defender takes the roller and the dropping big takes the shooter; or the ball defender going under the first screen so the handler never turns the corner and the back screen has nobody to screen. Lecture 4.3 and lecture 4.5.

Action 2: Spain: the drop coverage’s own defender is screened, and the screener then becomes a shooter.

3 Ghost and slip: punishing the defense for arriving early

Both of these actions start with a screener who never screens. They exist because good coverages start before the screen is set: the handler’s defender steps up to fight over it, the big’s defender steps up to meet the ball. Two defenders who have moved toward a screen that has not yet happened are two defenders who can be left behind.

The ghost screen leaves them behind toward the arc. The screener runs at the handler’s defender as if to screen, makes no contact, and keeps going, out to the three-point line on the other side of the ball, as in Figure 5. The handler’s defender has gone over a screen that never came and is behind the ball. The screener’s defender has dropped to help on a roll that never comes. The ghost is open at the arc for a pass and a three, or the handler drives into the space both defenders vacated.

The ball-handler is at the right slot, with his defender below him. The would-be screener sprints up toward the handler's defender as if to set a ball screen, stops short without making contact, and runs out to the arc at the left slot. The handler's defender has stepped to go over a screen that never came, and the screener's defender has stepped up beside the elbow to help on a roll that never comes. The handler dribbles left along the top of the arc and passes to the ghost screener, who is open at the arc. The label beside the end of his run reads ghost: no contact, out to the arc. — Figure 5: The ghost screen. The screener sprints at the handler’s defender as if to screen, makes no contact, and runs out to the arc. Both defenders have moved to guard a screen that never happened.

Setup: The handler above the arc with the ball. A screener who can shoot arriving as if to set a ball screen. The other three spaced away.
Trigger: The handler’s defender adjusts his feet to fight over the coming screen, or the big’s defender steps up to hedge it.
Read: The screener veers past without contact and runs to the arc. The handler drives into the gap the two defenders left. If the big’s defender recovers to the ghost, the drive is open. If he stays home, the pass out to the ghost is an open three. If the handler’s defender switches onto the ghost, the handler has a big guarding him on the drive.
Payoff: Two defenders committed to a screen that did not happen, and a shooter or a driver in the space they left.
Beaten by: Defenders who guard the screen only once it is set, which costs them against a real screen, or a switch called early enough that the ghost is picked up as he arrives. Lecture 4.3.

Action 3: The ghost screen: a screen that is only threatened, and two defenders who guarded the threat.

The slip leaves them behind toward the rim. It is the same fake, aimed the other way: the screener approaches, both defenders jump up to the screen, and the screener cuts straight to the rim behind both of them, as in Figure 6. The pass is over the top, and the finish is a layup or a lob. A team that slips well makes the defense hesitate on every screen, which is what the plain pick-and-roll of lecture 3.3 needs to work.

The ball-handler 1 is at the right slot. The big, 5, is just below and to the left of him, approaching to set a ball screen. Both defenders have jumped early to the screen: x1 stands just to the handler's left and x5 above and to the left of x1, both upcourt of 5, and each defender's own label sits directly above his X. The words both jumped the screen sit just left of x5. Instead of setting the screen, 5 cuts straight down the lane to the rim, behind both of them, labeled slip, and the handler's dashed pass goes over the top to a spot just beside the end of his cut. 2 and x2 are in the right corner, 3 and x3 in the left corner, and 4 on the left wing with x4 inside him. — Figure 6: The slip. Both defenders have jumped up to guard the coming screen. The screener never sets it and cuts to the rim behind them; the pass goes over the top.

Setup: A screener approaching the handler’s defender, with the paint empty.
Trigger: The screener sees both defenders step up to the screen before it is set: the handler’s defender to fight over it, his own defender to hedge or trap.
Read: The screener cuts to the rim. The handler passes over the top if the lane is empty; if the low man has rotated to the rim, the corner the low man left is open for a skip pass.
Payoff: A layup or a lob against two defenders who are above the play.
Beaten by: The big’s defender staying between the screener and the rim until the screen is actually set, which is the discipline behind the drop; or a low man who tags the slip early. Lecture 4.3 and lecture 4.4.

Action 4: The slip: the screen is never set, and the screener is at the rim before the defense knows it.

4 Twist: the second screen from the other side

The twist gives the defense the same problem twice, in opposite directions. The handler comes off a ball screen going one way; his defender fights over and the big’s defender drops or hedges toward that side. The screener immediately turns and sets a second screen on the other side of the handler, and the handler crosses back the other way off it, as in Figure 7. Both defenders have committed to the first direction and now have to recover against the second. It is also called a re-screen, and a flip when the screener changes the angle of the same screen without resetting.

Half court, drawn at the moment of the re-screen. A dribble comes in from above the arc on the right, passes over a screen bar labeled first screen, and ends at the handler, 1, who now has the ball on the arc left of center. Both defenders have gone left with him: his defender, x1, is on his left, and the big's defender, x5, is near the left end of the free-throw line. The screener, 5, has turned and stands just below the handler, with a second screen bar, labeled re-screen, between him and x1. A second dribble takes the handler back to the right and down past the screener into the free-throw circle. 4 is on the left wing and 2 and 3 are in the corners, each with a defender. — Figure 7: Twist. The handler comes off the first screen going left; both defenders commit that way. The screener turns and re-screens on the other side, and the handler crosses back right against two defenders who are leaning the wrong way.

Setup: A high pick-and-roll with the floor spaced, and a screener quick enough to reset.
Trigger: The handler comes off the first screen and both defenders lean toward that side.
Read: The screener turns and sets the second screen on the handler’s other shoulder. The handler crosses back off it. If the ball defender is now trailing, the handler is downhill against the big alone. If the big’s defender has stepped up to stop the crossover, the screener rolls behind him. If the defense had iced the first screen toward the sideline, the second screen sends the handler back toward the middle, which is where ice did not want him.
Payoff: A second pick-and-roll against two defenders who have already spent their first step on the first one.
Beaten by: The ball defender going under the second screen and conceding the pull-up, or a big who plays both screens at the level and never leans. Lecture 4.3.

Action 5: Twist: the same screen twice, in opposite directions, before the defense has recovered from the first.

5 The flat screen: no side to send him to

Every screen so far has had an angle, and the angle is what the coverages of lecture 4.3 read: a side screen tells the defense which way the handler wants to go, and ice is the answer that sends him the other way. The flat screen takes the angle away. It is set at the top of the floor, the screener square to the baseline, directly behind the handler’s defender, so the handler can come off it to either side and neither side is the screen’s side (Figure 8).

The ball is at the top of the key, well above the arc. The handler's defender stands just below him, and the screener stands directly below that defender with his back to the baseline, the screen square across the middle of the floor. Two dribble arrows leave the handler, one to each side of the screen, because neither side is the screen's side. The screener rolls to the rim down the middle. The big's defender waits below the free-throw line, off to one side. — Figure 8: The flat screen. Set at the top with the screener’s back square to the baseline. The handler can dribble off it either way, and the screener rolls down the middle.

Setup: The handler at the top of the floor, well above the arc; the screener directly behind the handler’s defender, back to the baseline.
Trigger: The on-ball defender has to choose a side to force, and the screen gives him no reason to choose either.
Read: The handler goes away from the side his defender cheats to. The screener rolls down the middle. The big’s defender either commits to the drive’s side, leaving the roll, or holds the middle, leaving the handler a lane.
Payoff: A pick-and-roll the defense cannot steer to a sideline, so its help has to come from both sides at once.
Beaten by: A switch, which does not care which way the handler goes; or a drop to the free-throw line that meets the drive wherever it comes. Lecture 4.3.

Action 6: The flat screen: a ball screen with no angle, so the coverage has nothing to read.

6 Names heard for which there is no entry yet

The glossaries this site draws on name several more ball-screen actions. Each of the following is described by one publisher only, so under this site’s rule it has no entry and no card until a second independent source names it; the description is given here so the word is not a mystery when it is heard. The rule and the diff behind it are in the plan (plan/PLAN.md, section 8.4) and the dated report in data/sources/.

Euro ball screen. A ball screen on the wing with the same side of the floor emptied, so the roller and the handler have the whole side to themselves and the only help has to come from across the lane.
Throw back. The handler comes off a ball screen and throws the ball back to a guard who has filled the spot the screener left; that guard then has the roller sealing inside for a post entry.
Rocket. A counter to the hard hedge: the weak-side slot player holds his spot, and the handler passes to him the moment he clears the hedge, because the hedging big cannot get back to the roller before that pass finds him.
Slide. A call for a slip in a high ball screen, usually with a guard screening for a guard rather than a big for a guard. What happens on the floor is the slip of Section 3: the screener arrives, makes no contact, and cuts to the rim behind two defenders who have already stepped up to the screen. The name carries the setting, not a different action.
Hoosier, Lobo and Zaga. Each of these is a call, not a concept: a word a team says to start one particular sequence, of the kind taken from a college program’s nickname, so the word itself tells a listener nothing and the description has to do all of the work. Hoosier is a ball screen whose screener, instead of rolling, turns straight into a pin-down for a teammate. Lobo is a back screen set in the slot that runs directly into a ball screen in that same slot, which joins an off-ball screen to a ball screen the way the wedge of lecture 3.6 does. Zaga combines a zipper cut with a pick-and-roll, and the one glossary that names it attributes it to Gonzaga.

The idea to carry into lecture 3.5 is that a screen for the ball is only one of the two kinds. The other kind is set for a player without the ball, and the next two lectures are about those: first the shapes a screen can take, then the named actions built from them.