Special situations

Inbounds, timeouts, presses and zone offense.

All families · 8 terms · 6 full, 0 partial, 2 short

ATO

Also: after timeout

A set play drawn up during a timeout, often the offense’s best-rehearsed action.

A box set after a timeout. 1 has the ball at the top of the key, with his defender a step below him and to the left. Four attackers form the box: 2 at the left elbow, 4 at the right elbow, 3 on the left block and 5 on the right block. The defender of 2 is below him on the left lane line, the defender of 3 is above his man, the defender of 4 is below him toward the middle, and the defender of 5 is above his man, just outside the lane. 2 runs across the lane and down to set a screen, drawn as an upright bar, just inside the defender of 5. 5 cuts along the baseline toward the rim, and a dashed pass from 1 comes down to meet him in front of the rim, above the label first option. From just above the screen a second arrow carries 2 up and out toward the right wing, over the defender of 5, labeled screener pops. Only the first option has a pass drawn.

Why it is run. It is the one possession where all five attackers know the next four seconds and the defense has not seen this sequence today.

What beats it. Scouting, since a shape run twice in a season is guarded the second time; and switching, which takes the screens out of any script.

offense · Special situations · full · Taught in lecture 3.12 · See also Set play

BLOB

Also: baseline out of bounds

An inbound play from under the offense’s own basket.

A baseline out-of-bounds play. The inbounder 1 stands out of bounds behind the baseline, right of the basket, with the ball, labeled inbounder; his defender, x1, is on the court in front of him, just inside the right lane line. Four attackers form a box: 2 at the left elbow, 3 at the right elbow, 4 on the left block and 5 on the right block. On the left, 4 steps up and sets a screen, drawn as a short bar, just under x2, the defender of 2, and 2 cuts diagonally down the lane toward the rim. On the right, 3 comes down just outside the right lane line and sets a slanted screen below and outside x5, the defender of 5, between x5 and the corner. 5 cuts out along the baseline toward the right corner, labeled corner, so x5 has to get round the screen to follow him. x4 stands low on the left side of the basket and x3 inside the lane below the right elbow. Two dashed passes leave the inbounder: one to the end of the rim cut, and one toward the right corner, ending just below the end of 5's cut. The label first option sits under the basket.

Why it is run. The inbounder sees all nine other players, the defenders near the rim must watch a ball behind them and a cutter in front, and five seconds is long enough for two screens.

What beats it. Switching every screen, hands up on the ball to shrink the angles, or a zone under the basket that guards the spots the cuts go to.

offense · Special situations · full · Taught in lecture 3.12 · See also SLOB, Box set, Stack

Box set

An inbound alignment with four players in a square at the elbows and blocks.

Four attackers stand in a square: 2 at the left elbow, 3 at the right elbow, 4 on the left block and 5 on the right block. The ball-handler 1 is at the top of the key with the ball and his defender just below him. The other four defenders stand on the lane lines, one below each elbow player and one above each block player, so the defense is a mirror image too. Under the basket the label reads symmetrical: either side.

offense · Special situations · short · Taught in lecture 3.12 · See also BLOB, Stack

Press

Also: full-court press

Defensive pressure applied in the backcourt to force turnovers or slow the offense before it reaches the front court.

Full court, with the offense inbounding at the far end, drawn at the top. The inbounder, 1, stands out of bounds behind the far baseline and throws a dashed pass to 2 on the left side, inside the far three-point arc. 2 dribbles up the left side toward half court and stops a few feet from the sideline, about eight feet past the far arc. Two defenders stand at the front line, one at each side of the far lane just inside the far free-throw line, labeled front line. The left one, x1, runs down toward the end of the dribble. Two more stand back, below the far arc. The left one, x3, runs up toward the end of the dribble from the half court side, so the two arrows close on the handler from both sides, labeled trap on the sideline. 3 stands on the right side inside the far arc and 4 in the middle just below it. The safety, x5, stands alone a few feet past half court, labeled safety, and 5 is behind him, just above the other three-point arc.

Why it is run. Pressure in the back court uses the sideline as a third defender and the count as a fourth, and against a team that cannot pass out of a trap it wins possessions faster than it gives up layups.

What beats it. The press break: the ball reversed away from the trap, the outlet to the middle, and the pass ahead to the player the safety cannot reach.

defense · Special situations · full · Taught in lecture 4.7 · See also Press break, Pick-up point

Press break

The offense’s set alignment and rules for advancing the ball against a press.

Full court. The offense inbounds under the far basket against a press. The inbounder, 1, stands out of bounds behind the far baseline, just left of the basket, with the ball, and one defender, x1, stands on him just inside the line. Two guards stand open to receive, one either side of the lane just below the far free-throw line, with their defenders a step behind them and toward the sidelines, waiting to trap after the catch. One player stands in the middle at half court and one stands deep near the near three-point arc as the safety. Passes are shown from the inbounder to the left guard, labeled inbound, then from that guard to the middle player at half court, labeled the middle is the answer, then ahead to the deep player, labeled safety ahead, each stopping just short of its receiver, so the ball moves up the middle of the floor rather than the sideline.

Why it is run. The middle of the floor cannot be trapped, because there is no line to trap against and the pass out has two directions; a press that fails has committed defenders behind the ball.

What beats it. Denying the inbounds pass rather than trapping after it, which attacks the five-second count; or taking the middle away first and steering the ball up a sideline.

offense · Special situations · full · Taught in lecture 3.12 · See also Press

SLOB

Also: sideline out of bounds

An inbound play from the sideline in the front court.

A sideline out-of-bounds play. The inbounder 1 stands out of bounds on the right sideline, level with the free-throw line, with the ball, labeled inbounder; his defender stands several feet in front of him, between the two passes. Three attackers stack in a line up the middle of the lane, 2 at the bottom, 3 in the middle and 4 at the top, with their defenders on the ball side; 3's defender plays above him, between him and the inbounder. 5 waits in the far left corner with his defender a few steps off him toward the lane. 2 sets a screen, drawn as a short bar just above him, in the path of 3's defender, then cuts out to the right corner. 3 cuts down past the screen toward the rim, labeled rim cut. 4 pops up to the top of the key, labeled safety. One dashed pass from the inbounder ends just to the right of 3's cut, above the screen bar, leading him toward the rim, and a second goes to the safety.

Why it is run. A sideline entry is harder than a baseline one, so the play is built to get the ball in first, with a rim cut in front of it in case the defense sleeps.

What beats it. Denying the first pass to attack the five-second count, and switching the stack screens.

offense · Special situations · full · Taught in lecture 3.12 · See also BLOB

Stack

An inbound alignment with four players in a line, who scatter on the slap of the ball.

Two attackers stand on each block, one directly above the other: 3 above 2 on the left, 5 above 4 on the right. 1 is at the top of the key with the ball, and his defender, x1, is just below him. The four other defenders crowd the two stacks: x2 and x4, on the lower players, stand low and inside, between them and the basket, and x3 and x5, on the upper players, stand just outside them. The left stack splits: 3 cuts up and out toward the left wing, and 2 cuts out toward the left corner. The label they split or screen sits in the lane between the stacks.

offense · Special situations · short · Taught in lecture 3.12 · See also BLOB, Box set

Zone offense

Offense built to attack areas rather than defenders, using the gaps between zone positions, the short corner and the high post.

A 2-3 zone, labeled 2-3 zone: two defenders up top, x2 out on the ball and x1 near the left elbow, and three across the back, x3, x4 and x5. Four attackers overload the right side: 1 with the ball at the right slot, 2 on the right wing, 3 in the right corner and 5 on the right block. One attacker, 4, is alone on the left wing. 5 flashes from the block up into the gap just below the free-throw line, labeled flash the gap, and 1's entry pass goes to him there. A second pass, the skip, goes from 1 across the top of the key to 4 on the weak side, labeled skip to the weak side.

Why it is run. A zone guards areas, so the answer is to overload a side, flash the soft spot where its rows meet, and skip the ball faster than the zone can shift.

What beats it. A match-up zone that closes out under control and picks up cutters; and the offense’s own impatience, since one pass short of the open shot is the usual failure.

offense · Special situations · full · Taught in lecture 3.12 · See also Zone defense, Dunker spot