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What does switching ball screens mean?
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Switching ball screens is when the on ball defender switches to the screener and the screener's defender switches to the ball handler. -
Hence why you see Shaq defending threes.Comment
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Switching on ball screens is one of several ways teams try to guard pick and rolls. As ShockCrazy says, the screener's defender switches to the ball handler and vice versa. This is dangerous as it forces two mismatches, but it stops the ball handler from getting much separation from the screen. You may be interested in other ways coach's defend against the pick and roll, so I'll go over those as well.
Down/Blue is a style used by a variety of coaches, each with their own naming convention. For example, Tom Thibodeau calls it "ICE." This is used for screens on the wing, near either sideline. Instead of the screener's defender coming all the way out, the ball hander's defender gets between the screen and the ball-handler and forces the ball-handler down towards the big.
Hedging is where the screener's defender cuts off the ball handler, buying just enough time for the ball handler's defender to get around the screen. I see Nurger hedging on a decent amount of screens. This requires a lot of lateral mobility from your big, because if they can't get back in time it can give the screener an easy cut. The ball handler's defender needs to be able to meet the ball-handler by at least the time they dribble to the key.
Showing on a screen is more aggressive than a hedge; the screener's defenders takes several steps to force the ball handler to the center of the court or sideline to sideline. This requires the ballhandler to go hard over the top of the screen, to catch back up to the defender 2-3 strides later. Sometimes the screener's defender goes far enough out that they switch to a wing shooter rather than going back to their man, who gets picked up by help defense. Tim Duncan used to cheat a little, sticking his arm out and drawing contact to by time for the ball handler's defender to go under the screen (he was rarely called for a foul).
Blitzing is the most aggressive way to defend the pick and roll. The screener's defender comes over and doubles the ball-handler. It looks almost like a zone, as help defenders have to almost guard spots on the floor rather than their man as the defense stretches out. The goal isn't to steal the ball or cause TOs like in a zone trap, but rather to deny passes from the ball-handler and close off the floor.
Pushing is when the screener's defender attaches himself to the screener, giving him no space to get separation. A lot of colleges do this, as it is rather straightforward and forces the ballhandler to make a play himself, rather than making a pass to the screener. However, this is very hard to do effectively if the guard is very fast or good on the drive, as it leaves the ball-handler's defender on his own to get through the screen and defend the ball-handler.
Teams with big immobile bigs zone up the screen. Instead of bringing up the screener's defender, they put him at the top of the key and have him play a 1-man zone. This lets the big contain penetration, but gives up the midrange jumper (and in college, the 3). Works a little better in the NBA, as more teams have seven footers and it is more likely to end in a 20-21 foot jump shot, which is a win for the defense.
The "best" method is probably to either have players that can guard either player and switch or to have mobile bigs that can hedge enough to help the ball handler's defender without letting their man get open.
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Thank you. Now I know what the hell they talk about sometimes on pre and post and coaches show. -
Great explanation. We typically are a team that hedges or shows in our history. But we've also had much better players at it than we currently do. Rauno is probably our best but has struggled this year recovering to his man.
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CBB_Fan - Really appreciate you breaking this down in such a clear and concise manor. Thanks.Comment
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These type of questions are awesome!
ShockCrazy and CBB_Fan gave a good summary, but if you are not a basketball junky, here is a more boring and laborious but detailed explanation. I won't discuss other options like CBB_Fan did, and it would be cool to create a thread for those.
Setup
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An opponent's guard is dribbling the ball out near the three point line.
One of our guards is defending him (he is closest to the ball so we'll call him the "first defender").
Ball Screen
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Another opponent comes over and sets a screen to allow the ball handler to get away from our guy that is defending him.
In response we have a second player step out to defend the guy setting the screen (we don't want the guy setting the screen to get an easy pass and open look). This defender is the next closest to the ball so we'll call him the "second defender".
And now the ball handler starts to dribble toward the screener to get some separation from the first defender.
So now there is a "ball screen" play developing, and it's 2v2.
Here are a couple of pictures I found explaining the ball screen, but unfortunately they don't show the second defender:
Ball%20Screen1.gif
Ball%20Screen2.gif
Switch
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Now defensively there are two basic scenarios regarding "switching":
1) If the first defender (the guy defending the dribbler) continues to "chase" the guard after he dribbles by the screener, then there is no "switch".
2) On the other hand, if one of our players calls a "switch", he is telling the other guy to switch which guy he is defending. So the first defender will now switch over to defending the screener, and the second defender will start defending the dribbler.
If the screen is run well, it does allow the ball handler to get away from the first defender who is caught "chasing" his man (there are different tactics to minimize that, but that's a different topic).
So the advantage of switching is that the first defender doesn't end up "chasing", and the second defender is right there to keep pressure on the ball handler the entire time.
But there is a tradeoff. Let's say both of the guards are 6'3" and the screener and his defender are both 6'9".
The trade off is if the defenders switch, you now have a (probably slower) 6'9" guy defending a (probably quicker) 6'3" guy and a (shorter) 6'3" guy defending a (taller) 6'9" guy. If the ball handler quickly passes back to the other guy you could have a terrible mismatch, or if he is a lot quicker, he might be able to easily get past the slower defender.
Kung Wu say, man who read woman like book, prefer braille!Comment
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NM - quoted the wrong postOriginally posted by ShockCrazy View PostWichita State, home of the All-Americans.Comment
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The clubhouse leader for post of the year. Your post on zone offense/defense in the SMU thread is probably runner up.Originally posted by CBB_Fan View PostWichita State, home of the All-Americans.Comment
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And it presently seems to be a scenario where our squad's timing is a bit off when it comes to successfully hedging/showing/help-side/recovery. Depending upon the situation . . .
- the bigs aren't showing/hedging hard enough to turn or disrupt the ball handler allowing for the on-ball defender to recover
- the on-ball defender isn't recovering quick enough allowing the big to release and recover
- the other off-ball defenders aren't positioned properly to deter the rim-run or dump-down/kick-back pass to the screening big
- the on-ball defender is not applying enough pressure prior to the screen to disrupt the timing or possibly "blow-up" the screening option
Ultimately, the goal and objective is to disrupt offensive flow and execution. And right now, it isn't happening consistently enough! Defense is about pride, effort, and attitude . . . this group did it last year . . . they need to get back to it!!!Comment
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Thanks for the posts CBBFan & Kung Wu - I actually pasted them onto the notes on my phone to reference. Always heard those terms but never truly understood what they meant.Comment
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A couple other terms get tossed out on these plays
Going under the screen - There is no switch. The ball-handler's defender crosses past the screener, but between the screener and the basket. This leaves the ball handler open for a perimeter shot, but avoids the mismatches established with a "switch".
Fighting through the screen - or - Going over the screen. There is no switch,. The ball-handler's defender follows the ball handler, but stays on the ball-handler's side of the screen There's no mismatch from a switch and there's a very small time frame for a shot from the perimeter. Baker was (and still is) really good at this. It helps to be 6'4" and weigh 220 pounds.
VanVleet was really good at preventing defender's from going over screens. If the ball handler cuts the screen really close, there's no room for the defender to go over the screen. Then, if the ball handler makes a really hard cut past the screen, the ball handler can establish an advantage going to the basket and requires a help defender to move to guard him. At that point the defense is broken down and the ball handler either has a fairly clear path to the basket, or can drop off a pass to the player the help defender was guarding. Frankamp and Shamet haven't shown much ability to do this.The future's so bright - I gotta wear shades.
We like to cut down nets and get sized for championship rings.Comment
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