Every basketball player should master the ball screen, a key component to a successful offensive strategy As the ball-handler, it’s your job to set up the screen by directing your teammate to a specific location on the court. Keep level with your screener’s position to prevent your defender from shooting the gap between you and your screener. As you initiate the screen, stay tight to the screener by staying low and touching their shoulder or calf. Reject the screen if your defender shoots the gap around the screen. Alternatively, curl to the basket if your defender follows you through the screen.
As you exit the screen, keep your eyes up and survey the floor to decide whether you should pass the ball or drive it to the basket. Look for your screener to be open for a pass if he or she rolls to
the basket. If you decide that driving the ball to the basket is your best choice, avoid drifting laterally on the court. Keep your shoulders squared with the basket to protect the ball from shot-blockers,
and don’t take your shot underneath the net. Instead, take off from a healthy distance in front of the basket so that defenders can’t reach the ball from behind, then lay it in.
Practice reading defenses with a partner. Set up a chair as a stand-in for a screen and, with a partner, alternate playing defense and handling the ball. The person who has the ball should start at the level of the screen and drive the defender towards the chair. Then, the defender decides to either run into the screen, fight over the top of the screen, or shoot the gap, and the ball-handler can read and react according to Stephen’s advice. See if you can notice any subtle clues in your partner’s body language that help you know which way he or she is headed earlier in the play.
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