LEVEL 3Defenseall
Over, Under, or Through
When a screen comes at you while you're guarding the ball, you have to choose a path: over the top (between your man and the screen), under (behind the screen), or through a gap your teammate opens for you. Going over keeps you attached to a shooter but risks the drive; going under saves time against a driver but gives a shooter space. The one unforgivable choice is not choosing — hitting the screen flat and dying on it. Know your man: shooter usually means over, non-shooter usually means under.
READ THIS
Hear the screen call and locate the pick early — then check your man's shooting range and which side the screen is arriving on.
DO THIS
Crowd the handler before contact, go over on shooters leading with your top shoulder, under on non-shooters, and reattach within one slide.
COACHING LINEAGE
Tom Thibodeau
Help defense positioning: one pass away, always. Be early, not late.
Chuck Daly
Physical defensive positioning: make the offense feel every possession.
IN THE SITUATION ROTATION
You are guarding a player who has hit three pull-up jumpers tonight. A ball screen arrives at your right shoulder, and your teammate is in coverage behind it. You have half a second to choose your path.
Appears as a Situation of the Day · all