How to attack pick-and-roll coverages

Read the screener's defender, then pick the counter: drop, hedge, show, ice, switch or blitz. With drawn plays and a drill to teach each read.

Choose a coverage

Read where the screener's defender is as the screen arrives, and let that choose your answer. A big who sinks toward the paint gives you the pull-up or the pop. A big who steps out gives you the slip or the short roll. A defense that pushes you to the sideline, switches, or traps the ball each leaves something else open. Teach the read before the play, one coverage at a time, against a live defender.

Read the screener's defender

Look at the screener's defender, usually the five, before the screen arrives. Where that defender stands and how they move is the coverage. The ball handler's defender tells you the rest: fighting over the top, going under, or forcing you one way.

Drop: the five sinks toward the paint to protect the rim while the ball handler's defender fights over the top. The space above the five is open.
Hedge: the five jumps out hard to make the ball handler bounce out wider, then recovers to the screener. The space behind the five is open.
Show: the five steps out only long enough for the ball handler's defender to get back, then returns. It's shorter and softer than a hedge.
Ice (also called blue or down): the ball handler's defender jumps to the top side and won't let the ball use the screen. The five drops to the baseline side. The ball is pushed toward the sideline and baseline.
Switch: the two defenders trade. The five now guards the ball handler and the guard guards the screener.
Blitz (trap): both defenders go to the ball to trap it. The screener is left open for a moment, and the rest of the defense rotates behind.

Coaches use these words differently. Name the defender and what they do when you teach it, and use your scouting report's words for this week's opponent.

Against drop

The five has given up the space above them to protect the rim. Make them pay for it, and punish them if they step up.

Pull-up: use the screen, attack the screener's inside shoulder, and shoot from the space the five gave you. A 12-to-15-foot pull-up is the shot drop gives away.
Pop: a screener who can shoot stays out after the screen. A five who dropped can't close out in time.
Snake: the ball handler uses the screen, then dribbles back across the five's face toward the middle. The five has to choose between the ball and the roller.
Reject: if the ball handler's defender is ready to fight over, refuse the screen and drive the other way.
Roll: if the five steps up to stop the ball, hit the roller on time.

With our plays: Pop Reversal Post Punch (the screener pops, then the ball is reversed). Horns Big Ball Screen Roll (the five steps up and the screener rolls).

Against a hedge

The five has stepped out and has to get back. The answer is in the space they just left, and in how fast you get there.

Slip: if the five steps up early, the screener slips to the rim before the screen is set, and the ball handler hits them at once.
Short roll: the screener catches in the middle of the floor, behind the hedge, while the defense is still recovering. From there: shoot the short jumper, hit the dunker spot, or skip to the weak-side corner.
Split: a loose hedge can be split. The ball handler dribbles between the two defenders to the rim.
Retreat dribble: if the hedge is hard, take two dribbles back to make it longer, then pass to the short roll.

Keep the pass quick. A slip or a short roll works only if the ball gets there on time.

With our plays: Early Down Screen Ball Screen Slip (the screener slips at once). AI Slip (slip against an aggressive show, or turn the corner if the defense stays home).

Against a show

A show is a hedge that doesn't stay. The five steps out for a beat and gets back fast, so the slip and the short roll have less time to work.

Be patient: let the five retreat, then attack them on the way back. The pull-up and the drive at a moving big are both open.
Re-screen: the screener flips and screens again as the five recovers. The second screen often comes before the defense resets.
Slip early: if you know the five will show, slip before contact. A show usually starts before the screen is set.

Against ice

Ice keeps the ball out of the middle and pushes it toward the sideline, where the five is waiting low. Get the ball back to the middle, or make the low side pay.

Reject to the middle: before the defense is set, the ball handler goes away from the screen and into the middle of the floor.
Flip the screen: the screener turns and sets the screen from the other side, so ice now pushes the ball to the middle.
Pocket pass to the roll: the screener rolls into the space between the five and the ball. The five is low and late to the pocket.
Skip the low man: when the ball goes baseline, the weak-side defender has to help on the roller. The skip to the weak-side corner is open.
Set it in the middle: a middle ball screen can't be iced the same way. If the scouting report says ice, call your middle screens.

With our plays: Four High Entry Ball Screen and Step-In Ball Screen both start the screen in the middle of the floor.

Against a switch

A switch keeps someone in front of the ball, but it creates a mismatch somewhere. Find it before the defense fixes it.

Slip the switch: if the defenders call the switch early, the screener slips to the rim before the screen. Switching teams are slow to cover the slip.
Big on the guard: the screener seals the smaller defender and posts up. Get the ball in fast, before the defense brings help or switches back.
Guard on the big: the ball handler takes the slower defender off the dribble. Spread the floor so there's no help to drive into.
Screen again: a second screen with a different player can force a switch you want, or a coverage they don't trust.

With our plays: Horns Double Ball Screen Shake (two screeners, so a switch on one leaves the other open).

Against a blitz

When both defenders go to the ball, the screener is open for a beat and the defense is playing four against three behind the trap. Get the ball out before the trap closes.

Get rid of it early: the ball handler should pass out of the trap on the first sign of it. Two retreat dribbles can help make the passing lane.
Short roll is the release: the screener rolls into the middle, catches, and plays four against three. From there it's the dunker pass or the skip to the weak-side shooter.
Spread the floor: keep shooters in the corners and on the wings so the defense has to rotate a long way.
Beat it before it starts: a quick slip, or an early screen set higher on the floor, gives the trap less time.

With our plays: Sideline Inbound Ball Screen Drive and Down Screen Entry Ball Screen Roll both give the screener room to roll into the middle.

The low man decides the second read

Most coverages ask a weak-side defender, often called the low man or the tag, to step over and stop the roll. When that defender comes, someone is open behind them.

Corner shooter: if the help comes from the corner, the skip pass to the corner is the shot.
Dunker spot: if the help comes from the dunker spot, the drop-off pass for a layup is open.
Teach the roller to look: the roller catches with their eyes up. The defender who tags them is the read.

Spacing makes this work. Keep two shooters on the weak side, and keep the dunker spot filled only when your personnel can finish there.

The screener has choices too

The ball handler isn't the only player reading the defense.

Roll when the big steps up and the rim is open.
Pop when the big drops and the screener can shoot.
Slip when the defense jumps the screen early.
Short roll when the defense hedges or traps and the middle is open.

Screen angle matters too. Set the screen so the ball handler can attack the side you want: square to send the ball toward the middle, angled to push it toward a wing or the corner.

Common mistakes

Going before the screen is set. The ball handler should wait for contact. Leaving early lets the defender slide over the top.
Rolling too soon or too late. Roll as the ball handler comes off the screen, not before.
Picking up the dribble. Against a hedge or trap, keep the dribble alive until the pass is there.
Crowding the action. Players who drift toward the ball let one defender guard two.
One read for every coverage. If you only ever roll, a smart defense will sit in the roll lane all night.

Teach the decision

Teach one coverage at a time, with the coach calling it before each rep.

Start with two offensive players and no defense, so the ball handler and screener see what each coverage looks like. Walk it.
Add two defenders, with the coach calling the coverage before each rep.
Add the low man, so the roller learns the second read.
Play it live with the defense choosing the coverage and the offense calling out what it sees.

Give each coverage one rule: the five stays deep, shoot or pop; the five steps up, roll or slip; the ball is pushed sideline, flip it or pocket it; they switch, attack the mismatch; they trap, get it out to the short roll.

Grade the read, not only the shot. Did the ball handler see the five before the screen arrived? Did the roller see the low man?

Practice it

Run our ball-screen coverage reps with the offense reading each call. The coach names the coverage before every round, so the offense practices the read it will need.

Ball-screen coverage reps →

Scout it before you see it

Most teams play one or two coverages on the ball screen. Write down which ones on your scouting report, and which players they change it for. See the opponent scouting checklist for what to watch on film.

Keep it simple

Pick one answer you trust for each coverage and rep it until the team does it without thinking.

When the defense changes coverage, change the read, not the play: the same action with a different answer.

Draw your own ball-screen set in the play designer and share it with your staff.

FAQ

What is drop coverage in basketball?

In drop coverage, the screener's defender sinks toward the paint to protect the rim while the ball handler's defender fights over the screen. It gives up the pull-up jumper and the pop to keep the ball out of the lane.

How do you beat ice pick-and-roll defense?

Get the ball back to the middle. Reject the screen to the middle, flip the screen to the other side, or hit the roller with a pocket pass. When the ball goes baseline, the skip to the weak-side corner is often open.

What's the difference between a hedge and a show?

Both have the screener's defender step out at the ball. A hedge is harder and longer and tries to push the ball handler wide. A show is a short step out until the guard recovers, then the big gets back to the screener.

How do you beat a switch on a ball screen?

Slip the screen when the defense calls the switch early, or attack the mismatch it creates: post the smaller defender, or drive the slower one. A second screen can force a switch you want.

What should the screener do after setting a ball screen?

Read the defense. Roll when the big steps up, pop when the big drops and you can shoot, slip when the defense jumps the screen, and short roll into the middle against a hedge or trap.