Both defenders involved in the screen attack the ball handler and stay there. They trap him above the screen, hands high, and try to make him pick up his dribble or throw it over the top. Behind them, three defenders are now guarding four offensive players.
That last sentence is the whole coverage. Everything a blitz gives up comes from the fact that somebody behind the ball is open, and the defense is betting it can rotate faster than the offense can find him.
Why coaches use it
It gets the ball out of a great player’s hands. Against a guard who beats every other coverage by himself, taking the decision away from him and giving it to his fourth-best teammate is a fair trade.
It also creates turnovers and clock. Late in a quarter, or when you are behind and need possessions, a blitz is how you buy them.
How to attack it
- Get off it early. The pass out of a trap that is already set is the hard one. Throw before both defenders arrive.
- Short roll. The screener rolls to the free throw line, catches with four offensive players against three defenders, and now he is the passer.
- Lift the corner. Standing still in the corner against a blitz is how possessions die. Lift to the wing and give the short roll a target.
- Skip it. The longest pass is often the open one, because the rotation behind a blitz is the last defender to arrive.
- Screen at the top. Make the trap travel further and it arrives later.
Teach the short roll catch before you teach anything else. A team that cannot make the first pass out of a trap will not get to the second one.