Drill3 phasesRuns 10.3 s
Down Screen Reads
A screener comes down to set a screen for a cutter on the block while a defender plays the cut three different ways. The cutter walks his man down, reads him at the shoulder of the screen and curls, fades or cuts backdoor; the passer delivers.
- Trains
- Basketball IQTeam play
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Ages
- U14–Adult
- Minutes
- 10
- Players
- 4–9
- Balls
- 2
- Equipment
- No equipment: players and balls only.
Run it, tilt it, change it to fit your practice. Free to start. No account, nothing to install.
Coaching points
- Set up the cut: walk your man down to the depth of the screen, then change speed.
- Read your defender, not the ball, when you arrive at the shoulder of the screen.
- Trailing defender: curl tight. Defender under: fade. Defender over the top: back cut.
- Screener: once the cutter is gone, show yourself; slip or pop, the defense often forgets you.
- Passer: deliver on time and away from the defender, one dribble to improve the angle if needed.
Phase by phase
1Phase 1
Curl. S screens down; C walks his man low, then comes off shoulder to hip. X trails behind him, so C curls tight into the lane for the catch and the shot.
- S screens for C
- C cuts to the high post
- X cuts
- P passes to C
- C shoots
2Phase 2
Fade. X cheats under the screen to beat C to the spot. C reads it at the shoulder of the screen and fades out to the wing for the open jumper.
- S screens for C
- C cuts to the left wing
- X cuts to the left elbow
- P passes to C
- C shoots
3Phase 3
Back cut. X jumps over the top to take away the catch. C plants at the screen and cuts back to the rim; P hits him with the pass for the layup.
- S screens for C
- C cuts
- X cuts to the left elbow
- C cuts to the rim
- P passes to C
- C shoots
Variations
- Walk it with a cone as the screen and no defender, the coach calls the read.
- Go live: the defender chooses how to play it and the cutter must read it.
- Add a second ball: a coach hits the screener popping out after the screen.