You pass the ball and you cut straight to the basket. Your defender turns his head to watch the pass, and you go behind him before he turns back. If nothing is there, you clear through and someone fills your spot.
Why coaches use it
Because it punishes the one thing every defender does wrong. A player who has just been passed away from relaxes for half a second. That half second is the entire action.
It is also the first rule of a motion offense, and the honest starting point for any young team. Pass, wait one beat so your defender commits to the ball, cut on the top foot, and go all the way to the rim rather than drifting. Everyone behind the ball fills up one spot and the floor is back in shape for the next pass. One cycle takes four seconds and nobody needed a play call.
Teach the finish as well as the cut. A cutter who does not expect the ball does not get it twice.
How it is guarded
- Jump to the ball. The moment the pass leaves, the passer’s defender takes a hard step toward it and opens his stance. Done properly, there is no cutting lane.
- Deny the return pass. Takes the give-and-go away and hands you the backdoor instead.
- Sag off. A defender sitting in the paint sees the cut coming. The answer is not to cut harder, it is to pass and screen away instead.
If your team cannot score off a cut, the problem is usually spacing, not the cut. Five players on the arc means there is somewhere to cut to.