What is a pocket pass in basketball?

If you have heard a coach shout “pocket” from the bench, this is what he meant. A pocket pass is a short pass from the ball handler to the player rolling to the basket after a screen, thrown into the small gap between the screener’s defender and the defenders behind him. It is one of the oldest ideas in the pick-and-roll and still one of the least well taught, because the window it uses is open for about a second.

Where the pocket is

Picture a ball screen at the top of the key. The handler uses it and dribbles toward the middle. His own defender is trailing behind him, trying to get over the screen. The screener’s defender, usually the other team’s big, has dropped back toward the free-throw line to protect the rim.

The pocket is the lane between those two defenders. It opens because each one is looking at the handler. The trailing guard cannot reach the pass because the screener’s body is in his way. The dropping big has to choose between staying with the handler and turning to find the roller. For one beat he does neither.

The roller, meanwhile, has pivoted off the screen and cut toward the rim. He arrives in that lane just as the gap is widest. A pass delivered then is a catch on the move, a few feet from the basket, with the nearest help defenders a step away.

You can see the same idea in our glossary entry on the pocket pass. This guide is the longer version: how to recognise it, throw it, catch it and rehearse it.

Which coverages leave a pocket

The pocket exists against some ball-screen coverages and not others. Teach your handler to name the coverage first, because the pass is a choice made from it.

• Drop coverage. The classic case. The big sits back and the handler can keep dribbling into the gap. See drop coverage.
• Hedge or soft show. The big steps out for a moment, then recovers. The pocket appears behind him as he retreats, and it is tighter, so the pass has to be quicker.
• Ice or down. The defense pushes the handler away from the screen toward the sideline. A pocket pass is rarely the answer. The pocket is thin and the baseline helper is waiting.
• Switch. There is no pocket, because the roller’s new defender is a guard who is already in front of him. The read becomes a post-up, a slip or a reset.
• Blitz or trap. Two defenders are on the handler, so the pass goes to the short roll in the middle of the floor. That is a short roll, a slightly different pass with the same hands.

Our guide to ball-screen coverages walks through each one with diagrams. The short version for a pocket pass: it is a drop-coverage pass first, a hedge pass second, and a poor choice against everything else.

The handler’s job

Most failed pocket passes are the handler’s fault, and nearly always because of timing.

1. Come off the screen tight. Brush your shoulder against the screener so the trailing defender cannot slide through. A wide turn gives the guard room and closes the lane.
2. Take one or two dribbles at the middle of the floor. The dribbles make the big commit. If he stays in front of you, shoot the pull-up he is giving you.
3. Look at the rim, not the roller. Your eyes tell the defense where the pass is going. Look where you are driving and read the roller through your peripheral vision.
4. Pass off the dribble. No gather, no pick-up, no pivot. The ball leaves your hand at the end of a dribble, on a line through the pocket.
5. Throw it where the roller can score. Aim at his chest or the hand nearest the basket, not at his feet. He should not have to bring the ball up from the floor.

The most common error is waiting for the roller to be completely open. By then the big has turned and the window has closed. Throw it when the roller is open for a catch that leads to a layup or a foul, not when he is open for a free dunk.

Which pass to use

A short bounce pass stays under the dropping big’s arms, and it is the safest choice for young players. A one-hand chest-high pass is quicker and works when the big has his arms down. A short lob over the top works when the big has dropped very deep and the roller is long. Teach the bounce pass first. It makes fewer turnovers, and you can add the other two when the handler has the timing.

The roller’s job

A pocket pass is a two-player skill, and the roller has half of it.

• Roll hard, with your hands up. Turn from the screen and sprint to the rim with your hands ready. A roller who jogs gets the pass behind him.
• Show a target. Your hands, palms toward the passer, at chest height. The handler needs to see the target to throw to it.
• Catch and go. Do not gather, do not pivot, do not look for the defender. Take the ball in stride and go straight up. A dribble, a gather or a turn gives the low man time to arrive.
• Seal the guard behind you. A roller who finishes the screen with his back to the trailing guard keeps him out of the lane for another half step.

The roller also has a decision: if the big drops with him, he can stop at the free-throw line instead of cutting to the rim. That is a short roll, and the handler should know it is an option.

What the defense does about it

A good defense removes the pocket in several ways, and your players should recognise them.

• The big shows higher. He steps up so the handler has to dribble sideways. The pocket pass is replaced by a pull-up or a re-screen.
• A weak-side defender tags the roller. He leaves his man for a beat and bumps the roller. Read the tag in our guide to tagging the roller. Against it, throw the pass earlier, or pass over the tag to the open shooter he left.
• The trailing guard fights over the screen quickly. He stays attached to the handler’s hip, which shrinks the lane. A hesitation dribble or a change of pace makes him react and opens it again.
• Switch. There is no gap. Slip the screen, or ghost it, or attack the mismatch right away.

A short drill progression

A pocket pass improves with repetition against live bodies. Four steps, in order.

1. Two players, no defense. A handler and a roller at the top of the key with a coach or cone as the screener. The handler dribbles off the screen and throws the pocket pass to the roller, who catches and finishes. Ten each way, then swap roles.

2. Add a dropping big. A defender sits at the free-throw line. The handler reads him: if he stays high, pull up; if he commits, pass. The roller finishes through contact with a pad.

3. Add the trailing guard. Now the handler has to beat the guard’s recovery and the big’s drop at the same time. This is where the timing breaks down, so slow it down and repeat.

4. Play it live, three on three, with a rule. The offense scores two points for a made basket off a pocket pass and one for anything else. Players discover the pass because it pays.

Spend ten minutes on the first two steps every week for a month. The pass is a habit, and the only way to build it is to throw it a hundred times.

Reading it on film and in the diagram

Pocket passes are easier to see on a diagram that moves. Pausing a play right as the handler comes off the screen shows the gap and the two defenders on either side. A static picture can only suggest it.

Horns Twist is a good set to teach it from: the ball screen from one big is immediately re-screened by the other big going the opposite way, so the second screener rolls into an empty lane. The diagram’s note for the final phase is to pocket it to that second roller. Open the play on its page, step through the phases, and ask your players to point at the pocket before the pass.

Where SlongeHoops fits

We make SlongeHoops, so weigh this accordingly. It lets you draw a ball screen as an animated sequence and put a drop or a hedge coverage on it with the simulated defense (in beta), so a player can see the lane open and close at quarter speed. It also turns a play into a short quiz, which is a quick way to ask “where is the pocket?” before practice. Try it on one of your own sets before you rely on it.

For the wider picture, read our guides on Spain pick and roll and on scouting an opponent’s coverage.