Half courtvs man3 phasesRuns 7.8 s
Zipper Ball Screen
A zipper cut up the lane line gets the guard the ball in the slot against a denying defence, and the same big immediately turns it into a ball screen. The defender who just chased the zipper has to fight over a second screen with no rest.
Open in the appRun it, tilt it, put a defense on it, change it. Free to start. No account, nothing to install.
Phase by phase
1Phase 1
2 zips up the lane line off 5 at the elbow; 1 hits him in the slot and spaces out to the left wing.
- 5 screens for 2
- 2 cuts to the right slot
- 1 passes to 2
- 1 cuts to the left wing
2Phase 2
5 steps straight out and screens 2’s man on the top shoulder — 2 turns the corner to the middle and 5 dives.
- 5 screens for 2
- 2 dribbles to the right elbow
- 5 cuts to the rim
3Phase 3
Pocket it to the roller before 4’s man can step over from the dunker spot; 1 and 3 are spaced behind the help.
- 2 passes to 5
- 5 shoots
Teaching points
- 2 runs the lane line, straight up, not on an angle. The screen is at the elbow and the catch is in the slot.
- Set the man up low before the cut. Walk him toward the baseline, then sprint.
- 1 delivers it and fills the opposite slot. He is not finished after the pass.
- 5 re-screens on the top shoulder immediately, so 2 is forced middle.
- 5 dives the moment 2 turns the corner. The pocket pass beats the help.
A zipper is how you get the ball to a guard who is being denied. He starts on the block, runs straight up the lane line off a screen at the elbow, and catches in the slot facing the floor.
What makes this version work is that the same big screens twice. He sets the zipper, then turns and sets a ball screen on the top shoulder. The defender who just chased through the first screen has to get over a second one immediately, with no rest and no help behind him yet.
The read
2 is reading his own man. If that defender is trailing after the zipper, the ball screen puts him two steps out of the play and the roll is open behind it.
If the defense switches either screen, 2 has a bigger man on him twenty feet from the rim and an empty middle to attack.
Where it breaks
The cut. Players drift out toward the wing instead of running the lane line, which gives their defender an easy angle and puts the catch too far from the screen.
Straight up. Brush the screener’s shoulder. Catch it in the slot.
The second thing is 5’s turn. He has to re-screen immediately, while the defender is still recovering. A pause of one count and the coverage is set again, and then it is just a ball screen.
Run it on both sides, and teach the back cut for the day somebody decides to top-lock it.
Counters
- Against a switch on the zipper, 2 has a big on him in the slot and can attack straight off the catch.
- Against a drop on the second screen, 2 has a pull-up from the middle of the floor.
- If they top-lock the zipper cut, 2 back cuts and 1 throws it to the rim.
zipperdown-screenpick-and-rollentryquick-hitter
Terms in this play
4-out 1-inDenyFloaterICEPick-and-rollPocket passRe-screenZipper cut