How to Become a Scoring Threat Off the Ball
Summary
TLDRThis basketball tutorial focuses on the art of off-ball movement, drawing insights from Euroleague players. It emphasizes the significance of cutting when the ball is in the post and during ball screens, where defenders are often drawn to the ball or double-teaming, creating open lanes. The video illustrates how to exploit these situations with strategic cuts, the importance of positioning below defenders for better visibility, and the timing of cuts when defenders rotate or help. It concludes by stressing the skill of off-ball movement as crucial as passing and shooting, encouraging viewers to hone this often-overlooked aspect of the game.
Takeaways
- 🏀 Off-ball movement is crucial in basketball, especially when the ball is in the post.
- 👀 Defenders often stare at the ball, creating opportunities for offensive players to make cuts.
- 🔄 When a post player is double-teamed, the defense must rotate, leading to open cuts.
- 🚫 Understanding how to cut when two defenders guard one is key to creating space.
- 🛑 Ball screens often result in defenders getting caught staring at the ball, allowing for easy cuts.
- 🏋️♂️ Post players can use screens to create backdoor opportunities for easy baskets.
- 📍 The 45° cut is a common tactic used after a ball screen, especially when the defense is focused on the ball handler.
- 👥 Getting below your defender is essential for making effective cuts and losing the defender's sight.
- 🔄 Following your defender's movement can lead to open opportunities, especially when they rotate to help.
- 🎯 Off-ball screens are just as important for the passer and screener to create scoring chances.
- 🏃♂️ Anticipating your defender's help or rotation can lead to easy baskets by cutting to the rim.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the video script?
-The main focus of the video script is to teach viewers about off-ball movement in basketball, specifically by analyzing Euroleague players' techniques.
Why is off-ball movement important when the ball goes into the post?
-Off-ball movement is crucial when the ball goes into the post because it can result in either help defense, where two defenders guard one player, or off-ball defenders getting distracted by the ball, creating cutting opportunities.
What is the significance of defenders turning to look at the ball?
-When defenders turn to look at the ball, it opens up opportunities for offensive players to make cuts because the defenders lose sight of their man, making it difficult to guard them.
What is the 'Full rotate' mentioned in the script?
-The 'Full rotate' refers to a defensive adjustment where defenders scramble to pick up new assignments after a double team or help defense situation, which can lead to open cuts for the offense.
How do back screens set on the wing create opportunities for easy baskets?
-Back screens on the wing create opportunities by drawing the help defender's attention, leaving them in no man's land and providing an easy back door cut for a layup.
Why are ball screens a significant area of focus for analyzing cuts?
-Ball screens are a significant area of focus because they often result in two defenders guarding one player, which can stress the 'tag defender' to help or risk giving up an open shot.
What is the role of the 'tag defender' in a ball screen?
-The 'tag defender' in a ball screen is responsible for rotating over to help or 'tag' the rolling player to prevent easy baskets, which can create open cuts for other offensive players.
What is the purpose of the 45 cut in basketball?
-The 45 cut is used to exploit the attention of the top tag defender who is focused on the ball, creating an open angle for a layup by cutting to the basket at a 45-degree angle.
Why is it beneficial for a player to get below their defender?
-Getting below the defender is beneficial because it puts the offensive player in a position where the defender cannot see them, making it difficult to guard against cuts.
How can post players take advantage of off-ball movement?
-Post players can take advantage of off-ball movement by circling under to the other side of the rim when defenders are focused on the ball, creating back door cuts or easy baskets.
What is the key takeaway for players watching this video?
-The key takeaway is to always be aware of and react to the movements of your defender during ball screens, as they will indicate when to make cuts to the basket.
Why is it important for players to follow their defender's movements?
-Following a defender's movements is important because reacting to their help or rotation can create opportunities for cutting to the rim for easy baskets.
How can off-ball screens be used to get open for cuts?
-Off-ball screens can be used to get open for cuts by slipping to the rim when the screener's defender is focused on preventing a screen or is worried about giving up a three-pointer.
Outlines
🏀 Off-Ball Movement in Basketball
The paragraph discusses the importance of off-ball movement in basketball, particularly focusing on post touches and ball screens. It explains how defenders' attention can be drawn to the ball, creating opportunities for players to make cuts. The video uses examples from Euroleague players to illustrate how post players can exploit a defender's focus on the ball to create space for cuts. It also covers how a double team in the post can lead to a full defensive rotation, leaving other players open. The paragraph emphasizes the need to understand these concepts to improve one's basketball game.
🔍 Mastering Off-Ball Movement
This paragraph delves deeper into the tactics of off-ball movement, such as getting below the defender to become invisible to their line of sight, which is a strategic move to make a cut. It uses various examples to show how this can be applied in different scenarios, including during ball screens and in transition. The paragraph also discusses the importance of following the defender's movement, capitalizing on their rotation or help to make a cut to the rim. It highlights how post players can take advantage of this by circling under the rim against zone defenses. The advice is to always be aware of the defender's position and anticipate opportunities to cut, whether coming off screens or reacting to the defense's movement.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Off-ball movement
💡Post touches
💡Cutting
💡Double team
💡Ball screen
💡Tag Defender
💡45 cut
💡Screening
💡Help Defender
💡Back door
💡Offensive player
Highlights
Importance of off-ball movement in basketball
Learning from Euroleague players' off-ball movement
Cutting opportunities during post touches
Defenders turning to look at the ball creates open cuts
Double-teaming post leads to full defensive rotation and open cuts
Use of screens to create off-ball opportunities
Back screen set on the wing to exploit help defenders
Ball screens causing two defenders to guard one player
Understanding the role of tag defenders in ball screens
Cuts originating from the corner opposite the ball screen
45° cut as an effective off-ball movement
Cleared side ball screens for optimal cutting opportunities
The significance of getting below your defender
Anticipating and following your defender's help rotations
Post players using off-ball movement against zone defenses
Off-ball screens as a tool for creating cutting opportunities
The necessity of being engaged off the ball
Cutting off the ball is as crucial as passing and shooting
Transcripts
hey guys welcome back to the film room
we're covering such an important topic
in this video of how to move off the
basketball and what a better place to do
it than watching some of the best
off-ball movement in the game of
basketball with Euroleague there's so
many tips and tricks that you can pick
up from watching these guys play that
will elevate your game so let's jump
right into it the place we're going to
start is with post touches and the
reason why is because most people know
that when the ball goes into the post
that's when cutting is is really
important and the reason why is because
on post touches you're typically either
going to get somebody to help so two
people are guarding one or you're going
to get an off-ball Defender to get
caught staring at the basketball so
let's talk about why those two things
are so important just by the nature of
where the post player is at when the
ball goes in you're naturally going to
get Defenders turning and staring at the
basketball now the reason that one small
thing is so important is because when
your Defender turns and looks at the
ball that's going to open up
opportunities for you to cut and he has
no idea where you're at and the other
thing we talked about was when two
people guard one this typically happens
when someone goes to double team or fire
on the post and now the ball can get
thrown out where the double team came
from and as soon as that happens the
defense has to do something called Full
rotate which means they have to scramble
and pick up a new man and that's where
Cuts Like These end up being wide open
and these guys have such an elite
understanding of this that they do
little things that you might not even
notice watch how he looks over to the
left as he's passing it just to pull
number 10 a little bit further over to
open up this passing angle and once you
add screening into all of this it really
creates opportunities for you to get
easy buckets as the ball gets thrown
into the post you're going to see this
back screen set on the wing and what the
post player is looking at is this help
Defender right here who gets caught
staring in no man's land and gives up
this easy back door for a layup but
where we're going to spend a lot of our
time is with ball screen
notice how in a ball screen the same
thing happens you get two people
guarding one and you get off ball
Defenders that get caught staring at the
ball now we're going to spend a lot of
our time in ball screens because it's
where the majority of Great Cuts take
place when two people guard one and that
big slips out or rolls to the rim it
puts a lot of stress on this person
right here who's known as a tag Defender
to come over and help or they're going
to give up an open shot this concept is
the primary source of the majority of
offense that you see in Euroleague the
NBA and even in college so if you're
watching this and thinking I see this
happen all the time it's because this is
the way the majority of the World plays
basketball now so for us to have a good
understanding of how to cut and when to
cut we have to understand ball screens
when you run a pick and roll and force
two people to guard one there are these
Defenders back here known as tag
Defenders that are responsible for
making sure the role man doesn't get
easy layups and the way that they're
taught to do this is anytime the ball
gets thrown to the roll man they need to
rotate over or tag the roll man to make
sure that he doesn't get a shot but as
soon as they do that that creates these
opportunities for you to cut to the
basket so you'll see this exact same
situation happen in full speed in this
clip so anytime you're standing in the
corner opposite of a ball screen you
need to be prepared for this notice how
when he comes off of this step up both
of these tag Defenders are locked in on
this man rolling to the rim and the low
tag has no idea that his man is cutting
to the rim for an alleyoop and by the
time you finish this video and the more
you watch basketball you're going to see
this happen all the time watch on this
step up ball screen that both of these
tag Defenders are completely locked into
the ball in the rollman and they never
see this corner cut the ball handler
ends up throwing it to the wing but the
cut is still open and it's not just the
corner man that's able to cut to the rim
a lot of you have heard the term 45 cut
it comes from situations like this this
step up ball screen and this top tag man
is staring at the ball and you're going
to get this 45° angled cut that ends up
being a wide open layup and typically
the best time to 45 cut from the wing or
the slot is during a cleared side ball
screen and that's where there's no one
in the strong side corner you can see
the big man is rolling and the low tag
is coming up to help so this backside
plug Defender is responsible for two
people and as he sinks to the Baseline
that 45 Cuts wide open so as working on
getting better at this timing is
everything as he comes off this middle
ball screen both of these Defenders are
focused in on this rle man and the 45
cut actually Loops underneath the rim
and nobody even sees him so here's the
biggest key takeaway that you should get
from this video anytime there is a ball
screen happening and you are opposite
the ball in the perimeter get your eyes
to your Defender because they're going
to tell you exactly what you're supposed
to do and we're going to break that down
into two parts part number one is you
need to get below your Defender what I
mean by that is this look at the
defender in the corner on the top side
if you were to draw a line through his
feet this is where he's at and the
offensive player is below the defender
line and the reason that's important is
because of what we already learned that
when you're below the defender they
can't see you and it's really hard to
guard someone that you can't see and
that isn't just for ball screens that's
in any situation anytime that you can
get below your Defender it's a great
opportunity to cut because they lose
vision of you so you need to be mindful
of this all the time when you're on the
court look at this topside corner he is
below his man and on this drive if he
were to cut Baseline he'd be wide open
but as soon as the ball handler spins
and number seven stares at the
basketball this 45 cut is wide open
because he got behind his Defender and
this will work in transition as well now
most wings are taught to run to the
corner which I believe in but as soon as
he recognizes is that this Defender is
staring at the ball and he gets below
him he just breaks it off cuts to the
rim and again another easy layup here
are a few more examples of guys just
getting below their Defender and making
Great Cuts to the
[Music]
rim
and post players you're able to take
advantage of this as well on middle
drives when you're in the room or the
dunker or short corner you can Circle
under to the other side of the rim and
it's the same concept as getting below
your Defender and this will work against
zone defense as well specifically
against two3 Zone often times these Wing
Defenders get caught staring uphill and
so this is your back door or cutting
area and the most ideal time to do it is
on dribble penetration or if the ball
hits the high post the second part is to
follow your Defender anytime that your
Defender decides to go and help or
rotate if you're able to react to his
movement by cutting to the rim right as
he leaves that's going to open up
opportunities so as soon as this
Defender goes to help at the high post
follow him by cutting to the rim and
that opens up these looks and this is
why you have to be engaged off the ball
as this stepup screen happens in front
of you focus on this top Wing or slot
area
as soon as the defender rotates to help
on the pick and roll the offensive
player literally follows him right to
the rim for a lamp and this same
principle works on post touches as the
ball gets thrown into the post notice on
the Flight of the ball this big is
rotating and as matchup just follows him
and runs straight to the rim and that's
what opens up this dunk so again keep
your eyes on your matchup you'll see
right here that there's a ball screen
that's being set at the top and this big
is going to set a flare screen for his
man into the corner but as soon as his
Defender goes to help he literally
follows right behind him and gets this
wide open dunk and this works for post
players really well because typically
your matchup is a rim protector so as
soon as somebody drives to the basket
your guy is usually going over to stop
him and if you can anticipate it you're
going to get really easy buckets but you
do have to have some feel on this read
here's a good example on this ball
screen when the big slips this bottom
tag is going to rotate over and help now
if you're in the corner and you're a
really good shooter maybe you stay to
get a catch and shoot three or if you
feel like your man is late on the tag
and he's going to get an easy dunk you
can stay put now the last area we have
to cover is off ball screens because
it's equally as important to start with
if you're the passer in these situations
you should always get your eyes to the
screener Defender because if they don't
help and a good screen is set that's
what actually opens up these cuts and if
you're the guy coming off the screen you
should always be looking for opportun
unities to slip to the rim so here's a
down screen being set for a good shooter
and this Defender is worried about
getting hit on this screen and giving up
a three and because Marco knows that he
uses it against the defender and slips
to the basket and gets an easy layup and
banelli is masterful at doing this he
knows his Defender is so afraid of him
coming off of a screen to get a three
that he's always looking for these
opportunities to back door and his
teammates know he's going to do it as
well here's a few more clips of guys
using off ball screens to get open on
these cuts to the
[Music]
basket cutting off the ball is as much
of skill as passing and shooting it
takes a lot of practice please don't
fall into the Trap of thinking you're
only effective offensively with the ball
in your hands thanks for coming through
we'll see you next time in the film room
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