By Berkay Terzi / info@eurohoops.net
In today’s basketball, teams use hundreds of offensive actions to get to the result more easily, but none are as common as Pick-and-Roll.
This is because Pick-and-Roll can create many different advantages when led by qualified hands. If we think of the main purpose of the offensive team as creating an advantage/opportunity, nothing can beat this action.
The 2004-05 Phoenix Suns, who had threats such as Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire, used the P&R offense 22 times per game. This figure has risen year after year and has reached an incredible level. During the 2021–22 NBA season, the Utah Jazz executed this action 46 times per game. Golden State Warriors were the team that used the least P&R action in their offensive system. Even they used this offense more (24.6 times) than the 2004-05 Phoenix.
You can see the unstoppable rise of Pick-and-Roll in more detail in the table below. These stats don’t just include ball-handler’s shots. This includes shots from the screener or third person (e.g. the spot-up shooter in the corner).
So what are some ways have NBA defenses resorted to stop or slow down this action? We are here to find answers to this question.
First of all, I would like to remind that: Pick-and-Roll defensive strategies are usually named in terms of the movement and position of the big. But these plays are not defended by a single person. The Guard defender is also involved as much as possible. Therefore, it is useful to briefly mention what the Ball-handler’s defender can do.
Ball-Handler’s Defender / On-Ball Defender
- Over: Going over the screen. The goal is not to give the opponent space and not to let him the opportunity to shoot. It is used against players with pull-up threats and superstars. However, there can be teams that use “Over” on each screen, regardless of the opposing player. If the player who uses it falls out of the position, he has to follow the position from behind and catch his man again.
- Under: Going behind the screen. If the ball-handler’s shooting threat is weak, it makes more sense to use “Under.” In this way, both defenders spend less effort and reduce the possibility of the opponent attacking the rim.
- Ice: It is used against Side P&R actions. The on-ball defender closes the direction the opponent is going and pushes him toward the sideline. Ice defense can be followed by Trap defense. Keeps the game out of the middle zone (No-middle). Some call it “push” or “blue.”
- Weak: It has a similar logic to Ice, but it’s used against High P&R actions. The goal is to direct the ball-handler towards his weak hand.
- Switch: It is clear from the name… Quite popular lately. We’ll touch on it in the following sections.
» Examples:
We saw examples of “Ice” and “Weak” in the Milwaukee Bucks vs. Chicago Bulls series in the 2022 NBA Playoffs. When DeMar DeRozan led his team to victory in the second game of the series, the Bucks changed their defensive strategy. In games 3, 4, and 5 of the series, they constantly pushed DeRozan into his weak hand and to the left corner. So Nikola Vucevic had to flip his screens and adjust different angles. Chicago tried too much early offense in the final game of the series to make DeRozan more comfortable. They wanted to speed up the tempo and prevent defenders from getting into position:
Screener’s Defender
After a quick start, we’ll take a look at what the screener’s defender can do. As I just mentioned, P&R strategies are named by the movement of the defender at the back. I have grouped these strategies under five main headings. First, let’s talk about drop defense.
1. Drop
In the Drop coverage, the ball-handler’s defender fights the screen, trying not to fall out of the play, and follows the position from behind. The screener’s defender takes the rim on his back and backpedals, trying to keep both the screener and the ball handler under control. He should not allow the opposing player to get behind him. He should always be between the ball and the basket. The main goal here is to protect the paint and keep the opponent away from the rim.
Examples
Main Purpose
- Drop strategy is preferred by teams with slow bigs (e.g. Rudy Gobert, Brook Lopez). These players avoid facing guards after the screen because they cannot move their feet fast in space. Also, they have a hard time returning quickly to their men. So it makes more sense to keep them close to the rim and try to take advantage of the length.
- Another goal is to direct the opponent to mid-range shots and teardrops. In today’s basketball, these shots are seen as less valuable by the teams. The statistics prove this. If the opposing player has problems with pull-up shots, the drop defense can be extremely effective.
- It allows you to lock the paint and better protect the rim. Drop defender does not let the roller get behind him. Thus, it becomes more difficult to find points by attacking the rim, creating easy bucket chances around the basket through screener or off-ball cuts.
- In the Drop Coverage, unlike other defensive strategies, the off-ball defenders outside of P&R have less responsibility. The position of off-ball defenders depends on the team’s defensive scheme and the opponent’s shooting threats. Some teams want these players to stay home. Teams that prioritize rim protection can also ask off-ball defenders to shrink the floor.
Problems
- Allows open mid-range shots, and pull-up three-pointers. It leaves a lot of space in the mid-range area. It is a situation that teams don’t prefer in the playoffs. If you give stars like Curry and Lillard that much space, they will punish without hesitation.
- Vulnerable against pick&pop and dribble handoff (DHO) actions. There’s a lot of space after the screen. May be required “stunt & recover” from off-ball defenders.
- Puts a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of the ball-handler’s defender. If possible, should not let the opposing guard pass through the screen. If he falls out of the position easily, the opposing guard can go to the basket or shoot a pull-up.
- If the drop defender is lacking in vertical athleticism or length, an easy alley-oop opportunity may arise.
1.1 Drop Load
P&R is never an action played on 2v2. Other players on the court are also involved in this play as much as possible. Drop Load is one of the best examples of this. NBA coaches are involving a third defender in the Drop defense to prevent the opposing guard from crossing the screen and going to the rim.
The off-ball defender who defends in the wing will stand in the gap between their man and ball-handler. The nearest Gap defender slips to the driving lane when the opposing guard passes through the screen and turns the corner.
As we all know, Anthony Edwards is one of the best offensive threats in the league. He has a combination of talent, athleticism, and size. After going through the screen of Jarred Vanderbilt, he can play the position very differently. But Dillon Brooks’ help from one pass away deters Edwards. The Memphis Grizzlies cover up the flaws of the Drop defense in this position.
In this strategy, the biggest responsibility falls on the off-ball defender who brings gap help. After coming to help, he needs to quickly return to his man. Just like Dillon Brooks did. With the bigger court sizes in the NBA, it’s not as simple as it seems. If this recovery doesn’t happen quickly, the offensive player on the wing may get an open-shot opportunity. An athletic offensive player who attacks well to the close-outs can catch up with defender unbalanced, attack the rim and force the opponent into defensive rotation.
Other examples from the Drop Load strategy… Drop Load is useful because it restricts the open shot opportunity and also allows the big defender to maintain his position. However, if the offensive player, whom the Gap defender left empty on the wing can punish the team that uses Drop Load. It’s hard to find the perfect strategy in basketball, especially on defense. When you’re trying to fix one side, you give a deficit from the other.
Another example comes from Andrew Wiggins…
1.2 Next Coverage
Next Coverage is a different version of Drop Load… In the Drop Load strategy, the Gap defender returns to his man after showing himself. In Next Coverage, the defender who brings help from the wing switches onto the ball-handler. The on-ball defender fills the Gap defender’s man. Meanwhile, the screener’s defender backpedals. It will be easier to understand with the following example:
Devin Booker switches onto Luka Doncic. Mikal Bridges switches to Tim Hardaway, who was left by Devin Booker. The Phoenix Suns have executed this strategy just fine, but Luka Doncic doing Luka Doncic things.
In the first phase of Next Coverage, there is an opportunity for one pass away. After Devin Booker made the switch, Tim Hardaway was left open on the wing. If Doncic had made the pass to Hardaway after turning the corner, the position would have gone very differently. Some teams use a different method to avoid empty shots in case of the on-ball defender is late:
RRicky Rubio, defending in the weakside corner, rotates as the ball goes toward Evan Fournier. He leaves his own man and moves into Fournier’s defense, thus preventing an easy chance. Rudy Fernandez, who made the “Peel Switch“, now has a longer running distance. However, France needs to make an extra pass (Fournier #10 » Albicy #21) to create an opportunity. This extends the time the ball stays in the air and provides enough time for the defense to settle again. Finally, Fernandez moves into the defense of the player left by Rubio. This can be seen especially in Side P&R actions.