Terminology

  • Cover Down: A weak-side rotation where a defender sinks down to an offensive big near the basket to cover for a teammate providing help.
  • Drag: A ball screen set in transition or early offense by a trailer to exploit an unset defense.
  • Double Drag: Two consecutive ball screens set in early offense by trailers, with one screener popping & the other rolling to the rim.
  • Ice: A side pick & roll coverage where the on-ball defender wedges themselves between the ball handler and the screener, forcing the ball handler toward the sideline.
  • Kick-Out (or Scram) Switch: A second, off-ball switch used to neutralize the advantage from an initial switch.
  • Lock-and-Trail: A technique where a defender “locks” onto an offensive player and dictates that the player use an off-ball screen, then “trails” behind the player.
  • Roll/Replace: A pick & roll action where the ball screener rolls to the rim as another player moves from the paint to the three point arc where the screener just came from.
  • Shake: A technique where a perimeter player lifts up along the three point line behind the ball handler during a pick & roll.
  • Short Roll: When a screener cuts off, or “shortens,” his roll to the basket to receive a pass from the ball handler, often after the defense puts two men on the ball.
  • Spain (or Stack) Pick & Roll: A variation of a regular ball screen where a player screens the ball handler’s man, while a shooter sets a back screen on the screener’s defender before popping to the three point line.
  • Split Action: An off-ball screening action that occurs after the ball is entered into the post between the post feeder and the next closest perimeter player.
  • Stagger: When two consecutive off-ball screens are set in the same direction for an offensive player.
  • Stunt: When an off-ball defender lunges at an offensive player to cause a delay before retreating back to his man.
  • Tag: A method of help in pick & roll defense when a defensive player momentarily bumps an offensive player rolling to the basket before retreating to his original man.
  • Top-Lock: A technique where, in anticipation of an off-ball screen, a defender positions himself between his man and the screen to try to force the offensive player away from the screen.
  • Trap the Box: A technique where the low defender on the weak-side rotates to the strong-side to provide help on a non-middle drive.
  • Wedge (Ball Screen): A screen-the-screener action where a player screens for another player who immediately sets a ball screen.
  • X-Out: A weak-side rotation where two defenders switch perimeter match-ups in a defensive recovery situation, forming an “X.”