Drills play
Drill: Defending Pin-Downs (Lock and Trail)
- Court
- Half court
- Length
- 5 steps
About this play
Down screens are the base action of every motion offense, which is why my defenders need a rehearsed rule for them instead of a guess. Setup: 3v3, the point at the top with the ball, the shooter on the right block, the screener at the right elbow, three defenders matched up. The screener pins down on the shooter's defender; the screener's defender calls the screen before it arrives, loud enough for the whole floor to hear, and keeps calling it until his teammate answers. The shooter's defender locks onto the shooter's top-side hip and denies the reject so the cut only goes one way, then follows him through the screen a half step behind, shoulder turned to slip the contact. Nobody switches and nobody goes under: a switch leaves the screener's defender chasing a shooter who is already running away from him, and going under hands the shooter an open catch coming off the screen. The screener's defender steps into the cutter's path, inside forearm up and knees bent, so the shooter has to run wider around him and the trailer catches up; then he recovers to the screener popping or ducking in. Live 3v3 for a possession, rotate after three, score the stops. Common mistakes: the trailer cutting under the screen on the ball side, two men chasing the cutter with nobody on the screener, and the screener's defender standing upright when the cutter hits him. Progression: Virginia's continuous pindown with a coach passing. High school. It comes from Coach's Clipboard's defending down-screen drill and Breakthrough Basketball's piece on defending great shooters on down screens; read them for the show-versus-switch decision.
