Press Break play
Diamond Press Break: Four Across When Denied
- Court
- Full court
- Length
- 12 steps
About this play
The four-across answer when the diamond denies the inbound ('81'). Why four across: the point defender can't both pressure the inbounder and shade the middle when there are four receivers on one line, and a screen on a denier is the surest way to get the ball in. The receivers walk their defenders toward the baseline to shorten the pass, 4 sprints down and screens the denier on 1, 1 cuts off it to the corner, and 4 seals and opens to the ball so the inbounder has two targets off one screen; screeners must be ready to receive. The press arrives a count late, the ball goes back to 3 stepping in and then across to the far side before the press resets, and the ball crosses half court up the open sideline. The read: which way the screened denier fights. Counter shown: the press tries to trap the corner catch anyway; the step-in reversal and the swing beat it because the screen cost the trap a step. Rules: five seconds to inbound, so the screen is set on a count of one; the inbounder may run the baseline after a made basket. This one comes from Coach's Clipboard's 80 and 81 press breakers and Breakthrough Basketball's three simple press-break systems; give them a look for the teaching points on screening a denier.
