Transition

The numbered break's first option: the pitch ahead to the wing. Every player has one lane and runs it on every trip, make or miss, which is why a numbered break…

The rim run, the option that makes the rest of the numbered break work. The first big down the floor runs to the rim on every trip, and the rebounder trails. If…

The trailer three, the numbered break's last option and the one defenses forget. 4 rebounds and comes last by rule, so when the pitch ahead and the rim run are…

The Carolina secondary break's signature play: the reversal to the trailer, the swing to the weak wing, and the back screen on the trailer for the lob. Run it…

The Carolina secondary when the lob is covered. The entry is the same: trailer to the top, post look, reversal, swing, and the back screen on 4. This time X2…

Roy Williams's answer when the early post is fronted. The ball has been reversed to the wing, 5 has sealed on the block, and X5 is standing in front of him, so…

The drag screen, the ball screen set in transition by the trailing big before the defense is matched up. Fred Hoiberg's version at Iowa State is the one I teach…

The double drag, 77 in NBA shorthand: both bigs trail into stacked ball screens for the point guard before the defense is set. Run it when the primary break is…

Pistol, or 21, the three-player early offense the Seven Seconds or Less Suns made famous. It is a three-player action between the point guard, the wing on his…

Pistol Keep, the counter to Chase. The push is the same: 1 up the right sideline, 2 ahead on the wing, 5 trailing to the top. When the defense starts jumping…

The early post feed with a back screen, for the big who never quite beats his man down the floor. 1 pushes up the right side to the wing, 2 runs the right…

The secondary break against a 2-3 zone: attack it before it is set, flash the middle when it bumps down, and skip it when it slides. Most teams let a zone get…

The three-lane break for 8 to 12 year olds. One rule to teach: fill a lane, run it wide, and do not cut to the basket until you reach the free-throw line…