Transition play
Transition: Numbered Break, Rim Runner
- Court
- Full court
- Length
- 7 steps
About this play
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 he beats his man, the long pass is a layup or a foul. If his man beats him back, he does not fight for the layup; he turns and seals on the ball-side block, and the wing feeds him, because from the wing the entry is a straight pass and from the top it is a lob over the help. That early post feed is the Carolina break's first look every trip, because it arrives before the defense has its help set. Why the sprint matters even when the pass never comes: a big running to the rim drags a defender to the paint with him, and that is what empties the corners for 2 and 3. Personnel: 5 is the big who will run without the ball, 4 the better rebounder and passer, and 2 has to be able to throw a post entry on the move. The read is X5. If he is behind 5, throw it now. If he is already under the rim, hold the long pass and let 5 seal. The counter is the seal itself: the sprint still earns inside position, and the entry from the wing comes before X5 is set. Common mistakes: the rim runner stopping at the free-throw line to call for the ball, the point guard throwing the long pass into a defender who got back, and the wing holding the entry until the help arrives. Reward the runner with the ball or he stops running. The lanes and the post-first rule came from Coach's Clipboard's Carolina break page, and Michael Lynch's clip shows the pitch ahead into the post entry at game speed; start there.
