Zone Offense play
Zone Offense: Gap Drive and Pitch Back vs 2-3
- Court
- Half court
- Length
- 13 steps
About this play
Dribble penetration into a seam, from Coach's Clipboard's "Corners 52" and Schultz's "X Counter". Why drive a zone at all: a drive into a seam draws two defenders, and the kick to the third player is the shot. The action: the wing pass is followed by the ball-side post stepping up to screen the near top guard, the weak wing slides to the corner, the weak post cuts under the zone to the ball-side block, and the wing drives the seam between the top guard and the forward. The reads on the drive: the pull-up jumper in the gap, the corner if the weak forward drops in, or the post cutting underneath if the middle comes up. HoopTactics taught me to expect no layup from a seam drive against a 2-3; the payoff is the two defenders it pulls and the pass that follows. The counter is for the zone that jams the seams so the gap is closed before the catch: both wings sprint across and screen the two top guards on the inside, the point drives the middle they opened, and if the middle steps up, the point hits 4 behind the zone with a lob or bounce pass; if he stays, the point pulls up inside the free-throw line. Common mistakes: trying to finish the drive at the rim, where X5 and both forwards are waiting, the drive going before the screen on the guard is set, and the corner player drifting up so the forward can cover both. Corners 52 is Coach's Clipboard's, the X Counter is Ryan Schultz's, and the seam rule is HoopTactics'; Teach Hoops' dribble penetration video will take you deeper for the kick reads.
