Ethan Khoza breaks down four reads for off-ball screens and pindowns: long curl, flare/fade, tight curl, and backdoor cut. Learn how to recognize defenses and hit the right cut every time.
Being able to play off the ball is one of the most important skills in basketball. Most teams will only have at most one or two guys who are going to have the ball in their hands for the majority of the time. Everybody else who wants to make an impact has to be able to play without the ball in their hands. One of the most common actions in basketball is a down screen, otherwise known as a pin down. This pin down action is something that's almost universally used with every team. So if you're good at being able to play off of a pin down, you'll be able to score and create plays for your team very, very easily. And a major part of being effective using pin downs, having a high basketball IQ and understanding what reads to make in what situations. In this video, we're going to go through the four different reads you can make using a pin down and then I'll give you some clips where you guys can test your knowledge and try and make the right read. And then you guys can take the knowledge that you've gained and apply it to your own game. Let's get into it. The first option we're going to look at is the long curl. This is probably the opt that players go to the most just because it's the most natural and the most comfortable. And that's especially true if you're a shooter because typically this is where you might be able to get an open three point shot. Now, this is the read you're going to go to. Typically if your defender really gets hit by that screen, or if they get caught off guard or if there's a miscommunication between the two defenders and you have a distinct advantage when it comes to time. If the ball gets entered into the high post and then a pin down is set, you can also go into a dribble hand up coming off of a long curl as well, which might give you options to score or, or shoot the ball, but it also can open up passing options to your teammates. The next read we'll talk about is the flare or the fade. Look. Now you're going to go to the fade if your defender goes under that screen to try and jump it and you essentially just make them pay for trying to cheat and jump that screen. This is a read that players struggle with a lot. A lot of times they just go through the motions and continue through with their long curl or their tight curl, even, even when the defender starts to cheat and jump that screen by going to that fade look, not only will that give you the opportunity to hit that cash and shoot three. But it also will give you a long close up to attack as well if you aren't able to get the SH off foreign. Now we'll take a look at our next pin down read, which is the tight curl. Now you're going to go to the tight curl whenever your defender is trailing you because a lot of time this is going to lead to you being able to get a layup or at least getting downhill and getting fouled near the basket. A lot of this is a feel thing. When you set your defender up, you come off that pin down. You feel them either grabbing at you on your back. That's when you know you want a tight curl there and be ready for the ball. A lot of players will incorrectly try and long curl when the defender is trailing them, but when you do that, your defender is right behind you. So you probably won't have an open shot. You probably won't have many options when you catch the ball. It also makes it easier for that defender to potentially jump that pass if you try and long curl it or you try and pop out to the wing. So it's best that if your defender is trailing you, you tight curl it as it's going to give you the most amount of options going downhill. And the fourth read you can make off a screen is a backdoor cut. Anytime your defender overplays and tries to beat you over that screen, that's where you want to go backdoor. This keeps that defender honest and a lot of times gets you really easy baskets because the defense isn't prepared for it. So to review our four reads, our first option is is to long curl if our defender gets caught. And we can also go into a dribble handoff as well off of that long curl. Our second read is to fade coming off of that pin down. If that defender tries to jump it and cheat over under that screen, you're going to fade to where that defender isn't, which is going to create either an open shot or a long closeout for that defender. The third read is a tight curl off that pin down. You're going to do this whenever your defender is trailing you and is on your back. This is going to many times lead you to an open attack, downhill to the rim or for a short jump shot. And is also going to free up your screener for potential shot coming out of that pop. And our 4:3 coming off this will be the back door cut which is going to happen when the defender tries to jump and overplay that screen. Now I'm going to show you guys a few different plays and I'll pause it during the play when you have to make that decision on what read is best. So you'll get to test and see how well you can apply what we've talked about. Right here the defender is trailing right on his back so he tight curls and gets all the way to basket for a layup. Foreign basketball there's going to be a little bit of nuance with this clip right here. It may seem like a tight curl situation at first, but that defender is so far behind him that this guy can get it a wide open three if he long curls right here. Also, that hedge defender is retreating back to his guy so he's in the way for that tight curl. So the best read right here is to long curl right into a 3. Pretty simple read right here. The defender tries to cheat over top of the screen so the player fades to the corner for the three. Like I said before, there's a lot of nuance in basketball, so every play might not be the exact perfect read, but if you're able to put the ball in the basket then sometimes it doesn't really even matter. Gerard probably could have tight curled right here, but you also look at the fact that he would have had a much more contested shot had he tight curled had to face those longer defenders. So he goes with a long curl here and is able to hit the three. Pretty simple read to see the tight curl with the defender trailing. I want to continue to emphasize this read though because a lot of players overlook it. But if you get good at recognizing when to tight curl, you're going to create a lot of opportunities. Opportunities to get layups and get to the free throw line. Try to look for opportunities to make these four different reads and when you get good at it, you'll become a very, very good off ball player. Let me know what you got. Let me know what you think down in the comments below and make sure you guys click the top link in my description below to get my free Elite Perimeter Score workout. If you guys enjoyed this video, drop a like and subscribe. Talk to you guys soon. PE.
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