Off-ball screens explained

A screen is when one player positions his body to block a defender, freeing a teammate. Most people picture screens set for the ball-handler, but many of the most valuable screens happen away from the ball. An off-ball screen is set for a player who does not have the ball, helping him shake his defender and get open to receive a pass. Because the defence is watching the ball, these screens can be especially hard to see coming.

There are several familiar off-ball screens. A down screen is set near the basket for a teammate to run up to the perimeter and catch for a shot. A back screen is set behind a defender so a cutter can slip toward the rim. A pin-down and a flare screen work on similar ideas, springing a shooter in different directions. Each is designed to create a moment of separation between a teammate and the man guarding him.

The purpose of an off-ball screen is to create space. A good shooter running off a down screen can catch and shoot before his defender fights back into position. A cutter using a back screen can be free for a lay-up or a lob at the rim. The screen does not score itself, but it creates the split second of separation that turns a covered player into an open one, which is often all a good offence needs.

As defences have become better at guarding the ball, off-ball screening has grown in importance as a way to generate open looks for players without it. It rewards teamwork, timing and unselfishness, since the screener does the work so a teammate can score. Modern offences string these screens together, forcing defenders to navigate a maze of picks and eventually lose track of a shooter, who is left wide open.