Weak Side Offense

From the offensive standpoint, one of the major concerns of each and every one of us in the coaching profession is how to mix up our attack. How do we even out our inside and outside offensive attack to upset the defense? Each good offensive team should have a solid offensive arsenal from the outside, as well as the inside. In this article, I will focus on the inside attack, particularly the off-ball movement when the ball gets to the low post. There are several very important aspects that we have to focus on when discussing the low-post attack. First, who is going to get the ball in the low post? The obvious option is to get the ball to our most dominant player in the back-to-thebasket situations. Let’s say we gave him the ball down low without using any extra screens (screen on the baseline of a small for a big player, for instance). Our player runs down the court, fights for his position on the low block, and then gets the ball. (diagr. 1).

Most teams get into the serious problems when this happens, because they stop playing at this point, if just for a few seconds. But, in that short span, the offense comes to a standstill as the four other players stand around and watch, waiting for the big man to make his move. To the contrary, at the moment when we put the ball into our big man hands, this is when the action begins! I would like to point out four main aspects of the game that have to be satisfied at this moment. First, if our big man is so dominant or the defense so poor, or a combination of both, then we expect to score easy baskets, and many of them (diagr. 2).

Unfortunately, this scenario doesn't happen so often, because either we are facing good defensive players or the opposing team has prepared for our inside attack and they start helping out, rotating towards the ball and doing other things to make life very difficult for our big man (diagr. 3).

The second aspect we have to focus on is having the players cutting, moving and playing without the ball. This is a critical aspect to your team’s success for several reasons. The primary reason why we insist on cutting is improvement in our offensive spacing. Second, it always forces the defense to think about helping, which automatically keeps them off balance. The first cut that has to happen is a cut on the ball made by the passer (diagr. 4).

This cut is important because we can either score an easy basket (which is always the goal) and second, as I already mentioned, it keeps the defense off balance. The man that is guarding the passer is not in position to help or double team the big man with the ball in the low post. Therefore, at the moment of the cut, the man at the opposite corner has to slide up in order to improve team spacing (diagr. 5).

There are two other cuts that are possible. The first is a “duck-in move” by 4, and this is made if the defense reacts poorly, helps too much, or just falls asleep and doesn’t react (diagr. 6).

The second cut is more of a slide motion that is made to improve the passing angle by 4 to create an open shot from the high- post area. This occurs after the big man has made a hard dribble to the middle (diagr. 7).

These cutting segments are very important and have to be practiced regularly with a variety of drills in order to make the offensive flow much more effectively and increase our options. The third crucial aspect in this segment of the game is off-ball screening, an often forgotten or little emphasized aspect of the game. I have found that by using off-ball screens we are allow our shooters to get open in a more effective way. In addition, we force the defense to either switch (the best scenario for them in this case) or get caught in the blind screen (diagr. 8).

There are two factors that need to be mentioned while discussing this topic. The first is the screening angle, and the second is the necessity to set solid-not moving-screens, because if you move, it leaves room for referees to make many “suspect” calls.

Let’s look at the screens that will help your offense. The first is a screen 4 can make on 2, who is making the cut on the ball (diagr. 9). This is a “quick hit” solution to get a good shot off in case the defense is overplaying or else just not looking. In case that we don’t choose that option, 2 can always set a side screen on 4 (diagr. 10), after he makes the initial cut on the ball. This can be especially effective if 4 is a good three-point shooter.

Finally, 4 can set a back screen on 1 out on top, and then make a pop move to the top, and receive the pass from 5. The first option here would be a shot, but a second option would be a pass after a cut that 1 makes to the opposite corner following the screen he received from 5 on the low block (diagr. 11 e 12).

The fourth and final aspect that needs to be covered is team spacing. This is something that I insist on with every offense the team runs. By keeping the five players spread out on the court, the offense runs smoother and we will have many more options in our offensive arsenal that will allow us to score many easy points.

I am a great believer in the multiple attack offense, but it takes a lot of practice to make it work. Work on the little things I have discussed. In the end, it’s the good solid cuts, good timing of the screens, and moving and playing without the ball that will prove to be the crucial parts of your successful offensive machinery.