Empty Side Ball Screen
A ball-screen action run with the strong side cleared out, giving the ball handler a wide-open driving lane and the screener a clean roll to the rim.
Pick-and-Roll ActionsAges 13–15, Ages 16+
The breakdown
Reads & options
- 1.If the screener's defender switches, look to post up the smaller defender who switched onto O5.
- 2.If the defense hedges hard, kick to the strong-side corner for the shooter.
- 3.If both defenders drop back, take the pull-up jumper off the screen.
Coaching points
- The screener should set the screen with a wide, stationary base and let the ball handler set up his defender before using it.
- The ball handler should attack downhill off the screen, not sideways.
- The roller should seal his defender toward the ball before rolling, not run in a straight line to the rim.
Running Empty Side Ball Screen?
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Keep going
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A modern ball-screen action where a shooter sets a back screen on the roller's own defender, springing a lob or open rim run as the screener rolls to the basket.
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A ball-screen counter where the screener immediately resets a second screen in a slightly different spot when the defense fights over the first one, giving the ball-handler a second driving angle in the same possession.