Basketball Tips 2 – Master your Pick and Roll

Mastering Screen and Roll gives an important advantage to the offense team as it is considered one of basketballs’ toughest situations to defend.

Lets take John Stockton for example, NBA's all-time leader in steals (3,265) and assists (15,806). True he had Karl Malone next to him, but his remarkable ability to use the Screen and Roll to a level of perfection made this duo one of the deadliest ever.

Before we continue with basketball tips for Screen and Roll, ask yourself:

(1) Can you create a shooting situation every time you play Screen and Roll?
(2) Are you afraid of the trap or hedge? Are you just looking to get the ball away from you as fast as you can?
(3) Can you find the open man?

Want to Master Screen and Roll?

(1) First of all, don’t rush it; you need time to read the situation.
(2) Always try to start the play where you believe can take the shot. If the defender is going under the screen, take the advantage and make him pay.
(3) The opponent teams’ defense will try many solutions: switch, hedge, trap… at some point, someone is going to be open or with a mismatch you want to take advantage of.
(4) In a trap situation, it is most likely that one of your teammates will have a better passing angle to the big guy.
(5) Remember - If you started to drive and can't finish, the corner man is waiting for the shot. He is w-i-d-e open.
(6) At least 25% of the time you need to fake and go to the same side you came from. No one will expect that.

Go down to the basketball court with a friend and practice on each of these points. When you practice the Screen and Roll it is recommended that each time you use a different option: drive, drive-and-dish, drive-and-kick to the corner, etc.