Rethinking Zone Offense

Step into a High School basketball practice when a coach is installing a zone offense, and more than likely, the main offense will be a variation of high-low offense. Designed to get the ball into the paint through the high post and short corner by flashing players into that space. It is a universal offense whose beauty lies in the simplicity and effectiveness is widely believed.

Yet, I have struggled with this offense because, despite its effectiveness, I find it poses a logical dilemma for coaches. This article will serve to present my reasons and ideas for shelving the traditional zone offense in favor of an offense built around the same concepts used against man defenses.

Why Change?

For coaches, so much time is spent learning and evolving to modern strategies in the effort to win. For the past decade, basketball has been evolving into a game built around spacing. This focus on space has improved offensive efficiency in three simple ways.

• Threes > Twos

• Less traffic = Less turnovers

• More space = Easier decisions

Of course, the pace and space revolution contains many more layers than I briefly described but the result is not complicated. Coaches design and teach their offense to create space for their players to attack with the goal of creating layups, threes, and free throws.

Nothing that I just described is revolutionary, in fact it is quite ordinary. Yet, these concepts that dominate offensive schematics seemingly disappear when the defense breaks out a zone. Instead of creating space to attack, offenses teach the necessity to occupy the high post and strong side dunker spot.

This article serves as my remedy to a logical dilemma found throughout basketball. So, I will attempt to describe how coaches can attack zone defenses using the same actions that work against man. The result will hopefully be eliminating unnecessary timeouts, saving valuable practice time, and thoroughly thumping those pesky zone defenses.

"Flow"

The term "flow" represents a pick and roll continuity that teams use to generate movement and ball screens on multiple sides of the floor. The basic motion has two screeners and three ball handlers in a 4 around 1 structure. It can start in just about any way, but the result is always an empty side ball screen. The other key characteristics are a big being at the top to reverse the ball and one ball handler always cutting through (45, shallow, baseline) to make the ball screen an empty action.

With the understanding of "Flow" against man to man defenses, we can see the overload potential that inspired this idea. Using pieces of flow, this article will build three triggers that can be run versus man or zone with equal effectiveness.

Triggers

My quick definition of triggers is simply a practiced action that starts a simple set. It's purpose is to provide a structure to play from without having to slow down and call sets. These are practiced patterns that get the offense moving while still being aggressive to try and attack the defense.

"Pacer"

The first trigger is probably my favorite due to its effectiveness for fast paced teams. The trigger starts with a pistol screen (side ballscreen coming from the corner) and is followed by a flare screen with the trail big setting it for the screener.

Here, the namesake of the action run it through a 4-out alignment with the center running to the rim. As he sees the pistol screen, he steps out to the strong side corner (I would prefer him going to the weakside) changing into a 5-out look. If the flare screen isn't open, the guard cuts to the empty corner to create space.

After the initial chained actions (pistol + flare), that's where the players decisions come into play. The flare screener can step into a drag screen for the ball handler or pop for a catch to get into different hub actions (get, zoom, etc).

Now that the basic structure is understood, let's dive into how this trigger can be effective against a zone defense. The first option is to always attack baseline as fast as possible versus a unsettled defense. Most likely the driver won't score but it will turn heads and give the weakside cutting chances.

If the early baseline drive isn't available, the next progression is reading the flare screen. The best scoring chance within this action comes from a slip with the trailing big catching in the high post and looking to attack or find a baseline cut from the weakside.

If the flare screen causes confusion and leaves the recipient of the flare screen open, that allows the offense to get a shot or play from a closeout with the floor spaced. A reminder, the purpose of these actions are to remain consistent and attack zones through the same principles as man to man. Space the floor, create an advantage (make 2 guard 1), and play through that advantage.

Now, if none of those things happen, either the big pops for a catch or the ball is passed to the flaring guard at the top of the arc. Either way, the ball needs to get to the second side of the floor to shift the zone. There are many ways to get to the next action, I will go through ones that maintain flow but the purpose is getting to a slot ball screen going towards the double side.

As shown above, the ball screen will likely trigger a guard to guard switch for the defense which means there's no advantage for the ball handler. But the above clip does a great job showing the space that the ball screen creates for the double side. Getting the ball out of the ball screen early gives the offense an advantage that it can play out of. Now, quickly to list different ways to get to the slot ball screen in Pacer.

Guard Flare

• 23 DHO (2 DHO with 3) 2 through cut 4 chase into a 43 slot ballscreen.

• 2 Swings to 3 and follows to get the ball in the wing/slot area with 3 cutting through and 4 chasing into the ballscreen.

Big Pop (Floor is balanced with both corners and wings occupied)

• On the catch, the second side corner is setting a flare and slipping to look for a high post catch, otherwise the ball goes to the wing with the 4 chasing into a slot ballscreen.

• The ball can just be swung to the second side wing with the 4 chasing into a ball screen.

My theory is that this trigger would have the most success against a 3-2 with the pistol screen create baseline drives early while the flare action creates movement and a reversal to attack with a second side slot ballscreen.

To over explain, both the pistol and slot ball screen will be set on the the same side wing defenders. When playing through the slot screen, there will be less catch and shoot chances with two defenders being allocated to guard two offensive players. Without a numbers advantage, the offense still has chances to attack closeouts against a moving defense or could find the rolling big man with great positioning against the opposite low defender.

Against a 2-3 zone, the pistol and flare are set on the ball side guard coming from opposite directions. The second side slot ball screen will be set on the second side guard. In this instance, the zone will give up more threes with the third side overload.

Finally, a 1-3-1 zone can be more difficult because of the number of defenders above the free throw line area but the concepts remain the same. The pistol screen is set on the wing defender to try to access the baseline for the ball handler. The flare and slot ball screen is now being set on the top defender. The key is either getting an early baseline drive or attacking a seam to the middle of the court to draw help and create a 2 on 1 along the baseline.

"Drag" or "Fist"

This is the simplest trigger but offers many different variations to best fit your rosters strengths. To go through these options quickly, I am going to list them before diving into film examples.

• Slot Ballscreen (Simple, best for limiting dribbles and creating perimeter shots.)

  • Post-ups

  • Wing Stampedes

  • One-more corner threes

• Ricky (Get a guard downhill to score or kick, best against passive zones.)

• Shallow (Create space for the ball handler while overloading the backside, best with elite shooter and competent pick and roll playmaker.)

• Drift (Great for generating closeouts and wide gaps to attack, best with a roster built around athleticism.)

A slot ballscreen creates a numbers advantage shown with the "Pacer" trigger but is easier for teams to get to because of its natural application into a typical 4-out alignment. If the guards at the top of the zone switch, it is the ball handlers job to get the ball moving and trusting their teammates to attack the advantage.

This clip shows what the ballscreen would look like against a 1-3-1 zone. The screener angles himself into a more flat screen which allows the ball handler to snake the screen and pressure the middle of the zone. Because of the 1-3-1 alignment, this creates a numbers advantage along the baseline.

There is also the option to isolate a post player one on one in the middle of the floor. The clip below shows Loyola trying to do just that, but with an aggressive defender threatening the pass, they get to a DHO boomerang and attack the baseline.

The next variation takes a baby step in complexity but is a great way to use a good screener to get an athlete going downhill by screening the outside guard with the strong side corner to occupy the wing. I like to start it with pass and pass back between the slots to move the defense and make the screeners job easier.

There are many ways to get to this action but I prefer the slot rescreen due to its simplicity. I will include other ways to get to this side ballscreen but this option is the best as a trigger due to the speed from which the offense can get into the action, again trying to limit any offensive pauses.

The next two variations are paired together for me because they rely on player movement outside of the two player ballscreen action. The value of this movement comes from the subtle pressure it applies on the help defense. It forces them to either focus on stopping the two-player action coming from the slot or staying connected to their matchup.

The first ballscreen variation involving off ball movement is adding a shallow underneath the ballscreen. This is a create counter for teams moving the opposite guard to switch a side ballscreen or an additional option to create space for the roller if the defense relies on a drop defense from their center.

There's also the more common option of Spain when using a third player in the pick and roll. Though, the Spain action will look more like a double drag screen if the defense relies on switching guard to guard. If the defense doesn't switch between guards and instead brings the big up to the screen, this is where the typical Spain usage can cause defensive problems.

Now, instead of running a third player towards the ball screen, the other option is using a "drift" technique that is popular in the NBA and is slowly seeping into lower levels of basketball. I would not suggest implementing this style unless it is consistent with your teams offensive scheme. Below is a great video explaining the concept and defensive dilemmas that it creates.

Floppy

Our final trigger is a staple for many coaches despite its drop in popularity from the 2000s. It starts with a 4 around 1 alignment and my preferred entry is a wing dribble handoff. After the handoff, the point guard sprints into a baseline stagger set by the 5 (first screener) and 4 (second screener) while the 2 and 3 are playing from the slots.

Now we get to how this action can generate buckets against the zone. As the PG is sprinting off the second screener to get to the corner, the 4 is screening/sealing the defensive 5 for the offensive 5 to get to the ballside block. Through this, the passer (probably the 3) is reading the wing of a 2-3 to see if they stay in to help the x5 or get out to take away the PG.

If that read isn't there, the ball gets passed to the 1 in the corner who can shoot or drive if there is a closeout. Most likely, there won't be a good shot so the 1 throws it back to the 3 who gets into a ballscreen. The purpose of throwing it to the corner is to shift the defense while giving the offensive 5 to lift into a slot ballscreen for the 3.

Against a 2-3 zone, the screen is set on the ballside guard with the 4 spacing to the weakside corner. The guard needs to get off the ball quickly and the offense can play from there.

For a 3-2 zone, the slot ballscreen is set on the outside wing to get the ball to the middle. The difference is having the 4 set a flare on the opposite. Anytime a flare is set, we are looking to slip versus a zone but another option is passing to the 2 early and using that flare as a quick ballscreen without time for the defense to react. The result will be the defense settling into drop coverage or forcing a switch that threatens their zone structure.

This is the action but it will look different because the defense won't have a set coverage for a ballscreen in this situation. Most likely, they will resort to a below the level switch and give the guard room to attack or to draw the bottom defender and find the roller in the middle of the floor.

If nothing is open, the 5 is popping (because the 4 rolls the second screen) and we are looking to get a ball reversal. Notice, the 2 can space to the corner and the offense is back to its original alignment.

Against a 1-3-1, that slot ballscreen is getting set on the point defender to try to create a seam in the middle of the zone with the 1 and 4 looking for cuts or spot up opportunities along the baseline.

This video summarizes and includes most of the clips included already in one video that builds up from the basic slot ballscreen to bring together nearly everything written about above.

Zone Sets

In addition to the three triggers, here's a collection of my favorite series, and quick hitters for coaches to implement in the pauses of the game. In general, my opinion is the series are best for ref touches (FTs, Fouls, OOB). Meanwhile, the quick hitters (Layups, Threes) are best for true timeouts with the usage of the whiteboard to communicate with your team.

Series

Using a double drag screen is an effective way to complicate your actions without slowing down your players. I have already written an extensive breakdown of this action in my A Coaches Guide to Secondary Transition

Layups

Threes