Pickin'-n-rollin' "to be or not to be".

Ball screens are like "to be" verbs. Everyone uses them and they usually lack substance. I challenge anyone to watch five minutes of a pick-up game anywhere in the country without witnessing a few dozen ball screens.

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What's the first thing a kid will do when lost on the floor? Go set a ball screen--never mind cutting to get open, screening for somebody away from the ball, or just getting the hell out of the way (some people call this "spotting up")--they will screen on the ball almost every time.

I blame the NBA. Although the best coaches in the world work in the NBA, they only seem to run isolation plays and screen/roll.

I always hated ball screens; they bored me. I'm a spacing and motion kind of guy. I thought ball screen plays belonged in one of those "For Dummies" books. Then I watched the Mavs dismantle the best defensive team in NBA history with that old, boring pick-n-roll.

Coach Pop tried everything during the series. He hedged, bellied-up, ducked behind, trapped, and switched. When the Spurs hedged, the Mavs popped, rolled, or flared, depending on the help side. The Spurs guards bellied up and the Mavs guards blew by. The Spurs ducked behind; Terry and crew shot the "three." When the Spurs trapped, the Mavs made the extra pass and found the open man. And when Tony Parker switched to Dirk Nowitzski on almost every play, Dirk did whatever he wanted. I couldn't believe how easy it looked. I had to get outside of my paradigm and check it out. So I did.

I started by taking a closer look at three plays we currently have in our playbook. The first is the ol' pass to wing, set a back screen for the passer, and hit the cutter for a lay-up if open. If not open, the person who set the back screen (usually a big man) will screen on the ball on the wing, thereby making this a big screening for a little. The guard who made the first pass delays under the basket then cuts hard off a staggered double screen on the help side of the floor. Most teams run some variation of this play, but for clarity's sake, I will diagram it (Diags. 1-2).

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Our second play involving a ball screen is a variation of the play just covered. However, we change it by calling our "New York" ending. I first stole this from the Knicks (when they were still good). They ran the same basic play, but the cutter (usually Alan Houston) stopped under the basket and waited for a down screen from the player rolling to the basket after setting the ball screen.

You teach players to set this down screen at the proper angle, but most importantly, the player receiving the down screen must wait on the screen and read the screen properly. He can curl, pop, flare, or back cut, depending on the defense. (Reading off-ball screens is another lesson.)

On the help side of the floor, we space up with the wing player for defensive transition and a possible kick-out pass, and we tell our help side post player to start battling for rebounding position because we usually get a jump shot off this set. Again, I will diagram the play (Diags. 3-4).

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Our third ball-screen play was stolen from North Carolina and Dean Smith years ago. UNC runs this in their secondary break. The play involves a ball screen at the top of the key. As the point guard goes to the screener (5), who straddles the three-point-line at the top-of-the-key, the ball-side wing (2) cuts to the low block (Diag. 5).

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As the player setting the ball screen rolls (5), the ball-side-wing-player (2) sneaks up and sets a back screen for the screener (5), the player rolling after setting the initial ball screen (Diag. 6).

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After setting the back screen, the wing player (2) pops out ready to shoot. If the defense takes away the lob on the screen-the-screener option, the wing player pops quickly, ready to catch-and-shoot (Diag. 6).

On the help side of the floor, I like to back screen for the opposite wing player. This player must wait on the screen. Following basic motion principles, the player screening always shapes up to the ball. On the back screen, we pick and pop. Again, pop off a pick with hands and feet ready to catch-and-shoot.

Most coaches have this play in their repertoire, but just so everybody can see it, I will also diagram it (Diags. 5-6).

Being a whole-part-whole person, I continued diagramming plays using the pick-n-roll, and I have pages of plausible plays. Then I had a revelation--diagramming plays will not make us run any ball screen plays better.

All my break downs of this situation, looking at tapes, and talking to colleagues led me to one simple fact. If I don't teach my players how to react to the defense, nothing we do will work. I had looked so much at the big picture that I forgot to pay attention to detail.

How and from where the pick-n-roll takes place remains important, but this tactic will only work if the players understand two things: (1) They must know how to read the defense, (2) The offense must make the help side defense move.

Allow me to list some critical aspects of the pick-n-roll game:

1. When using a ball screen off the dribble, the player with the ball must set the defender up to run into the screen. An easy way to teach this is to imagine a straight line drawn across the floor where the screener sets up and then imagine a straight-line drawn perpendicular from the screener's feet. This forms a "T" (Diags. 7-8). The ball-handler doesn't have to go below the line of the "T," but the angle of the dribble penetration must force the defender below the line of the "T" in order to properly set the defender up for the ball screen. If the ball-handler fails to set up the defender, the screener usually commits an illegal screen. The "O" in the diagrams below represents the defensive player.

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2. Whether from triple threat or off the dribble, go by the screener shoulder-to-hip once you've set the defender up to run into the screen. Rick Torbett, in Better 1 on 1 Offense, stresses the ball-handler's explosion past the screener. Explosiveness occurs when a player stays low with the dribble. You want him to go by the screener shoulder-to-hip (not shoulder-to-shoulder), meaning that the ball-handler's shoulder brushes the screener's hip. (I prefer this terminology.)

3. From triple threat position, the player with ball must also set the defender up for the screen. The ball-handler can see what side the screener sets up on and at what angle, but the defender on the ball cannot.

Utilizing a jab step (my preference), ball fake, or any other type of move to the basket, the player with the ball wants to make a move opposite the screener. Rick Barry says, "Make this move to score."

If the defender doesn't react to the move, take the ball to the basket and score. Defenders won't always react to this first move because they become more concerned with the screener than the ball-handler.

When the opponent does react to the first move, this will drive the defender in the opposite direction of the waiting ball screen and below the line of the "T" and set up the forthcoming ball screen perfectly. The ball-handler will next explode in the opposite direction around the screen, shoulder-to-hip, to maximize the ball screen.

4. You now must make the read on the help defender and react. Too many players make their minds up about what they will do before they see what the defense gives them. This is a mistake. Furthermore, too many ball-handlers think pass first and shoot second when they often have a shot or drive immediately after coming off the screen.

5. Anytime a defender "puppy dogs" (gets caught chasing the offensive player from behind), tell the player with the ball to attack the basket off the dribble, and tell a "puppy-dogged" screener to immediately roll to the basket.

6. If the defender ducks behind the screen, the ball-man should stay behind the screen and shoot the ball!

7. When the defender guarding the screener hedges the screen (shows over top and recovers), the defense wants to force the ball-handler to dribble in a wider arc instead of going straight to the basket. The defense wants to buy time to recover without switching. Don't let the hedge move slow down the ball-handler and don't stop dribbling.

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O = Defense. 5's defender hedges over the screen to slow down offensive player #1. Defensive players then try to recover back. Quickly push past the hedge, don't pick up dribble, and read the defense.

* To beat the hedge move, players should create separation by taking two quick dribbles past the hedging player and read the defense. Most often the ball-handler wants to hesitate a moment. Defenders typically recover slowly during the hedge move. Confusion can also occur. Often the ball-handler has a shot or drive, and if the ball-handler waits patiently for a split second longer, the roller often becomes open late as the defender recovers too slowly, usually in a "puppy-dog" fashion.

* Offense can beat the hedge move by having the screener watch where the defender goes. If the person guarding the screener hedges and stays too high, the screener should roll to the basket away from the help defense (Diag. 10). This is not slipping a screen. Slipping the screen occurs without ever setting the ball screen. The quick roll mentioned here occurs after setting the screen when the screener's defender hedges and stays or recovers too slowly.

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* If the defender guarding the screener hedges and then immediately retreats deep, the offensive player should flare to an open spot close to the basket. However, the defender's close out distance must allow the offensive player time to shoot.

* If the screener's defender hedges and recovers halfway, the screener should pop out ready to catch and shoot--usually a three-point shot. Remember to tell the offensive player popping out to create enough space to allow time to shoot.

8. Two other things come into play during a defensive hedge move on a ball screen:

* If the defender cheats over top of the screen too early, the screener should fake the screen and cut to the basket. Coaches have called this "Slipping the Screen" forever.

* During the hedge move, a gap between the hedging defender and the screener may open up. Players should make the Ginobli move when they see this--split it with the dribble, quickly push the ball through the gap and go to the basket. Nobody does this as well as the Spurs' Manu Ginobli.

9. If the defense double-teams the ball, the ball-handler must create space from the trap, and the screener must pop out or flare out to get open before the ball-handler gets trapped. Once the player with the ball passes out of the trap, usually to the screener, the offense has a 4-on-3 advantage. If the defense rotates slowly, the offense should spread out all over the floor and attack the basket with dribble penetration or with a diagonal pass. If the defense has rotated quickly, covering the lane area, the offense should keep reversing the ball until it gets to the open player. When passing out of the double-team, players should use a pass fake low and then throw over the top with a two-handed pass, or pass fake high, pivot, and throw a bounce pass.

10. What about switches? Since most ball screens involve a big screening for a little, punish the mismatches. Have the screener look to immediately seal the smaller guard during the roll to the basket. Pass the ball to the rolling player early when possible. Otherwise, push the ball to the wing and let the big player post the guard up. Make sure the offensive players on the help side of the floor make the defense move to keep another big player from helping.

The other mismatch on ball-screen-defensive-switches involves the big player trying to guard a small player on the perimeter. The guard should dribble back out, hesitate, and then blow by the bigger, usually slower defender.

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11. If the defender on the ball bellies-up and tries to fight over the screen, these two things will work:

* If the screener's defender stays behind, the ball-handler must blow by them both and attack the basket.

* If the screener's defender hedges, make a change of direction move and go the opposite way (low cross over, quick reverse dribble, etc.).

12. If the defense jump switches quickly, the ball-handler must pass the ball to the screener immediately in the gap--throw a bounce pass.

13. If the opponent defends the screen perfectly, pull the ball out and rescreen--run it again. One of the goals of the ball screen--or any screen, for that matter--is to "shell shock" a defender. Continuing the screening action makes the defender wonder when and where the next screen will come from.

14. Always set the screen in an area of the floor where the ball-handler can shoot the ball if the defender goes behind.

15. Never screen on the ball from the top for a wing player. This screen accomplishes nothing, as the ball-handler dribbles away from the basket.

We could go on seemingly forever about ball screening--drawing up plays, defining terminology, discussing counter moves, etc. The bottom line is this: If players don't learn to read and react to what the defense gives them, ball-screen plays will not work--no matter how well designed.

But guess what? Nothing works in basketball without proper fundamental skill development. What do we emphasize and how do we teach it? As coaches, we must first teach the small things about the game so later our plays will work.

I have studied this subject in extensive detail and now understand and appreciate ball screening. I am not yet prepared, however, to run as many pick-n-roll plays as teams do in the NBA. But I now know ball screens are like "to be" verbs--sometimes they just have to be used. The key is to use both sparingly and properly.

By Bill Avey, Girls Basketball Coach, Southwest H.S. San Antonio, TX