You're correct--teams are hard-hedging the ball screen to the point that it is almost a trap or double. This eliminates the chance that Ennis can drive off of the screen.
There are a couple of quick solutions for this:
- The ball-handler needs to take two to three dribbles off of the screen to create space and see the floor before committing to an option. Because of the hedging/trapping, Ennis often doesn't do this. He tends to slow to a stop, allowing the defense to take away any advantage the screen provides. He'd be better served to stretch the dribble, forcing the hedge player to chase him further away from his own assignment. This would space the floor more effectively, straining the defense more.
- A good solution to this hedging/trapping would be for the screener to pick-and-pop rather than roll. The screener should rotate to the open space on the perimeter that the hedge player gives up by trapping the ball-handler. We produced several three-pointers for Southerland last year doing this. Unfortunately, the only "big" that could do so and potentially hit a three-pointer is Fair. Still, the screener doesn't always have to shoot on the "pop" if he receives the ball--he could look to drive, to pass high-low, or to reverse the ball to a shooter as the defense scrambles to recover.
More troubling, though, is that our ball screening is limited to the initial screen--there is no other designed action occurring off of it. This is something that is easy for opponents to spot during their film study--if a defense can defend the initial ball screen, they've stopped that play, and we often degenerate into isolations after that. This lack of options helps the defense; the help defenders can stay at home and take away the drive and the roll man without paying for that commitment.
Here are just a few options that could easily be implemented to solve this issue:
- Back screen--this is a "screen-the-screener" option. As Ennis dribbles off of Christmas's ball screen, Grant sets a back screen on Christmas's man. As Christmas rolls, his defender would be screened off above ball-level, which means Christmas should be open, or the defense would be forced to switch or leave another player open to help on the roll. This could cause mismatches and/or open shooters.
- Shuffle-to-Ball screens--have Cooney initiate the offense with a pass to Ennis on the wing. Christmas steps up to set the shuffle-cut back screen for Cooney. Once Cooney clears, Christmas then sets the side ball screen for Ennis. Cooney continues to cut off of Grant and Fair's stagger screen on the weak-side as Ennis comes off the ball screen. This action is tough to defend. Christmas's defender would have to help on the shuffle cut, which would make it harder to then hedge/trap well on the ball screen.
- Flare screen--have Cooney set a high ball screen. As Ennis dribbles off of it, have Christmas set a flare screen for Cooney. This quick "screen-the-screener" action is difficult to defend. Defenses may choose to switch the guard-on-guard ball screen, but that flare screen then causes a dilemma--does the defense also switch that? If a defense isn't schooled sufficiently on how to handle such situations, confusion is likely to occur.
- Stagger--as Christmas sets a side ball screen, have Fair and Grant set a stagger screen for Christmas's roll. Again, tough to defend because of the screen-the-screener concept.
The key to good ball screening is that the ball screen should be the initial action that sets up the actions that follow. The multiple screens and cuts should put pressure on a defense to make decisions under duress. Unfortunately, our ball screens this season have not forced defenses into such situations.
