Double Ball Screens: A Primer
Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun
Welcome to our “Sunday Mornin’ Newsletter”, where we explore some of basketball’s best ideas, strategies, and coaches from around the world.
Today’s edition will cover:
“Double Drag Screens: A Primer”
Asvel Villeurbanne Playbook
Coach Paul Kelleher Podcast Insights
Best Sets of the Week
Teams to Watch/Interesting Reads
Let’s dive in…
Double Ball Screens: A Primer
The benefits and advantages of a single ball screen are well documented. The simple act of bringing a screen to a heady/dangerous ballhandler causes all sorts of matchup and rotation issues for a defense.
But, where would Buzz be without Woody? Pedro without Napoleon? Snoop Dogg without Martha Stewart? Sometimes, two can be better than one.
Enter the Double Ball Screen.
Below we’ll look at the benefits and advantages of sending two players to set a ball screen instead of one. Here’s what we’ll cover:
Running a Double Drag for a Dynamic Guard
Running Dynamic Actions After the Double Drag
We’ll also both “Zoom In” to take a close look at specific details, and then “Zoom Out” to discuss more general theory/strategy.
The Double Drag
To start, let’s take a look at what the Double Drag, sometimes called a “77”, looks like (it’s called a “77” for the way the screen looks, the path a player takes to set a side ball screen looks similar to a “7”, so at times a side ball screen is called a “7”, so a double ball screen can be called a “77”). A “Drag” screen is generally used to describe an on-ball screen set in transition. Here’s a look…
Zooming In: Taking a close look at the details of the action, notice the angles of the two bigs setting the screens… they are off-set (not on the same line). The first screener is about a body-length higher than the second screener. This has multiple advantages as we’ll discuss below, but one of the main reasons is that the off-set alignment allows the second screener to better his angle to force the on-ball defender to have to go OVER the second screen. Forcing the OVER on the second screen creates many of the advantages teams look for in the PNR (rotations, switches, etc.)
Zooming Out: Taking a step back out of the details of the action, some of the theory behind running the Double Drag in transition with the off-set alignment is that it can 1) Detach a pesky on-ball defender from your PG, 2) Force the defense into early rotations or switches, and 3) can allow an easier “flow” into your half-court offense as the defense is often unable to deny the pass back to the big who is going to “Pop” out of the Double Drag and flow into the next action.
Double Drag for a Dynamic Guard
We’ll look at how the Double Drag is effective for both a Dynamic scoring guard, as well as a way to flow into Dynamic Half-Court action. First, to look at ways it’s used for a Dynamic guard, we’ll turn to Steph Curry and the Warriors use of the “77”.
With Curry’s ability to both shoot, pass, and finish at the rim, he’s an obvious problem in any offensive action, but the Warriors love to use him in this transition “77” to poke holes in a defense early in the shot clock.
Attacking the Under
For obvious reasons, Curry rarely faces a PNR situation in which the defender is going UNDER the screen, but, the off-set “77” screen set high on the perimeter creates enough space that even if the detached defender does chase UNDER the second screen he can still attack downhill.
Attacking with the Split
Double Ball Screens are notoriously difficult for the defenders guarding the screens to communicate through. Crafty teams (like we’ll see with Asvel below) will mix up which big is rolling, popping, or sprinting into another screen, which means the Defensive Bigs are often a half-step slow in effectively “hedging” the second of the two screens. With the first screen in the “77” loosening the defensive pressure of the player guarding the ball, and the second Post Defender in the “77” often a step late in their coverage, this opens opportunities for a dynamic guard like Curry to “Split” the second screen and get downhill.
Attacking the Switch
Especially in the NBA, where matchups are king, when a defense decides it’s easiest to “Switch” the second screen in the “77”, you’ll see the offense put the defender they want to switch onto the ball handler, in the second screening spot. Below, it’s Duncan Robinson. In the below action Curry does a nice job of dragging the ball away from the screen to make it difficult/dangerous for the defense to switch back even if they wanted to (as Nunn is attempting to do). Obviously, this step-back three is not for everyone, but the Switch can still be advantageous however the offense decides to play through it.
Flipping Screens
The nice thing about the “77” is that it gives the offense two opportunities to “Flip” a screen if the defense either 1) goes under, or 2) starts leaning too hard toward the “77” (like shown below).
Alternate Variations of the “77”
Pop and Flare the 2nd Screener
The above actions with Curry are all 1) Set in transition, and 2) Utilize the Off-Set alignment. Below are another couple of ways the “77” can be used for a dynamic guard OR for a player within the screening action. Here’s the first, from former podcast guest, Coach Josh Loeffler and Johns Hopkins, where the threat of a dynamic ball handler (#5 Conner Delaney was a D3 All-American) creates an opportunity for the 2nd Screener in the “77” to “Pop” and the first screener to set a “Flare”. In the below action the 1st screener doesn’t set the flare, but you can see how he could (and does in other clips)…
“77 Wall Screen”
From the same championship game, Swarthmore (the #1 ranked D3 team in the country at the time) ran a nice variation of the “77” where they instead put both screeners at the same level, creating a “wall” that’s very difficult to go under. The sneaky part of this action is that the bottom screener (who pops back to the perimeter) is a knock-down shooter, so his defender is hesitant to leave and help as the ball handler comes off the “wall”.
Zooming In: In all these actions where a dynamic guard is the ball handler, it’s important to look closely at both the angles and levels of the two screeners in the “77” as well as the ORDER of the screeners in the “77”. This is where good offensive coaches can tinker with and confuse defenses. For example, putting Draymond Green as the first screener as opposed to the 2nd screener in the “77” creates different challenges for the defense and opportunities for the offense.
2nd Point: For the offense, it’s also worth discussing whether the “77” is run with an “Empty” or “Filled” corner. In the Johns Hopkins example above, the corner is empty, where in the Curry and Swarthmore examples the Corner is filled. The question of which is way is better sounds like a question to be hashed out in an upcoming “Start, Sub, or Sit” segment of the podcast, with the likely answer being… “it depends.”
Zooming Out: Big picture, a dynamic, scoring guard is a problem in almost any action, but the “77” can create an added layer of complexity for the defense to sift through, especially early in the offense. The potentially downside of this “77” is that, on the flipside, it gives the defense TWO opportunities to trap or hedge a great player like Curry early in the offense and make someone else into a playmaker.
2nd Point: Teaching these reads to the ball handler in a “77” also is more complex and takes added reps to understand where the advantages are. Especially for younger players, the added “bodies” this action brings to the ball are worth considering if you’re trying to run this at lower levels.
Dynamic Offensive Actions After the “77”
Above, we looked at ways to attack off the "Double Drag” or “77” directly with a dynamic guard. Now, we’ll look at how teams can use the “77” to help them flow into other dynamic actions in their half court offense. We’re going to use a couple of great concepts from this week’s breakdown of France’s ASVEL, who plays in both France’s Pro A and the Euroleague.
There’s a lot to look at here, as ASVEL flows from the “77” into a “Throwback to the Big, into a Zoom DHO, into a Guard-to-Guard DHO, into a Reverse Ball Screen.” Otherwise, it’s pretty vanilla…
And if that wasn’t boring enough, watch the grass grow on this “77 to Triple Weave into Step-Up Action”…
Zooming In: ASVEL’s Head Coach, T.J. Parker, can really coach, and his teams are fun to watch. The younger brother of former San Antonio Spurs legend, Tony Parker, T.J. has a ton of unique ways to move the pieces on the chessboard before executing the main action. Deciphering all the above movement, what both actions do really well is stress-test the help-side and on-ball defenders before the main “Reverse Ball Screen” at the end of each. The first clip ends in the “Reverse Ball Screen” going toward the “One-Man Side”, and the 2nd ends with the “Reverse Ball Screen” going toward the “Two-Man Side”, which creates a different “Tag” responsibility in each.
Aside from a complete defensive breakdown where the roller or a shooter is wide open after all that action, what ASVEL is ultimately looking to create through all the movement is an opening for either the “Short Roll” or the opposite “Skip” to a shooter and to attack through that advantage.
If you have the Offensive Big who can make decisions, the preferred advantage ASVEL is looking for is to hit the Short Rolling big and play through the middle of the floor. The above weave actions make it particularly difficult for a guard to “Get to the Nail” and take away the Short Roll after just guarding a bunch of DHO’s. See in the example below how ASVEL finds the Big open at the Nail after all that action and the defense is forced (or potentially plans) to Tag with the Low Defender. Either way, this is a great look for ASVEL. From here they can “Baseline Cut” the corner player, “Cut and Drift”, or let the big attack a smaller defender.
To see what it looks like to play through the skip if the Nail is taken away on the Short Roll, here’s Obradoiro’s “Flare and Drift” action. Overall, this is often the better option for the defense as it’s easier for them to recover to a long skip then it is to get collapsed from a middle Nail Catch…
Zooming Out: When is it better for the defense to prefer the Big to catch it on the Short Roll then allow the skip? Perhaps an example is best… if it’s the 2018 Warriors and Steph and Klay are on the backside and Kevon Looney is catching on the Short Roll, the defense will likely live with Looney catching and trying to beat them then allowing an easy skip to one of the Splash Brothers.
In summary, the “77” can he used as both a way to free up a great playmaking guard, as well as a way to get the defense moving and the offense flowing into other great actions.
For more information and breakdown of the “Double Drag”, see our video on the ASVEL Offensive Playbook below.
ASVEL Playbook 2021
As mentioned above, Coach T.J. Parker has a tremendous playbook filled with interesting actions. Here is our full video breakdown.
Here are the PDF’s of the Playbook Actions…
It’s hard to find enough good things to say about this Friday’s latest guest on the Slappin’ Glass Podcast. Coach Paul Kelleher, Ireland U-18 National Team Head Coach provides a powerful and thought-provoking interview that touched on some of the deeper elements of the coaching experience.
We absolutely love diving into the X’s and O’s, but some of our favorite moments of the podcast have come in our discussions about life off the court. Whether it’s Ryan Pannone discussing how to add value to others through coaching, Tim Bross speaking from a deeply personal experience about resilience, Jeff Van Gundy talking about the privilege of coaching, and many many more, it’s always a pleasure for us to sit and share in these moments of reflection about a game and way of life that means so much to all of us. Another such moment came in this past Friday’s episode when Coach Kelleher shared his personal journey battling “burnout” and how it reshaped his approach to anger and ego as a coach because of it. It’s a topic that hit home for both of us.
If that wasn’t enough, Coach Kelleher than goes on to give a complete masterclass on:
Adding Imagery to your Basketball Terminology to aid in retention
“Channel Drives”, “Crossing the Grain” and much more in Ireland’s Transition Offense
Teaching Finishing for Undersized Players
And in “Start, Sub, or Sit?!” we discuss:
Irish, English, and American humor
EOG Free Throw Situations
Developing Post Skills for Guards
Developing Guard Skills for Posts
And more
It was an absolute blast and we hope you enjoy it too. You can download and listen below. And while you’re there, we always appreciate a quick rating and review. Thank you!
Best Sets of the Week
We travel to Australia, Croatia, and Ireland for this week’s Best Sets of the Week…
Teams to Watch/Interesting Reads
Teams We Enjoyed Watching:
BYU (NCAA D1)
BC Zenit (Russia - Euroleague)
KK Zadar (Croatia- ABA)
Interesting Reads
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Have a great week coaching,
Dan and Pat
P.S. We have a fun announcement coming this week about a project we’ve been working on for a few months. Looking forward to it!
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