“Drag It Out”
Term: Drag It Out
Definition: A technique in which a pick-and-roll ball-handler, after the ball-screen is set, intentionally dribbles farther away from the screener than normal to draw two defenders toward himself and free the screener for a pass.
Synonyms: N/A
Explanation: Pick-and-roll passing is more art than science. The availability of passing angles is completely reliant on the movement of four co-dependent parts: The ball-handler, the screener, the ball-handler’s defender and the screener’s defender. Great pick-and-roll ball-handlers, however, do not simply react to a given spacing dyanmic in a particular ball-screen situation: They use their guile and timing to manufacture optimal passing angles.
One such manuever is known as “dragging it out,” (with “it” referencing the ball-screen) a tactic primarily used to free picking-and-popping bigs. In traditional pick-and-roll defense, the big guarding the screener sticks with the ball-handler until the ball-handler’s original defender can fight back to his man. For a moment, two defenders laser in on one player, leaving the screener free to roll or pop. Defensive bigs, however, continue to monitor the screener and try to anticipate the ball’s eventual destination. Should the ball-handler find his roller with a pocket pass or throw it back on a pick-and-pop, the big must be ready to scramble to the ball.
Pick-and-pop situations can be especially difficult, as the ball-handler creeps away from the point of the screen while the screener floats on the perimeter. Every moment the ball-handler holds onto the ball lengthens the defensive big’s responsbility. Great pick-and-roll ball-handlers leverage this dilemma by dragging the ball-screen out, meaning they take extra dribbles or steps to pull the defensive big farther away from his original man, thereby creating an extremely difficult recovery. Often times, the ball-handler isn’t even looking to score; he’s wandering into the corner or toward the baseline to draw his man — who has just been screened and is chasing his way back into the play — and the defensive big out of the play.
(Note: As a term, “drag it out” is specifically what you’ll hear coaches yelling to their point guards in the midst of ball-screens.)
The key to dragging out any ball-screen is increasing the time it takes for the defensive big to recover. The farther away the ball-handler can get from the screen while maintaining a throwback angle to his picking-and-popping teammate, the better. There are two main ways ball-handlers accomplish this:
- The Extra Dribble
Distance is an obvious factor in recovery time, but it’s not always possible or reasonable for a ball-handler to get too far from a screen. There are other players on the floor taking up space, or the pass might become too long and unwieldy, for instance. That’s why smart ball-handlers use an extra dribble to draw the defensive big in and freeze him in place. This seemingly innocuous dribble can also deactivate the defender’s feet and render him flat-footed, making his scamper back out to the perimeter that much more time-consuming.
The pace of the ball-handler is an important component here too: How fast he’s moving doesn’t impact how quickly he can fire a pass to his picking-and-popping teammate, but it does dictate the speed of the defender. Since it’s generally the defensive big’s job to mirror the ball on pick-and-roll, offensive deceleration can create the same effect on the defense.
Let’s look at a drag out example to see this particular technique in action. As Jrue Holiday of the New Orleans Pelicans drags out a screen against the Charlotte Hornets, Marvin Williams sticks with Holiday until his teammate, Kemba Walker, can free himself of the Anthony Davis screen and scamper back to Holiday.
Davis, as we can see, is about to pop free to the top of the key with no one around. Although Williams likely recognizes the developing problem, he has no choice but to stick with the ball. Walker is in a trail position, and an abandonment of Holiday would give him a free path to the rim.
On the ball-screen itself, Davis doesn’t create contact and Williams does a nice job staying tight to the screen to cut off any driving angles. Without anywhere north-south to go, Holiday simply continues moving laterally along the three-point line without letting Walker get back in front completely. Williams has no choice but to follow. Holiday, recognizing this advantage, doesn’t let him off the hook with a back-dribble that would allow a defensive reset: Instead, he makes him follow some more.
Holiday is now 10+ feet away from the screen and has dragged two defenders down toward the corner. Davis, meanwhile, sits at the three-point line by himself.
(Note: Nic Batum does owe Charlotte a stunt here toward Davis on the throwback, but more on this in susbequent pick-and-roll defense posts.)
If Holiday were to throw the ball back to Davis once he reaches this point on the floor, Davis would likely get an open three-point shot. But to ensure that outcome, he takes an extra dribble. If he were to pick his dribble up, there would be no need for Williams to stay put: Walker is there, and Holiday can no longer attack the rim now that the ball is dead. Williams, therefore, would have an extra tick of recovery time. But the extra dribble reinforces the point that Holiday’s dribble is live, and Williams must prioritize Holiday’s penetration over everything else. This, in combination with Holiday’s slowed down pace, cuts off Williams’ lateral slide and freezes him in place: He’s now fully committed to the ball. With everything unfolding to plan, Holiday uses a reverse pivot — one of two common tactics to avoid ball pressure in such situations, with the other being the one-hand, overhead throwback while still moving away from the screen — to find Davis, and he knocks down the open look.
One other point here about Holiday’s pace: His slow speed fools Charlotte into thinking a switch here isn’t necessary, because theoretically this should buy time for Walker to recover. But this is all part of the game Holiday is playing, and he wins the war of minds.
2. Attack The Big North-South
When dragging out a ball-screen, an extra dribble is a nuanced way of sucking in both pick-and-roll defenders almost as a trick. But sometimes brute force is the more intelligent approach. Put simply, it can be equally effective to dribble quickly at the defensive big and force him to commit.
If the pick-and-roll ball-handler comes off the screen with north-south speed, the defensive big has no choice but to respect the immediate scoring threat. Against teams that do not typically switch, this is an easy way to pull two defenders toward the baseline while the screener sits by himself on the perimeter.
Below, Kyle Anderson of the San Antonio Spurs uses a transition drag from teammate Davis Bertans to get paint pressure on the Los Angeles Lakers. But instead of controlling his speed in an east-west fashion, he immediately attacks the dropping defender, Thomas Robinson. Robinson cannot do anything but stop the ball, as Anderson is close to the rim and Robinson is the only one left to defend it. In the chaos and speed of the moment, Robinson does not call out for a switch. So Brandon Ingram, who is guarding Anderson, follows the straight-line drive as well. Both defenders end up 20 feet from Bertans, who is alone at the top of the key.
When you watch the play below, you can actually sense that this is actually all a giant setup. Although Anderson is moving quickly, he’s under just enough control to abort his drive and kick the ball out. That’s exactly what he does, and the Spurs end up with a dunk.
The best pick-and-roll ball-handlers straddle this line between scorer and passer, where they’re dragging the screen out while still actively threatening — and looking — to score. Defenses, often in order to avoid this dilemma that leaves poppers open, will simply switch ball-screens if the ball-handler builds up enough head of steam. Even though this negates the intial advantage of the pick-and-roll, it’s still a positive outcome: A point guard matched up against a big can be a positive asset if utilized properly. Here, Kemba Walker drags the screen out with speed and finds himself switched onto Willy Hernangomez.
What’s more is that the drag out isn’t limited to the pick-and-pop, even if it’s why most point guards use it. Really good ball-handlers can still find the seams to hit rollers as well, particularly when the roller is an athlete that can catch lobs. Look at how Jrue Holiday, once again, takes that extra dribble to suck in the defense and hit Anthony Davis on the lob.
Film Study: “Drag It Out”
Below is a video compilation of various examples of pick-and-roll ball-handlers dragging ball-screens out. Keep an eye out for either the pace of the ball-handler or that extra dribble to force a defensive commitment from two players. Also be aware of the manner in which the ball is thrown to the poppers, and how guards use the one-hand throwback or the reverse pivot to create a passing angle.
