“Drop” (Part I)
Term: Drop (Part I)
Definition: A pick-and-roll defense in which the defender guarding the screener greets the ball-handler at or below the level of the screen until the ball-handler’s defender gets back in front of his original man.
Synonyms: Strong, Weak
(For Part II, click here)
Explanation: Pick-and-roll coverage has one purpose: avoid a switch. Although increased versatility and the emergence of more like-size players have turned the switch into a viable defensive option, the majority of NBA players are still only capable of guarding two positions at best. NBA teams respond to this dilemma by implementing traditional pick-and-roll defense, which bends the defense momentarily to prevent unfavorable matchups.
The math here is simple. A switch leads to a mismatch. A mismatch increases the risk of penetration. Increased risk of penetration leads to a greater chance of conceding open shots.
One of the most common pick-and-roll coverages is known as a “drop,” and the core of its technique can be surmised from its name. As the ball-screen occurs, the defender guarding the screener moves to a pre-determined depth before beginning a vertical backpedal to the rim — remaining directly between the ball and the basket, while also keeping the roller in front. The on-ball defender, meanwhile, guides the ball-handler toward his dropping teammate by forcing him to use the ball-screen.
Pre-Screen Verbiage
Before the screen arrives, it is the responsibility of the defender guarding the screener to be early, loud and continous with his coverage call. If he’s early with the call, his on-ball teammate has time to react. If he’s loud, his teammate can actually hear the call — NBA fans make serious noise, and sometimes it takes an especially strong voice to break through the crowd. If he’s continuous, it guarantees his teammate will hear it one of the times it is yelled.
Another important point here is for the coverage call to have a direction. Without this, the on-ball defender knows a screen is coming, but is essentially blind as to which side until he feels contact. This does not give him any actionable advantage, and makes him just as likely to run right into the screen anyway.
That’s why yelling “drop” in an early, loud and continuous fashion is not good enough by itself. The screener’s man must yell “drop right” or “drop left“ instead. Most NBA teams, however, recognize that this multi-syllabic phrasing can be cumbersome to shout multiple times. As a solution, they shorten it with terms such as “strong” (drop right, or force right) and “weak” (drop left, or force left), which essentially kills two birds with one stone. Some teams prefer a color-coded system. No matter the verbal strategy, smarter NBA teams chop it down to single-syllable words.
Responsbilities of the On-Ball Defender
The entire point of a pick-and-roll is to create an offensive advantage by momentarily knocking the ball-handler’s man out of position. The “drop” coverage, in its most basic sense, aims to hold down the fort — guarding both the ball and the rolling or popping screener — until the on-ball defender can get back in front of his original man. But what if the on-ball defender never gets screened in the first place?
This, in short, is the on-ball defender’s primary job when a ball-screen arrives. If he gets hit hard by the screen, the dropper has to cover two players for a longer period of time, which logically increases the chances of an offensive basket. If he minimizes this contact, the dropper’s two-on-one defensive posturing is only momentary. Doing this, however, is a difficult defensive task and often the separator between good and bad pick-and-roll defense.
The key to this crucial aspect of pick-and-roll defense is somewhat counterintuitive. In typical isolation basketball, the closer a defender guards his man, the more likely he is to give up penetration. But in the pick-and-roll, great on-ball defenders actually get up into the ball when they hear a coverage call from a teammate. There are two primary reasons for this reaction:
- It’s harder to screen a moving defender who is tight to the ball-handler.
- It gives the defender a better chance of forcing the ball-handler to use the screen.
Let’s dive into an example to analyze these two factors playing out in an actual ball-screen situation. As Jameer Nelson of the New Orleans Pelicans brings the ball up court, Cory Joseph of the Indiana Pacers applies light ball pressure. Nelson’s teammate, Anthony Davis, wanders over to clean up Joseph and free his teammate with a ball-screen. But at the point of the screen, Joseph crawls further into the space of Nelson and essentially attaches himself to his body.
With Joseph so close to Nelson, Davis is actually in danger of accidentally screening his own teammate. Furthermore, he is nearing the point at which he must set his feet. With Joseph now moving up the floor and into the ball, only an illegal hip lean would create contact. Therefore, to avoid the offensive foul, Davis misses contact completely.
The ball pressure also keeps Nelson on his path to use the screen. Based on where Joseph has positioned himself — between Nelson and a possible screen rejection going left — Nelson has no choice but to continue going right. This allows Joseph’s teammate, Al Jefferson, to set his drop on the proper side of the screen. There is no risk of Nelson changing course and hitting the empty space to the left side.
As you watch the play at full speed below, also take note of how Joseph pressures the ball. Not only does he get into Nelson’s shorts, but he makes himself lower and skinnier — a harder target to hit and a more amenable position to bending around the screen at a sharp angle. This tactic is also prevelant in off-ball defense, particularly in lock-and-trails when guarding pindowns and staggers.
Joseph’s momentary effort blows up the ball-screen completely. The rotations and movements required in a drop coverage go out the window because Joseph negates the play before it can even begin. Although Nelson has a slight downhill advantage as he uses the Davis screen, it is not enough to get anywhere. The back dribble he takes to reset is his waving the white flag, and a common occurence among guards when their defender has gotten back in front. This is the power of on-ball defense in pick-and-roll.
“Over” + “Rearview Pursuit”
In the play above, Joseph executes what’s known as an “over” — he follows the path of Nelson over the screen. This on-ball pick-and-roll technique is the most widely used among NBA teams, as its the more aggressive approach to pick-and-roll defense. Not only does the on-ball defender maintain contact and crowd the space of the ball-handler as best as possible, but he ideally drives the offensive player inside the three-point line — effectively taking away the pull-up three-point shot that is becoming more prevalent in today’s NBA.
Most overs, however, do not result in a complete pick-and-roll implosion as seen above. The more typical pick-and-roll play involves the on-ball defender getting somewhat clipped by the screen and subsequently fighting his tail off to get back in front of his man. This chasing of the ball, known as “rearview pursuit,” can be the difference between a dunk and a complete offensive reset.
Imagine you’re driving a car on the highway and another driver is in the left lane, gaining speed in your rearview mirror but approaching your blindspot. You know he’s there and you know he will catch up, but you don’t know when.
Pick-and-roll ball-handlers face a similar situation when their defenders gets hit with a screen and they escape quickly around it. Although they have an advantage with their defender now trailing behind, they know he is in pursuit and gaining quickly. There is only a moment to capitalize.
If the defense is in a drop, the ball-handler likely has space to attack downhill or fire an off-the-dribble jumper. But anyone who has played basketball knows it can be disconcerting when you know someone is going to contest your shot from behind, and it can often interfere with your mechanics. This is what a rearview pursuer tries to do.
Ideally, a rearview pursuer isn’t contesting a pull-up from behind, but has instead fought his way back to a proper guarding position. This is effectively what Joseph did — he went “over,” transitioned to “rearview pursuit” mode, and ultimately forced a reset.
In reality, most on-ball defenders do not catch up. But regardless of success, a proper rearview pursuit angles toward the inside shoulder of the ball-handler. Remember that, as mentioned in previous posts, “no middle” drives everything in NBA defense. Rearview pursuit is no execption.
Take a look at Damyean Dotson of the New York Knicks in this play, who uses a ball-screen from teammate Willy Hernangomez. Joe Harris of the Brooklyn Nets, who is guarding Dotson and goes over on the screen, does not get into the ball and gets hit. Tyler Zeller, who is in a drop, is now staring down Dotson and a potentially rolling Hernangomez. It is up to Harris to make a concerted effort to recover.
Rearview pursuit is all about hustle. It has nothing to do with skill. Harris provides the requisite effort here, and manages to close the gap quickly. What looks like an open pull-up jumper actually morphs into a late contest by Harris on Dotson’s inside shoulder. As Dotson rises up, there’s no doubt he feels Harris’ presence closing in from his blindspot. As the full version of the play below shows, Harris clearly contributes to Doston missing well short.
“Under”
The on-ball defender has two choices at the point of the ball-screen: Go over, as indicated above, or go “under.” The choice tends to be based on match-ups. Against good shooters, the decision is obvious: Go over, rearview pursue and make life as difficult as possible for any potential jumpers. For poor shooters, however, it does not necessarily make sense to do this. If you are not concerned with a specific opponent’s ability to shoot, why not encourage a jumper while cutting off a drive opportunity created by a pick-and-roll?
(Note: Some coaches prefer to go over all ball-screens, regardless of personnel, to create an aggressive and physical defensive mentality. Unders can, at times, lead to general defensive laziness.)
This is exactly what an under aims to do. Instead of exerting extra effort via the over, the under simply redirects an on-ball defender below the screen. No longer mirroring the path of the ball-handler, the on-ball defender targets a spot lower on the floor and attempts to beat the ball-handler to that spot on the other side of the screen. As the ball-handler takes his roundabout journey over the ball-screen, the defender takes a straight-line path, cutting off the drive.
This last point is crucial: The under’s primary purpose is not to encourage a jumper. It is merely a byproduct of the attempt to prioritize the drive over the long-range shot. The under also does not give defenders free license to ignore a pull-up jumper. NBA players — even the sub-par shooters — can make shots with no contest. While an under does concede the pull-up, it is not an invitation not to put up a hand. Defenders still must make an effort to bother the shooter if he choose to fire from deep.
Another point here is that the under is only “under one” — meaning the on-ball defender only goes below the screener. He does not go “under two” — meaning under the screener and the screener’s defender. It is the responsibility of the dropper in an under to open up space between himself and the screener for the on-ball defender to pass through.
In the play below, Emmanuel Mudiay of the Denver Nuggets readies to use a ball-screen from teammate Paul Millsap. Per the scouting report, Frank Mason III of the Sacramento Kings, who is guarding Mudiay, knows that his man is a below average shooter. Sacramento, therefore, chooses to go under the screen. However, right as the screen approaches, Willie Cauley-Stein, who is guarding Millsap, leaves no space for Mason to duck under one.
In a picture-perfect under, Mason would still maintain ball pressure and only slide underneath the Millsap screen once he feels it on his body. Only momentarily, then, is he relieving Mudiay of the ball pressure. In reality, defenders tend to sag off non-shooters before ball-screens. This makes it a bit unrealistic to jump to the ball, jump back under the screen, and jump to the ball once more. Instead, Mason just continues his sagging path under the screen.
But in order for the under to work, Cauley-Stein must disentangle himself from Millsap while also preparing his drop. As you watch the play in real time, notice how Cauley-Stein gives a little shove to Millsap to create a lane for the under, and Mason heads to a spot beneath the three-point line to deter a drive. For good measure, Mason even throws in a solid contest.
The Dropping Big
The second component of the drop pick-and-roll coverage is the dropper himself — after whom the technique is named. As mentioned earlier, the drop is simply a vertical backpedal to the rim with the dropper keeping himself between the ball and the basket. But the real purpose of the drop is to delay.
As the on-ball defender gets screened, the dropping big is, in effect, stuck in a two-on-one defensive situation. The backpedal, then, is a merely a way to hold off a potential confrontation with the ball. When staring at the space after a ball-screen, many ball-handlers will take their time to survey the situation by slowing their dribble down. Defenses count on this momentary hesitation and use the time for the rearview pursuer to get back.
The absolute worst thing any big can do in a drop is to be moving up toward a particular depth when the ball-handler starts downhill. The combination of a faster ball-handler going north-south at speed with a lumbering big moving forward, stopping and finally backpedaling leads to his getting beaten almost every time.
That’s why being early is the difference between success and failure. Bigs who are set and ready to drop have a better chance to slide and contain the ball.
Just watch Al Horford of the Boston Celtics below, who is in a drop at the free-throw line. Russell Westbrook builds a head of steam off a ball-screen, and Horford takes one fateful misstep forward to close the space — which both commits him to confronting the ball, and makes it more difficult for him to pivot into his backpedal. The better choice here would have been to simply stick with his deeper depth — as a rule of thumb, it’s better hang back if you can’t get up near the ball in time. Horford tries to sneak in an extra step forward, and Westbrook blows by with ease.
Deep Drop + “Tag”
The more traditional drop coverage is the deep drop, utilitzed by Horford above. In this coverage, the big sometimes sits 10 or more feet away from the ball-screen with the sole purpose of protecting the rim. Teams tend to choose this coverage for their 5s or slower bigs, as it allows the big time to line himself up between the ball-handler and the rim with only a few feet of movement. The concession here, however, is the giant amount of space left in the mid-range area. If the ball-handler gets around the screen cleanly, he has daylight (as Westbrook does).
But the deep drop, as it turns out, is the analytics-friendly approach. Because it leaves such a vacuum of space in the mid-range area, it all but begs the offense to settle for this statistically inferior off-the-dribble and long two-pointer. Most teams who use a deep drop and actively encourage this outcome only rely on a late contest from the dropping big reaching forward, or the rearview pursuer coming in from behind.
Handling the roller is a more complex issue. While the best pick-and-roll bigs in the league can manage a ball-handler and roller barrelling down in a two-on-one until the rearview pursuer recovers, NBA teams have built in a help mechanism known as a “tag” (or bump, chug, and more) just in case.
The purpose of the tag is to slow down the roller. In a typical pick-and-roll, the ball-handler is already turning the corner and the roller is playing catchup to get back into the play. This is another reason why you’ll sometimes see guards slow down right as they get around the screen — they are giving their big time to release from the contact of the screen and move into a viable passing lane. NBA defenses, however, don’t want this to happen as it exerts extra pressure on the dropper. So they place their tagger momentarily in the path of the roller, which subsequently slows him down, buys the rearview pursuer time to get back in front, and allows the dropper to focus more directly on the ball.
As for who the tagger is, there’s one simple rule:
If the ball-screen is moving away from you and you are the closest perimeter defender, you are the tagger. Or, to connect it to a previous analysis of off-ball pick-and-roll movement, you are the tagger if you are guarding the shaker.
The tag itself isn’t a one-size-fits-all deal. Sometimes a more powerful tag with significant contact is necessary, particularly if the roller is rumbling freely down the lane. Sometimes the tagger only needs to get into the pick-and-roll ball-handler’s vision to discourage a potential pocket pass. Either way, the process is a read. Given that the tagger is guarding a three-point shooter who is shaking — or trying to move into an available passing lane for a kick-out three-pointer —he must actively play a game of cat-and-mouse with the ball-handler. Each is trying to outfox the other with their eyes and pace, with the ball-handler baiting the tagger into committing to the wrong player, and the tagger trying to provoke a pass he can more easily defend.
Here’s an example involving Evan Fournier of the Orlando Magic, who rockets around a screen from teammate Nikola Vucevic. Robin Lopez of the Chicago Bulls immediately backs off into a drop, but Fournier’s downhill momentum forces him to focus his attention primarily on the ball instead of the rolling Vucevic. David Nwaba, Lopez’s teammate, is playing catchup with Fournier.
This example highlights the importance of the tag and the costliness of even the smallest mistakes. Jerian Grant, guarding Shelvin Mack in the strong-side corner, sees the ball-screen moving away from him, and is the next closest perimeter defender. This makes him the tagger.
Unfortunately, Lopez allows Vucevic to roll behind him — a subtle but crucial mistake that permits a possible overtop pass for a lob dunk. Against more athletic bigs, not keeping the roller in front can be especially dangerous.
Grant recognizes this and has no choice but to tag with a blow to Vucevic’s body. But Grant doesn’t steer clear of error here either: It is very important for tags to be as early as possible, as it’s easier to slow down a roller before he builds momentum. It also puts the tagger directly in the passing lane to the strong-side corner man — in this case, Mack. Notice how the passing angle is disrupted if Grant is waiting in the spot indicated by the arrow:
This would also have the added benefit of altering Fournier’s read of the play’s progression. If Grant had planted himself in both an earlier and better tag position, Fournier would have seen Vucevic rolling right into a defender. This would have necessarily detered a pocket pass, and Fournier’s options would be limited to a shot or kick-out three-pointer. With this knowledge, Grant could react more quickly to a corner closeout.
But Grant’s momentary delay negates this advantage, and he allows Vucevic to build a head of steam. By the time he greets Vucevic deep in the paint, the situation necessitates a sturdier and more physical tag. Fournier, eyeing the heavy tag, has an easy pass to Mack in the corner.
Grant does a nice job hustling out to the ball, and given Mack’s average shooting ability, he does not get punished. But all of his struggles could have been avoided with an early diagnosis of, and reaction to, the developing play.
No Tag
In an ideal deep drop, two defenders can corrall the action by themselves without a tag. This creates an even more statistically sound approach, as it allows the tagger to lock down the three-point line. Again, this is a read. A tag might not be necessary if it’s clear the ball-handler is quickly moving into a pull-up, or if the roller is so far behind the ball-handler that he’s not in a scoring position. That’s what happens here, when Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz speeds into a floater after hooking around a Rudy Gobert ball-screen. Norman Powell of the Toronto Raptors determines that he can stay put on Ricky Rubio on the three-point line given the particulars of this situation.
Sometimes the ball-handler will throw an early pocket pass, and it might not make sense for a tag to occur. A proper deep drop can have this covered, as Amir Johnson of the Philadelphia 76ers does here:
Film Study: “Drop” (Part I)
Below is a video compilation of various examples of NBA defenses in a drop pick-and-roll coverage. Be on the lookout for all the various components discussed here: How deep the drop is, whether the on-ball defender goes over or under, how hard the on-ball defender rearview pursues, and whether or not a tag exists and/or is necessary.
Part II of the “drop” dictionary entry will cover the “aggressive drop,” drops against pick-and-pops and how different types of offensive spacing impact dropping techniques and alignments.
(For Part II, click here.)
