“Drop” (Part II)
Term: Drop (Part II)
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
Explanation: Part I of the “Drop” dictionary entry covers the basics of drop pick-and-roll coverage, including related terms such as “Over,” “Under,” “Tag,” “Rearview Pursuit,” and “Deep Drop.” Part II will dig into the particulars of an “Aggressive Drop,” as well as assess how the coverage adapts to different types of offensive spacing.
Please read Part I here before beginning below, as there will be multiple references to terminology from Part I that will not be re-explained.
Aggressive Drop
In an aggressive drop, the defensive big keeps his back to the basket but does not sit back and wait for the action to come to him — as is the case in the deep drop. Instead, he greets the ball at or near the level of the screen before dropping.
The aggressive drop is a counter to a counter. As NBA teams began to understand the benefits of ideal shot distribution, they tailored defenses to encourage mid-range looks. The deep drop was one of the most popular mechanisms to accomplish this task. Offensive players saw this trend and simply extended their range. Instead of pulling up for a long two-pointer, they dribbled into a pull-up three-pointer. With the explosion of players capable of hitting this shot, a second transformation has brought droppers higher up the floor.
The aggressive drop isn’t a specific depth to which the screener’s man drops; it is merely a more aggressive pressuring of the ball during the drop itself. Some coaches prefer their droppers to get into the ball-handler’s space, taking away the runway and/or time for decision-making the deep drop provides. While this may allow the roller to catch early pocket passes, many defenses would rather see bigs making decisions with the ball in space (typically around the free-throw-line) than guards. Other coaches only want to deny the pull-up three-pointer or clean mid-range shot without actually forcing the ball-handler to swing it elsewhere.
The one thing that all aggressive drops have in common is their focus on the ball-handler. Whereas the deep drop keeps the roller in front while staying between the ball-handler and the basket, the aggressive drop limits its concern with the roller and regards the ball as the clear and primary threat. Most commonly, this allows the roller to slip behind the dropper. But the lob opportunity that unfolds when this happens during a deep drop disappears during an aggressive drop, because a pocket pass necessarily arrives well before the roller can get all the way to the rim. Not wanting to abandon his ball-handling teammate completely, the roller will often cut short his free path to provide a quick and easy outlet for the pressured ball-handler.
To be clear, the aggressive drop is not a trap. While the aggressive dropper does confront the ball to some degree, he does not swarm it above the ball-screen. He must still keep the ball in front should the ball-handler drive to the rim.
Ideally, the aggressive dropper only has to crowd the ball-handler’s space for a short amount of time. The on-ball defender, who morphs into the rearview pursuer after the ball-screen is set, can allow the aggressive dropper to return to the roller if he gets back quickly. Some teams will even add a verbal cue for this, with the on-ball defender yelling something to his big to return to the roller. This relieves the big of the burden of deciding exactly when it is appropriate to leave the ball.
In practice, the aggressive dropper is often pulling double duty: He first prevents the early pull-up jumper, and then scampers back to the rim with the ball-handler on the drive. That’s why it’s better for the aggressive dropper to be a capable athlete with quick feet: the backpedal to the rim is much farther (many just bigs turn and slide, or even sprint to the rim alongside the ball), and lateral movement might come into play. Only the most athletic bigs can consistently surive this undertaking, as the risk of penetration increases with every step the dropper moves up the floor.
In terms of the tag, all deep drop tagging principles remain the same with the aggressive drop. Given that the roller tends to roam free behind the aggressive dropper, the defense has to provide some level of resistance via a tag. Otherwise, should the ball-handler sneak a pocket pass to him, he has an easy two points.
Here’s an example that dives into all the particulars of an aggressive drop. As Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors comes off a screen from teammate JaVale McGee, Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans aggressively drops starting just beneath the level of the ball-screen. Given Curry’s shooting ability and Davis’ athleticism, this is likely a game plan decision on the part of the Pelicans’ coaching staff.
Davis’ focus on Curry, however, allows Javale McGee to roll freely down the middle — necessitating a tag that usually comes with an aggressive drop. As the next closest off-ball defender for whom the ball-screen is moving away, Tony Allen of New Orleans becomes the tagger.
Notice Davis’ body orientation here, with his back to the rim. He maintains a dropping posture so he can backpedal should Curry turn the corner. Never does he actually attack the ball. Allen is also pushed over early, giving him a better chance of mucking up McGee’s roll. On an even more granular level, take a look at Davis’ his right hand: the best aggressive droppers keep it low and wide to disrupt the pocket pass.
Once Curry gets rid of the ball — in a play design known as “Fist Up Short” — Allen finds himself committed to McGee. With Davis and Curry’s original man, Ian Clark, basically doubling the ball, Allen prioritizes the immediate rim threat over Andre Iguodala, who has shaken up to the left wing from the left corner.
But once Draymond Green of the Warriors throws a kick-out pass to Iguodala, Allen must release his tag and closeout in time. Meanwhile, Davis hustles back to McGee.
As is the purpose of non-switching pick-and-roll defense, no switch emerges. New Orleans handles the ball-screen perfectly.
Now let’s dive into another common outcome: the ball-handler attacking a big who has ventured far away from his comfort zone and out on the perimeter. This is the potential risk of the aggressive drop, particularly if the on-ball defender gets caught up in the screen — as Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers does below. The dropping big is likely slower than the ball-handler, and thus in a foot race to the rim. But with the growing number of pull-up three-point shooters, many teams are willing to take their chances on the drive if it means no three-point shot — even with their slower bigs.
Look at how far out Brook Lopez of the Los Angeles Lakers comes on this pick-and-roll against Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers — a prolific and deadly pull-up three-point shooter. The Lakers want no part of Lillard hurting them from the outside. Lillard, recognizing the pressure, beats Lopez to the rim instead. Lopez, however, does a nice job providing a healthy contest and forces a tough and missed layup high off the glass.
The way in which Lopez aborts his backpedal and turns into an all-out sprint is relatively common in these situations, as it’s the only way to defend both the three-point line and the rim. It’s also a prime example of why an aggressively dropping big does not challenge higher than the screen: at a certain point, the ball-handler will have too much space to create separation and rocket into the paint for a layup. As we saw above, Lillard does not get past Lopez enough for a clean finish.
Drop vs. Spread Pick-and-Roll (Corner or Wing Tag)
In most pick-and-roll cases, you are the tagger if the ball-screen is moving away from you and you are closest to the ball. There is one situation, however, when this might not be the case: in a spread pick-and-roll with two defenders for whom the ball is moving away.
Take this case below, in which Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz rolls after a ball-screen. In a traditional coverage, Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets, on the weak-side elbow and guarding the weak-side wing, is the tagger. But Rodney Hood, the ball-handler, might have an easy pass to teammate Joe Ingles on the right wing if Murray tags. So Kenneth Faried, who is two-nining in the middle, could serve as another viable option.
Most teams plot this out beforehand to avoid potential confusion. The worst thing that could happen here is both players tag, or neither. Coordination in these situations is key.
As we can see, Hood throws an early kick-out pass to Ingles that forces Murray away from Gobert’s roll. Faried, therefore, must stick with Gobert in the paint as the corner tagger. Otherwise, Ingles would flip a quick pass inside to Gobert for a dunk. Of course, this opens up the swing to the corner to Derrick Favors. Faried is also responsible for contesting this three-point attempt.
In this instance, Faried pushes over as the two-niner and safety net. Although Murray is the primary tagger, the situation evolves so that he cannot fulfill this responsbility. Faried’s heads up positioning means that Denver’s defense goes unpunished.
Many coaches, however, do not want Murray — the wing tagger — actually tagging. The thinking is that the ball-handler is too close to the opposite wing, and the responsibility of tagging and recovering out to the shooter is too difficult. Instead, they’ll designate the opposite corner defender as the primary and only tagger to force the longest possible pass on the pick-and-roll.
Drop vs. Pick-and-Pop
Drops against pick-and-pops present different problems with a slightly tweaked solution. Instead of tagging the roller, defenses “stunt” to the popper — a delaying tactic in which the helper closest to the popper briefly jumps toward him before returning to his original man. If there are multiple players on the stunter’s side of the floor, a second defender will stunt for the stunter as a backup. Just in case the popper catches the ball and quickly swings it to the stunter’s man before he can recover, a defensive teammate is there to help. Of course, if there is a final ball swing (most often to the corner), the final stunter is all on his own.
The purpose of the stunt is to buy the dropper time in recovery. Remember that the dropper is moving away from the perimeter as pick-and-rolls develop, and is primarily concerned with protecting the rim. On the pick-and-pop, the screener moves in the exact opposite direction and adds defensive tension to every additional step the dropper commits toward the restricted area.
As with a regular pick-and-roll, the dropper must read the on-ball defender’s rearview pursuit before returning to the popper. Once he chases down the ball and returns to a proper guarding position, the big can scramble out to the popper on ther perimeter. But even against especially talented shooting bigs, droppers cannot cheat up toward the three-point line. They must stick with the ball until the pursuer gets back. Otherwise, they are giving up a layup.
Defensive guards can help out their recovering bigs by rearview pursuing with high hands. With the ball-handler moving downhill and the popper spacing up and away from the screen, the ball-handler generally throws the ball backward to find his popper. Guards that drag out the pick-and-roll an especially far distance — meaning they intentionally dribble away from the screen to draw the dropping big away from the popper — lengthen this throw even more.
If the rearview pursuer chases with high hands, he adds an extra layer of difficulty to this throwback. The ball-handler either has to reverse pivot around the pursuers’ hands, or throwback overtop. Whether it’s from the footwork of the reverse pivot or the increased hang time of the throwback, high hands can sometimes buy an extra tick for the dropper to find the popper.
That’s what happens here when Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors chases Jarrett Jack of the New York Knicks around a Kristaps Porzingis pick-and-pop. As Porzingis spaces to the three-point line, Jack has no immediate and clear line of sight for the throwback. VanVleet’s high hands force him to jump and throw a weaker, one-handed pass that bends around the pressure. This alerts the dropper and Porzingis’ man, Pascal Siakam, to the pending throwback, and gives him an extra half-second to scramble back to Porzingis.
Norman Powell, guarding Tim Hardaway Jr. on the right wing, must now read Siakam’s recovery to determine the length of his stunt. He must also remain cognizant of Hardaway, a good three-point shooter in his own right. Powell correctly plays this one halfway. He senses that Siakam will sprint back to Porzingis in time, and cuts his stunt short by merely hopping close enough to Porzingis to enter his vision and momentarily fake the idea of ball pressure. Furthermore, Powell’s stunt recovery back to Hardaway is in the passing lane. This subtle but important detail cuts off the quick swing to Hardaway.
As seen above, stunts come in varying degrees based on situation and personnel. If the stunter on a pick-and-pop figures that his man is a better shooter than the popper, it might not be wise to briefly abandon that assignment. If he stunts too far, the popper might swing the ball quickly to this player, and what could have been a 30% three-point shot turns into a 40% attempt. On the flip side, if the popper is a known marksman, the stunter might “stunt to a touch.” This is as it sounds: the stunt goes all the way to the intended target, to the point of contact. At best, this might altogether dissuade the pick-and-roll ball-handler from hitting the popper, since it would appear that he’s guarded. At worst, it puts someone in the air space of the popper so that he’s completely guarded on the catch. Taking this even further, some teams will even pre-rotate a pick-and-pop, where the stunter sits near the popper’s probable popping location. In some instances, he might even fully switch instead of recovering back to his own on the throwback. The defense, in turn, rotates on the back side to matchup as needed.
Look at how Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics executes a perfect stunt to touch/pre-rotation below against Domantas Sabonis of the Indiana Pacers. As Sabonis’ teammate, Darren Collison, comes off the ball-screen, Tatum is already pushed over to the nail in a perfect help position. When Sabonis pops, he moves right into Tatum’s space — giving him an easy stunt to a touch, followed by a recovery back to Lance Stephenson on the left wing.
Drop vs. Empty Corner
In every pick-and-roll scenario previously covered, the strong-side corner, or at least strong-side wing, was filled. This strong-side corner offensive player, the shaker, created a natural tagger. But what if the strong-side corner is empty?
In these situations, there is no logical tagger as prescribed by the pick-and-roll rules in both an aggressive and deep drop. This can make for a difficult defensive scenario. In a deep drop, the dropper faces a two-on-one with no prospect for help. Unfortunately, there is no obvious remedy. The one benefit is that the roller has less width to work with, as he’s usually hugged up against the baseline. The ball-handler, meanwhile, tries to get middle, but logically runs into the mess of bodies that are usually occupying the paint.
That’s what happens when the Houston Rockets run an empty corner pick-and-roll against a drop by Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies below. Once Chris Paul of the Rockets turns the corner and teammate Clint Capela rolls to the rim, Gasol is left in this familiar two-on-one because his teammate, Mario Chalmers, gets tangled in the screen and cannot get back in front of Paul.
Gasol must use his length to occupy as much space as possible to contain both Rockets coming at him. The best droppers in these situations are able to read ball-handlers and predict whether a shot or pass is coming. Here, Gasol reads the pocket pass and manages to slap the ball away from Capela.
If there’s any saving grace here, it’s that Capela can’t roll too far away from Paul. They’re both converging on the rim, and Capela widening his path would lead to his running into the baseline instead. Gasol uses this advantage to quickly slide over a few feet once Capela receives the ball.
Against a pick-and-pop, however, dropping on an empty corner-pick-and-roll is at times a recipe for disaster. If the big has to completely committ to the ball, and the guard chases the ball from behind, there is no one on that side of the floor to contest a pick-and-pop jumper. Check out how wide open Marc Gasol gets here:
The high hands necessary in rearview pursuit against a pick-and-pop are the only potential counter, but this is not enough most of the time. NBA defenses understand this and generally avoid drops in such situations. Instead, they try to prevent the ball-handler from getting middle by “icing” the ball-screen — forcing a rejection and therefore sending the ball-handler to the corner (more on this in another upcoming post). Otherwise, the only other solution is a switch.
Paint Switch
On some pick-and-rolls, the ball-handler drags the dropper so far away from the roller that a return to original matchups is both unfeasible and dangerous. This scenario unfolds most often when the ball-handler touches the paint, and the dropper cannot risk abandoning the ball with a close shot opportunity looming.
In this instance, the defense might employ a tactic known as a “paint switch,” which is a essentially a late switch necessitated by the development of a pick-and-roll. Many teams rely on a verbal cue for such a switch, but it is often also an intuitive recognition by the rearview pursuer.
The key to any good paint switch is the rearview pursuer planting himself between the roller and the rim. This can be an especially difficult task if we think about the mechanics of a pick-and-roll: remember that the rearview pursuer is the screened player, and therefore at a disadvantage in recovery. Screeners that release fast enough from the screening contact are naturally closer to the rim than the puruser. Therefore, it can take quite a bit of effort for the on-ball defender to diagnose the need for the paint switch and fight his way between the roller nad the rim. And then, of course, there’s the matter of the pursuer holding his ground, a tough assignment on its own considering the usual size mismatch of a guard holding off a big.
That’s what Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics has to do against Brook Lopez of the Los Angeles Lakers on this play. As the ball-handler, Brandon Ingram, attacks Aron Baynes’ drop, Smart realizes that he likely won’t catch up to Ingram and risks leaving Lopez wide open on the roll. He therefore diverts his course and finds Lopez, sealing him off away from the rim and prepping a potential box out.
Ingram can’t see Lopez based on his driving angle, but Smart nonetheless makes the right decision. Ingram is so deep into his drive and Baynes has things covered himself. The paint switch here jams up Lopez in his otherwise unbothered offensive rebound positioning.
The paint switch can even apply to a pick-and-pop, if the ball-handler drags out the ball-screen far enough. Given that the rearview pursuer is likely closer to the popper, he might just abort his rearview pursuit and go guard the popper himself.
Film Study: “Drop” (Part II)
Below is a video compilation of various examples of NBA defenses in a drop pick-and-roll coverage, including all of the various scenarios and techniques presented above. Although the specific play type and associated technique is labeled in the video, pay close attention to the quality of execution in every situation, and whether or not the chosen coverage is even the right one for the particular play.
