“Re-Screen”

Term: Re-Screen

Definition: A second and immediate ball-screen set by the same screener for the same ball-handler as was involved in the initial pick-and-roll.

Synonyms: N/A

Explanation: In every successful ball-screen, the screener either makes contact or reasonably interferes with the on-ball defender. An alert defense, however, will verbally signal an incoming screen, giving the on-ball defender time to react. In some cases, this means tightening his grip on the ball-handler and avoiding contact altogether. In other cases, it means dipping under the ball-screen and cutting off the ball-handler on the other side.

Either way, the defense wins the play when the ball-handler is unable to use the pick-and-roll to his advantage. It is in these situations — when the initial ball-screen misses contact or the defense goes under — that the offensive screener will simply flip around to the other side of the on-ball defender and screen him again. Known as a “re-screen,” this action is common across all levels of basketball and can be very difficult to handle from a defensive perspective.

The re-screen is a war of attrition. If the defense wins the initial pick-and-roll bout, an offensive re-screen essentially indicates that the offense will continually set ball-screens with the same two players until the defense falters. For an on-ball defender, successfully staving off two consecutive ball-screens is nearly impossible. It requires not only a large amount of effort, but also diminishing odds. In a given pick-and-roll, it is more likely than not that the on-ball defender will get hit or redirected by the screener. To avoid these outcomes on two consecutive occasions is extremely unlikely.

Although a re-screen can occur after any ball-screen, there are four distinct instances when it is most common:

1. When the on-ball defender fights over the screen, avoids contact and manages to stay in front of the ball-handler.
2. When the on-ball defender goes under the screen.
3. When a dribble handoff fails to create an advantage due to a defensive over or under.
4. When a ball-handler unsuccessfully rejects a ball-screen.

Because the mechanics of each re-screen are slightly different, we will consider them one at at time below.

No Contact + Re-Screen

One of the most common reasons for a re-screen is also the simplest: the screener misses. This can be due to a number of reasons, but the two most common are:

1. The defender fights over the screen and drives the ball-handler away from the contact.
2. The ball-handler doesn’t wait for the screener to get set, and the screener intentionally misses to avoid an illegal screen call.

With regards to the first, there are limitless reasons why an on-ball defender might successfully get over a screen without getting screened. Maybe the screener didn’t make enough of an effort to seek out contact; maybe the on-ball defender gave a particularly noteworthy effort on the play to get into the shorts of the ball-handler and make himself harder to hit; maybe the offensive player’s ball-handling ability wasn’t that strong, allowing the on-ball defender to more easily dictate his direction. No matter the reason, this is simply a case of a screening swing and a screening miss.

Let’s look at an example involving the Miami Heat and the Atlanta Hawks. As Goran Dragic of the Heat attempts to use a drag from teammate Hassan Whiteside, Whiteside does not give much effort to ensure contact with the on-ball defender, Dennis Schroder of the Hawks. As Dragic begins his east-west move around the screen, Schroder is able to slide right with him and blow up the pick-and-roll by himself.

Although Schroder’s effort is laudable, he has the unfortunate job of gearing up for the re-screen immediately. Instead of swinging the ball along, Dragic simply spins around and starts moving to his left. Whiteside, in conjunction with his teammate, flips around as well and sets a step-up. This time, Schroder cannot get out of the way and runs right into Whiteside. The re-screen springs Dragic free downhill to the rim.

Casting blame on Schroder here for getting hit hard by the Whiteside screen is inappropriate. The level of contact really only speaks to the value of the re-screen and the natural advantage the offense usually ends up with in pick-and-roll. Here, we can see the re-screen counting on Schroder being unable to handle consecutive screens.

As is obvious here, Whiteside, the screener, is to blame for the necessity of the re-screen. But as mentioned above, a lack of contact in a ball-screen is not always the fault of the screener. Sometimes an overzealous ball-handler will get going too early, making the on-ball defender a moving target. This leaves the screener with two choices: get set in the expected path of the on-ball defender and hope he runs into him, or get out of the way and do not risk an illegal screen.

In the play below, we can see Miles Plumlee of the Hawks readies himself for a step-up on Kentavious Caldwell-Pope of the Los Angeles Lakers. But before he even approaches the contact zone, the ball-handler, Kent Bazemore, starts attacking the rim.

If Plumlee tries to quickly slide to his right and clean up Caldwell-Pope, he risks an illegal screen call. As we can see in the play below, he clearly thinks about this option and even momentarily begins inching in that direction. But eventually he thinks better of it and stays out of the way.

Although one of the advantages of going early — as Bazemore does here — is that it can catch the defense by surprise, it also means the on-ball defender has not yet attempted to force the ball-handler in a particular direction per the team’s defensive pick-and-roll coverage. This means it is easier for the on-ball defender to react to either side. Here, this results in Caldwell-Pope being able to cut off Bazemore. Plumlee, however, seizes on his chance and lines up a re-screen. Although the Lakers win the initial pick-and-roll, the re-screen leads to an offensive advantage.

Under + Re-Screen

A re-screen against an under pick-and-roll defense is one of the most common tactical counters in the NBA. Defenses typically go under ball-screens when the ball-handler is not a dangerous threat from the three-point line or mid-range area. Most pick-and-roll ball-handlers, however, stick to their strengths and will not consistently fire long jumpers in these situations. Instead, they’ll probe with their dribble to get closer to the rim, where both a shot attempt or playmaking opportunity are more readily available.

Re-screens aid in this process by pinning the on-ball defender closer to the rim and, against most defenses, preventing on-ball defenders from going under a second time. When the first ball-screen occurs and the on-ball defender goes under, he is usually greeting the ball-handler at a point that is lower on the floor but still close to the three-point line.

When the screener screens again, a second under becomes less viable. With the pick-and-roll taking place inside the three-point line, a second under would give up a clean look from the 15-foot area. Even for poor perimeter shooters, this is an easy shot. Furthermore, the offense is inching closer to the rim with the ball and the roller, making every step deeper into the paint more consequential and harder to guard.

Many defenses, therefore, teach an automatic over on a re-screen. While a second under might be viable in a particular situation, this one-size-fits-all rule eliminates any chance of mistaken judgment.

In the play below, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder uses a ball-screen from teammate Enes Kanter as Shelvin Mack of the Utah Jazz goes under. Going up against one of the most dangerous drivers in the league in Westbrook, Utah (and Mack) decides that giving up a potential pull-up jumper on an under is less worrisome than the north-south driving lane an over might create.

As we can see at the point of the screen, Westbrook would be firing a pretty long shot should he decide to let it go once he gets clear of Kanter.

Westbrook, however, does not settle. Instead, he waits for Kanter to re-screen, hitting Mack once again. This time, the screen takes place at the free-throw line. Should Mack choose to go under again, he’d be giving up an easy pull-up too close to the rim. And if he doesn’t get under cleanly, Westbrook would have a short and easy driving path anyway. For these reasons, Mack has little choice but to go over the second screen.

Still, Utah is in a difficult situation — and in particular Derrick Favors, the man guarding Kanter. He has no choice but to step up to Westbrook to take away the pull-up or a quick burst to the rim. But with Kanter now only a few steps away from a layup or dunking area, Favors’ committment to the ball could have serious consequences. All Westbrook has to do is thread a short pass through to Kanter for an easy two points.

In the end, Favors’ first responsbility has to be to stop the ball. He must trust that his weak-side will tag the rolling Kanter. Unfortunately, that’s not what happens, as they’re also stuck between helping out on the immediate ball-screen action as well as staying close enough to contest kick-outs. The result is two points for Oklahoma City.

DHO + Re-Screen

A dribble handoff (DHO) mimicks the mechanics of a regular ball-screen + re-screen in terms of an over and an under. The only difference, however, is the reasons why an on-ball defender might go over or under the DHO in the first place.

In a regular ball-screen, the over/under dilemma is largely determined by the shooting capability of the ball-handler. In a DHO, that same logic still applies, though slightly altered.

In a typical DHO, a big handling the ball will dribble from near the top of the key toward a teammate coming out of the corner. (Note: good DHO bigs will actually dribble at the defender instead of his teammate to bring the screen lower on the floor as well as increase the likelihood of contact on the handoff.) This means that, directionally, the player receiving the handoff is moving away from the basket. For most players, stepping behind a DHO and shooting with momentum moving the wrong way creates a very difficult shot. Realistically, only the league’s most dangerous marksmen are even willing to let these shots go.

That’s why defenses tend to go under in these situations, and overall there are far more unders than overs against DHOs. If someone wants to attempt this difficult shot, the defense will live with the results.

(This specific DHO under is also known as “let me through,” a call made by the defender guarding the receiver so his teammate knows to open up and create a lane for an under.)

Once the under occurs on a DHO, the situation often evolves as it would against a regular pick-and-roll under: the handing off big becomes the re-screener, looking to clean up the on-ball defender and give his ball-handling teammate some room to work with.

This exact scenario unfolds below as Denzel Valentine of the Chicago Bulls receives a dribble handoff from teammate Robin Lopez. Nicholas Batum of the Charlotte Hornets, who is guarding Valentine, initially goes under the DHO because Valentine is sprinting toward the ball and away from the basket. If he were to stop and pop a three-pointer, it would be an incredibly difficult shot.

Instead, Valentine looks to turn the corner, as most guards do off a DHO. But Batum goes under knowing this is Valentine’s plan, and this allows him to cut off the middle of the floor.

Chicago responds with a typical DHO + re-screen: Lopez simply flips around and Valentine heads in the other direction. With the screen set below the three-point line, Batum must now go over. And with his teammate Dwight Howard in a drop, Batum can only contest the ensuing pull-up with a rearview pursuit.

If the DHO were to happen the other way — with the receiver sprinting toward the corner and the big DHO-ing up toward half-court — the calculus doesn’t change much. Although the receiver is moving somewhat toward the rim, he is still heading more toward the corner than the paint. This might be an easier shot than the directionally opposite DHO, but it is still harder than a typical catch-and-shoot. Therefore, defensive mechanics in these situations typically do not differ from regular DHO defense.

Reject + Re-Screen

Most ball-handlers, when presented with a ball-screen, will use it. Unless the defense is icing or weaking a pick-and-roll, it is the job of the on-ball defender to ensure that the ball-handler does in fact go in the direction of the screen. Many on-ball defenders, however, blindly assume that the ball-handler will do as is expected. Clever ball-handlers, therefore, can catch defenders sleeping by rejecting the screen.

Of course, this doesn’t always work. An attempt to reject a ball-screen should be met with an easy denial, as the on-ball defender should have already shaded toward that side of the floor to encourage the ball-handler’s use of the screen.

If, in a pick-and-roll situation, a ball-handler tries and fails to a reject a ball-screen, he will often end up using the ball-screen anyway in what amounts to a re-screen. This final re-screening scenario, however, isn’t a re-screen in the traditional sense, with the ball-handler using a ball-screen one way before changing course and taking on the second screen in the opposite direction. It is really more of a delayed screen with two added bonuses: the screener has more time to line up his screen, and the ball-handler forces the on-ball defender to completely declare himself to one side. When the ball-handler then chooses to use the screen, his defender will be in a greater trail position. This even applies against a weak or ice as well: by going with the tide and initially rejecting the screen, the ball-handler forces the on-ball defender to commit before quickly pivoting and changing direction.

Look at how Dwyane Wade of the Cleveland Cavaliers tries to reject the ball-screen below before David Nwaba of the Chicago Bulls cuts him off. While this might be an initial win for Nwaba, he has to make an all-out effort to prevent Wade from going in that direction. This consequently drives him back a few steps, allowing Wade an easy path around the screen from teammate Jae Crowder — who has used these extra ticks to line himself up to clean up Nwaba as he attempts to recover.

Film Study: “Re-Screen”

Below is a video compilation of various examples of NBA offenses re-screening in the four scenarios mentioned above: no conact, under, DHO, and reject. Be on the lookout for the the location of the re-screen and how it forces the defense to react a certain way. Another common thread will be the under-over re-screen defense to which many teams subscribe.