Pick and roll
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The "pick and roll" (also called "screen and roll" or shortened to "screen-roll") in basketball, is an offensive play in which a player sets a screen (pick) for a teammate handling the ball and then slips behind the defender (rolls) to accept a pass.
The play begins with a defender between the ball handler and the basket, the defender is watching the ballhandler, while the ball handler can move in the direction of a teammate. The team mate gets in the way of the defender, slowing the defender down. This is the "screen" or "pick". The defender is now separated from the ballhandler, and has a choice, either try and catch up with the ballhandler, or stay to guard the screening player. If he stays guarding the ball handler, the screening player moves parallel to the direction of the ballhandler, and generally towards the basket by rotating or pivoting on his planted foot - the "roll". The screening player is now facing the same direction as the ballhandler, and is behind the defender. The defender has to either hurry up to close with the ballhandler, or is caught in the middle between the two offensive players. Even if another defender enters the picture, either the ballhandler, the screening player, or both, will have more space and freedom of movement than before.
The pick and roll creates a space between the ballhandler and the defender. Because he has been "freed up", the ballhandler can either take a shot, or make a pass. Because the ballhandler has choices, the defenders must either give a chance for a shot or a pass, or rotate from their positions and thus create scoring opportunities for others. The main recipient is often the screener himself, who rolls to the basket and receives the ball near the basket for an easy score. A successful pick and roll play may result in the screener being in position to receive a pass with a clear path for a slam dunk or other high percentage shot, with the chance of drawing a foul as other defenders move towards the play to try and prevent penetration. It may alternately lead to the ballhandler being momentarily without a defender, and thus free to pass to any open teammate, or take an uncontested shot, which greatly improves the chance of scoring, again with the chance of drawing a foul as the screened defender hurries to get back into the play.
The success of the strategy depends largely on the ballhandler, who has to recognize the situation quickly and make a decision whether to take the shot himself (if he is left free), pass to the screener who is rolling (if the defender switches) or pass to a teammate (if other defenders come to help). The screener also has to recognize the open spaces of the court to roll to, and be alert to receive the pass and finish the play.
The pick and roll is often employed by a shorter guard handling the ball and a taller forward or center setting the screen. The purpose is that if the taller defender switches to guard the ballhandler, then the offensive team can have favorable mismatches. The shorter guard has a speed advantage over the taller defender, while the taller forward has a size advantage over the shorter defender.
Variations of the pick and roll are the pick and pop (or pick and fade), where the screener moves for an open jump shot instead of rolling to the basket, or the pick and slip, where the screener fakes setting a screen before slipping behind the defender to accept the pass.
In the NBA, John Stockton and Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz used this play to great effect in the 1990s, leading their team to the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998. Stockton, a point guard, was a good shooter and exceptional decision maker and Malone, a power forward, was a great finisher. In recent times, Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire used the pick and roll to lead the Phoenix Suns to the top of the 2004-2005 league standings.
