Fly fast break

A fly fastbreak (also known as a one out fastbreak) is a basketball move in which after a shot is attempted, the player who is guarding the shooter does not box out or rebounds, but runs down the court looking for a pass from a rebounding team mate for a quick score.

How to play the Fly fastbreak

The coach designates a certain guard or guards to carry out the Fly fastbreak. This is often the guard that defends the opponents shooting guard. When the designated opposing guard makes an attempted shot. The defending guard (refer to as 'Fly') will contest the shot, but then sprints down the court to the other teams key. When the defending team obtains the rebound, or has to inbound the ball (after a made basket), they throw the ball into the other team's key, knowing that there is a 'Fly' waiting to catch the ball and score.

Strengths of the Fly fastbreak

• Defeats the zone - the other team doesn't have time to set up their zone defense.
• Removes a rebounder - because the shooter has to defend against the Fly, they are removed from rebounding.
• Upsets the shooter - because the shooter has to worry about defense, they are less focused on their shooting.

Weaknesses of the Fly fastbreak

• Rebounding weakness - The Fly's team is left with a 4 against 5 rebounding ratio, if the shooter stays to rebound.
• Inbounding - If a shooter scores, the inbounding set up takes longer and the distance to throw the ball is harder.
• Exhausting - The Fly has to sprint on offense, but has to hustle back on defense if the Fly fast break fails.

Breaking Down the Fly fastbreak

Breaking down the Fly fast break can be done in two ways:

• Have a confident shooter that can score and force the defending team to inbound, while the shooter hustles back to defend against the Fly.
• Use non-shooting plays, where the #4 & #5 forwards do the scoring.

Notes

The 'Fly' is a term in fly fishing where the actions of this type of fishing are similar to the actions of the basketball player in Fly fastbreak.

References