On a ball screen, the screener’s defender retreats toward the basket instead of stepping out at the ball. The guard fights over the top of the screen and chases from behind. Nobody switches, nobody leaves their own man, and the big waits between the ball and the rim until the guard catches back up.
Why coaches use it
It is the coverage that asks the least of everybody else. Because no defender leaves a shooter, the other three can stay attached and there is no rotation to remember, so it is the first coverage most teams teach and the one they fall back on when a scout goes wrong. It keeps a rim protector near the rim, which means one screen almost never produces a layup. And it is the honest answer for a big who cannot move his feet out on the floor.
Coaches do not agree on how deep “drop” is. Some mean the big sits at the level of the screen with his chest on the dribbler’s inside shoulder — “up to touch”. Others mean he is at the front of the rim before the ball has turned the corner. Say which one you want, because the shot you give up changes completely.
How to attack it
Drop hands you the space between the screen and the big.
- Shoot the pull-up. If the big is at the rim and the guard is a step behind, the ball handler has a free look from twelve to eighteen feet, or from three if the drop is deep enough.
- Throw the pocket pass. Deliver it into the gap before the big commits, and the roller attacks a bent defense four-on-three.
- Re-screen or twist. A second screen going the other way catches the chasing guard still recovering and the big still retreating.
- Pin the big. A back screen on the dropping defender, as in Spain pick-and-roll, takes the rim protection away from the coverage entirely.
Draw the possession once, set the on-ball screen coverage to Drop, then replay it against ICE and watch which of your options survives.