A press break is what you run when the other team guards you the full length of the floor. It is less a play than a set of rules: where to stand, who is allowed to dribble, and where the ball goes the moment the trap arrives. Teach the rules and your team can beat a press it has never seen.
The five principles
- Inbound quickly. Most presses are beaten before they are set. The first pass is the easiest one you will get all possession.
- Get the ball to the middle. A trap only works on a sideline or in a corner. One pass into the middle of the floor kills it, and the middle man with his head up can see the whole break.
- Never dribble into a trap. Dribble to move a defender, then pass. The ball handler who puts his head down is the turnover.
- Fill the lanes ahead of the ball. Beating a press should end in a layup, not in a reset at half court. Somebody has to be running.
- Keep a man behind the ball. Every catch needs a pass backward available, or the trap has nowhere it can fail.
What to watch for
- Know your counts. Five seconds to inbound everywhere. The backcourt count is eight seconds under FIBA and NBA rules and ten under NCAA and most high-school rules — know which one you are playing under before you build the break around it.
- Read the press, not the diagram. A 2-2-1 gives you the first pass and traps near half court, so beat it with speed up the sideline. A 1-2-1-1 diamond traps the first catch, so your only job is getting off that sideline immediately.
- Substitute a ball handler in, not out. Pressing teams hunt the fourth and fifth guard.
The two mistakes are both the same mistake: standing still, and dribbling when you should have passed.