Half courtvs man4 phasesRuns 12.6 s
Flex
One full cycle of the flex continuity: a baseline cross screen for the weak-side corner, then a down screen for the screener as the ball reverses, and the same two actions back the other way. Every reversal produces a layup cut and a shot at the top; the offence simply repeats until one of them is open.
Open in the appRun it, tilt it, put a defense on it, change it. Free to start. No account, nothing to install.
Phase by phase
1Phase 1
Reverse it, then 3 flex cuts off 5’s shoulder to the ball-side block.
- 1 passes to 2
- 5 screens for 3
- 3 cuts to the left block
2Phase 2
Screen the screener — 1 down-screens 5 up to the top and replaces himself.
- 1 screens for 5
- 5 cuts to the top
- 1 cuts to the right slot
3Phase 3
Same cycle the other way: swing it through the top, 3 screens across for 4.
- 2 passes to 5
- 5 passes to 1
- 3 screens for 4
- 4 cuts to the right block
4Phase 4
If the flex cut is open, feed it — otherwise 3 comes back to the top and it runs again.
- 5 screens for 3
- 3 cuts to the top
- 1 passes to 4
- 4 shoots
Teaching points
- Every cycle is the same two actions, cross screen then down screen, on both sides.
- The flex cutter goes shoulder to shoulder off the screener. A wide cut is a dead cut.
- The screener is always the second option. Screen, then get screened.
- Reverse the ball through the top. A side-to-side pass gives the defense time to reset.
- Nobody stands still. If you are not cutting, you are filling somebody's spot.
Flex is a continuity, which means it does not end. You run the cycle until the defense makes a mistake, and if they do not, you run it again from the other side.
One cycle is here in four phases. Reverse the ball, cross screen along the baseline for the weak-side corner, and that cutter takes the ball-side block. Then down screen for the screener and send him to the top. Swing it through him and the same two things happen going the other way.
The read
There are only two shots in the whole offense, and both come out of the same pair of screens.
The flex cut is a layup when the cutter’s man goes under the screen or gets caught on it. The down screen at the top is a jump shot when the defense sinks to protect the first one.
That is the trade. Help on the cut and the shot at the top opens. Stay home on the shooter and the cut is a layup.
Teaching it
Teach the footwork on the cross screen before anything else. The cutter sets his man up by walking him toward the baseline, then cuts high off the screener’s shoulder. Most flex cuts die because the cutter runs the moment he sees the screen arrive.
Start with two spots and one action, not four phases. Run the cross screen and the layup for a week. Add the down screen when the first one looks right.
A young team can run this for a season and learn to screen properly, which is worth more than the baskets.
Counters
- Against a switch on the cross screen, the cutter posts the smaller man on the block instead of clearing.
- Against a team that top-locks the flex cut, the cutter goes over the top and gets the down screen at the top of the key.
- If they jump under every cross screen, the screener slips to the rim instead of setting it.
continuityflex-cutcross-screendown-screenscreen-the-screenermotion
Terms in this play
Continuity vs quick hitterCross screenFlex cutScreen the screener