How To: Pick and Roll

What is sweeter than a spring roll, softer than a toilet roll and looks better than a freshly-baked Kaiser roll? (Let's get a drum roll please...) That, of course, is the pick-and-roll. The pick-and-roll is one of the most fundamental plays in basketball, and it is commonly featured in most offensive sets. It is carried out by two players (perhaps a guard/forward combination), and when a team is playing tough man-to-man defense, the pick-and-roll works best. Here are some guidelines to follow in order to pull off this rather simple, but effective, play. And then maybe you can steamroll your way to a solid scoring run. Isolate the players. It's hard to isolate two players on a court of 10 flailing bodies, but the more you keep things concentrated to one side, the better. Set the pick. The player who is dribbling the ball heads over to the other teammate. Try to make eye contact with each other to know when the pick should be set. The player without the ball will stop with the middle of his or her chest lined up perpendicular to the defender of the dribbler. It is crucial that the person who sets the pick does not extend his or her arms and keeps his or her feet planted. You don't want the official to call a foul for an illegal pick. Drive by the pick. The dribbler should drive closely by their teammate who just set the pick. You need to do this to make sure the defender runs into it. The whole point of the screen is to delay or completely stop the defender. Roll toward the hoop. Now the person who just set that textbook screen needs to roll toward the basket (while facing his or her dribbling teammate) by pivoting on their foot closet to the basket. Now you should have inside position on your defender as you roll toward the hoop. Make the open decision. Everything is now on the dribbler. The dribbler can take a shot or drive to the basket if the pick completely impedes the defender, or the dribbler can pass it to the rolling player who just set the pick. Taking a shot or passing it to the rolling teammate all depends on the defenders' responses. If both the shot and the pass aren't as open as you'd like, don't be afraid to reset everything. The pick and roll works best with patience and crisp execution. If you follow those tips, the pick and roll will turn out to be more valuable than a bank roll.