Defending Doubles

Handling Double Screens

Double screens are a very popular tactic used by teams at every level. They are usually run for the to create opportunities for shooters on the baseline. Unprepared defenses run the risk of gibing up open shots, or even scoring runs, against offenses that feature this type of action.

Typically, man-to-man defenses defend off-ball screens by going on the ball-side of the screen. This is usually a sound defensive approach, even against decent shooters, because it forces the player taking the screen to fade the screen, which limits the chances of players getting shoty opportunities in the basket area. But against double screens, going on the ball side of the screen can backfire by giving up wide open looks. As a result, we spend some time each season preparing specifically to defend doubles.

Anytime we face a double screen, we trail and bump. This meas that the defender assigned to the player coming off of the screen trails on the screen, following right behind his man, so that if the ball is caught on the perimeter, we are right there to apply defensive pressure. If the offensive player responds by curling to the basket, the defender assigned to the second screener steps up and bumps the curl. This is done by stepping up into curling players intended path and positioning the inside forearm (the forearm closest to the man, not the ball) parallel to the ground at just below shoulder level in an arm bar. The outside hand (the hand closest to the ball) is out denying the pass. The offensive player should run (bump) into the arm bar so the defense isn’t whistled for initiating the contact. When the trailing defender catches up, the player that “bumps” returns to defend his assignment. The defender assigned to the first screener (the one that the man rubs shoulder at the beginning of the screen) gets ready to help if the second screener slips the screen with a cut to the basket.

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