Defending ballscreens

Proper defending of ballscreen action is a vital component in the success of overall team defense. The screen defense calls and reads that are made are dependent upon the team's defensive system and priorities, the skills of the individual offensive players, the skill sets of your personnel, game variables (i.e. player fouls, team fouls, time and score), offensive sets of the opposition, etc. Regardless of the plans chosen, all members of the defense MUST communicate - especially the four that are away from the ball and can clearly see the screen action. Decisions, based on team philosophies, must be made - some screen defensive strategies are more aggressive than others. Some options for defending ballscreens are:

• trap on the ballhandler by both the ball defender and screen defender
• jam by both defenders - jam up into the ballhandler by the on-ball defender as well as a jam under the screener (to prevent a roll or movement) by the screener's defender
• hedge by the screen defender and then position under the screen action by the ball defender (must read, don't assume the ballhandler is using the screen to then go a certain direction)
• hedge by the screen defender and then movement over the screen action by the ball defender (either over the hedge or through a gap between the hedge and the screener that the screen defender would then have to close on recovery to the screener)
• zone off and back (i.e. to a defensive lane position) by the screen defender with an aggressive chase over the screen action by the ball defender (to disrupt the ball and force a hurried play)
  
• the hedge by the screener's defender can, depending on system and priorities, be a hard hedge to take the ball up and away from the rim and towards midcourt or a high hedge followed by a flat hedge (90 degree screen defender pivot) in order to prevent the ball from penetrating the lane (and further help the on-ball defender)