Last summer we launched an exciting project called “SG Ventures”, where we searched for coaches who were working on interesting projects related to basketball/coaching/performance and collaborated with them to help bring those projects to fruition. You can read much more about the details of SG Ventures HERE.
One of these projects became a three-part PnR series with coaches Drew Dunlop and Jake Grossman founders of, The Pro Lane, a high level, year-round basketball training center in Wisconsin.
Drew and Jake both have experience coaching and training players from the pro to amateur levels, and we are happy to be collaborating with them on a series of videos that deep-dive’s into some of the most useful ballhandler skills and decisions being used within the PnR.
Each installment of the series is a two-part video first showcasing the skill being used and its effectiveness at different levels around the world followed by an “Inside the Drill” video breakdown where we look at live drill footage with both Drew & Jake teaching these concepts at their Pro Lane facility.
For the first part of the series we looked at “The Reject” of a ballscreen and why it’s such an important skill/read to learn at all levels. In part two we highlighted the “Hostage Dribble,” the advantages it can create in the PnR and the optimal situations to using it.
For part three we turn our attention to the “Snake Dribble” and analyze the solutions it can provide based upon the depth of drop from the big man in the defensive coverage. Concluding with our “Inside the Drills” video looking at a few activities coaches can implement into their practices to help their players develop solutions to attack a drop coverage.
Drop Levels & Snake Solutions
When exploring the Snake Dribble it became important to avoid hitting on many of the similar themes explored in our previous two installments within the series. Much like the Hostage Dribble, a large component to using the Snake Dribble is understanding where the open space is and maintaining the advantage of the “over” (guard chasing over the top of an on-ball screen or DHO). However, what did stand out was how the Snake Dribble was being used to find different solutions based upon the depth of drop from the big man. It is worth mentioning these solutions are not exclusive to the specific drop level but were most commonly associated with the level of drop.
Attacking Deep Drops
First and foremost, if you have a capable and willing midrange shooter in the ballscreen the Snake Dribble can be used to further elude the on ball defender chasing over the screen to get into the open pocket and rise up for the shot…
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Zooming In: Focusing on the footwork of the shooter, during our “Inside the Drill” session Coach Dunlop explains the importance of not eating up the pocket by stepping into the shot and instead using a “vertically drop” to maintain the space and separation from the defensive big.
However, as we discussed in this week’s podcast with Coach Mike D’Antoni, in his opinion, in order to effectively punish a defense willing to drop so low in the ballscreen the ballhandler needs to knock down the midrange around a 55% clip. Obviously time/score/situation will dictate that shoot/don’t shoot decision, but most of the time instead of snaking to shoot as a first option, the player can snake the ballscreen to drag it out and wait for the roller to come into the play…
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Zooming In: Shown above, snaking into the open pocket buys time for the ballhandler to be patience in the “high paint”, and wait for the late roll to create a 2v1. The pressure of the big rolling will force the dropped big to make a decision to either recover back to the roller or commit to the ball…
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The next benefit of snaking the ballscreen to drag out the dropped big is its ability to force emergency switches…
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Zooming In: As shown, the separation created by the snake dribble puts pressure on the big to stay longer on the ball and harder for the defender chasing over to recover back. Rather than risk putting two on the ball the defense will often late switch, presenting a new solution for the offense to attack.
Attacking Bigs “At the Level” or “Up to Touch”
Whether it’s for tactical or personnel-based reasons, if a defense decides to send their bigs out higher (“up to touch”) on the ballscreen, the snake dribble is a tremendous tool in attacking that big’s hip and getting to the rim…
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Zooming In: Compared to a deep drop, at a higher level the big’s size is less of a threat and their lateral quickness is vulnerable to the attack. Using change of pace as a ballhandler is highly useful when attacking in these situations to keep the defensive big off balance. A “one speed” downhill attack makes it clear the big can backpedal to the rim and tee up a block attempt.
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Perhaps the ballhandler strength is not getting to the rim? Or the defensive big has been effective in corralling the ball coming off the screen? In this case the use of the snake dribble opens up the possibility for the “Gortat” screen…
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Zooming In: With the defensive big up higher in the screen the offense can encourage the screener to roll out quicker in an attempt to get behind the defense. With the quick roll, as the ballhandler snakes to elude their defender and get into the open pocket the roller will be in front of the ball instead of behind it. This scenario presents the opportunity for the roller to clear out the big with a seal or screen.
Too often the snake dribble can be used by the ballhandler solely as a means to score, with the ballhandler routinely challenging the big 1v1. The above decisions allow for a more nuanced and option-filled approach.
“Inside the Drill” – Attacking Drops & Practice Implementation
In Part 2 of this week’s breakdown we were joined by Coach Dunlop to dive into the film of a few live-drill designs he uses with players to help them find solutions against the drop coverage. A point of emphasis throughout was constantly reminding his players that in a PnR they can:
- “Take Space”,
- “Create Space” or
- “Maintain Space”
As shown in the video, oftentimes players were ONLY taking space against a drop coverage which resulted in contested shots or poor timing and spacing to play the ball to the roller or teammates. Especially against a drop coverage, the better solutions began to arise when the players started to hunt for ways to create space or maintain space. This resulted in better “change of pace” dribbles, hostage dribbles and snake dribbles in the high paint.
To close the session we discussed how coaches can implement these drills into a practice session during the season when time is limited.
The full breakdown is now available on SGTV exclusively for SG Plus Members!
