A few weeks ago, we released our first episode of our “Modern Game Truths” collaboration with The Pro Lane on Off Ball Shooting. The episode delved into shooters who showcase opportunistic movement, engaging with the unfolding information in front of them to create shooting opportunities for themselves. This week, we’re back with our second episode, once again concentrating on opportunistic movement, specifically Off-Ball Cutting. Before we dive into that, a quick reminder of our intent with the “Modern Game Truths” project.
About the Project
In this series, “Modern Game Truths”, the objective is to stimulate thought and foster ideas on practical training methods that bridge the gap between the controlled training environment and the dynamic game environment, highlighting the skills, movements, and decisions that occur most frequently in a game and help stitch skills and systems together.
This year-long series will explore ways to prepare athletes for the unpredictable and chaotic nature of basketball, moving beyond training in “perfect” circumstances and creating environments that reflect the challenges presented in the game itself. We’ll guide you from theory to practice, and from practice to game day results.
With each installment we will be exploring a specific skill and looking at it in three parts:
- Game Film – A breakdown of the skill or concept in use during the game.
- Athletic Capacities – Live footage and drills identifying capacities underlying functional solutions and skill performance.
- Training Environment – Live footage, drills, and narration of a framework to design and develop your own scenarios in the context of your personnel and systems.
*A PDF with relevant links and teaching points will be included with the installment as well.
In this newsletter, we find it interesting to explore various training environments and their emphasis on structuring drills to aid in the development of more proficient off-ball cutters.
Off Ball Cutting – Athletic Capacities
With each episode, our initial focus is on preparing the players for the physical demands of the skill or concept about to be presented. In the case of cutting, this involves getting players ready to accelerate, coordinate their bodies, decelerate, and jump into space. Layering in variability, such as a bad pass or being blind to the basket, the players begin to explore finishes in and out of different footworks from good or bad positions on the floor.
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Zooming In: In this guided 1v1 rep work, the offensive player focuses on accelerating into the cut, then decelerating to read the defense, jumping to open space, and finishing under control.
Off Ball Cutting – Spacing
The ultimate goal of nurturing more instinctual cutters poses the challenge of creating drills that not only encourage cutting but also prompt players to independently discover cutting solutions. One approach involves considering the spatial arrangement of the drill, choosing to compress or expand the playing area and/or interpersonal space between players. This compels players to interact with their teammates and the allocated spacing to find solutions. A question to ask is if the drill encourage players to cut to resolve poor spacing scenarios, thereby opening up space for a teammate? Alternatively, is the drill designed to challenge the defense in protecting a specific playing area, making it difficult for them to maintain ball-man vision?
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Zooming In: As illustrated above, providing the offense with an advantage in this 2v2 Wing Cutter drill creates an environment conducive to cutting. This is a result of the pressure imposed on the defense and the ample open space allocated for the offense to maneuver.
Off Ball Cutting – Starts
Understanding the space and the ability to interact with teammates is one vital component of cutting. Another crucial aspect involves reading the defender and creating separation during the cut. To facilitate this development, a coach can consider how to initiate a drill. This includes thinking about what actions or triggers to start the drill, such as changing up the offensive or defensive start positions to encourage a response, and/or providing offensive or defensive advantages/disadvantages to begin with.
Starting the drills in this way helps place players in scenarios they are likely to encounter in a game and challenges them to find solutions, or, as demonstrated below, encourages them to work on finishing from those situations.
*Note: For more discussion on advantage/disadvantage drills check out our podcast conversation with Academy of Art MBB Head Coach, Scott Waterman.
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Zooming In: Similar to the considerations of spacing and now starts, the game film offers scenarios that naturally unfold in the course of a game, providing conducive situations for cutting. Examples include a throw-ahead transition 2v2 baseline drive (related to Spacing) or a deep paint puncture, which turns the head of a defender at the top of the arc (related to Starts).
Off Ball Cutting – Emphasis
The final piece in tying it all together is designing drills with the desired outcome or skill encouraged through scoring incentives. By working with fewer constraints and more neutrality, but incentivizing a cutting score or a score triggered by a cut, the goal is to encourage players to engage with spacing, their teammates, and the defense to discover cutting opportunities. 🤞
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Zooming In: As we know, cutting holds tremendous value in opening up space and opportunities for teammates (cut assists), while also creating opportunities for the cutter to become a playmaker as the defense reacts to the gravity created from a cut. Recognizing the sacrificial element of cutting, it is beneficial to incentivize not only a cut to score but also a cut to trigger a score.
Zooming In 2.0: Shown above, with the drill “3v3 (Spacing) Initiate with a DHO (Start)”, the offense’s points are doubled for any made field goal triggered by a cut.
*To hear one of our favorite podcast conversations on teaching cutting, check out our episode with now Utah Jazz Assistant, Scott Morrison. ​
To conclude, these drill constraints are not mutually exclusive. Most, if not all, of the drills shown today incorporate different elements in an effort to optimize training and foster cutting. Considering team’s current level, specific offensive strategies, or preferred actions, reflecting on these constraints and adjusting them accordingly can aid a coach’s approach to drill design or, help in reconfiguring current drills to maximize their emphasis.
To dive deeper into the nuances of cutting and constructing environments to nurture effective cutters, plus more topics such as:
- Game Film: Analyzing Cutting Qualities
- Off-Ball Cutting: Preparation & Quick Decision Training
*PDF: ​​Opportunistic Movement – Cutting Drill Guide.pdf​
Watch the full episode on SGTV now!
