January/February 2019 - 10

IMPLEMENTING
'GHOST BALL
SCREENS'
A deceptive tactic that confuses defenses
and produces points
By John Kimble, contributing writer
One of the first techniques that man-to-man offenses
incorporated to attack defenses were stationary ball
screens. They were used to free point guards from their
defender, allowing the ball handler to drive for layups.
As the chess match between offenses and defenses
evolved, defenses adopted new ways to defend the ball
screen. Stationary ball screens were predictable and
easily identified, giving defenses time to adjust positions.
That's when offenses innovated by varying the locations
of ball screens and not limiting the screener to just the
post players.
As defenses created more ways to defend ball screens,
offenses countered with different types of action after the
ball screen was set. The most traditional was the pickand-roll,
followed by the pick-and-pop. Ball screeners
then slipped farther from the initial screen while
remaining on the perimeter. Screening the ball screener
became another effective method, where the ball screener
often became the primary pass receiver either on the
perimeter or in the lane. Screening a second defender
after ball screening became an efficient offensive
technique.
Today, the " ghost ball screen " is gaining popularity.
It's a combination of a long ball screen or ram screen
followed by a premature slipping of a ball screen. As
the ball-screener cuts toward the ball to set the screen,
they prematurely rim-run toward the basket while
looking for a quick pass from the supposed receiver of
the screen.
Coaches could use this technique as a quick-hitter, or
could teach those ball-screeners to read their defender as
they approach the ball-handler to set the screen. When
that ball-screener cuts toward the ball and does not see
their defender, they immediately change their planned
action and rim-run to the basket awaiting a pass. The
ghost ball screen essentially deceives defenses by offering
the appearance of a long ball screen before the screener
breaks off hard to the basket.
Here are three examples of using ghost ball screens in
different offensive alignments.
10 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
January/February 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January/February 2019
