July/August 2019 - 8

USING FAKE HANDOFFS
IN YOUR OFFENSE
By John Kimble, contributing writer
With dribble handoff action becoming more popular,
offenses must do what they can to stay ahead of defenses
that are trying to stop it. Since deception is so important,
using fake handoffs can make real handoffs more
unpredictable and successful.
These plays are shown out of different sets with
different offensive personnel attacking the basket. This
forces different defenders to guard ball handlers from
various locations on the floor. Defensive post players
could be inverted on the perimeter to expose their lack
of quickness, knowledge, and experience in being a
perimeter defender. Experienced perimeter defenders
might be forced to guard their man in an unfamiliar
interior position.
These forms of action help coaches identify flaws
in defenses, which can then be used to their team's
advantage as the game carries on. Each play can
DIAGRAM 1
seamlessly flow into a designated continuity or motion
offense if it does not produce the desired shot.
Integrating fake handoffs
The first two plays end up in the standard four-out, onein
spot-ups. The last two entries end in the basic threeout,
two-in spot-ups.
DIAGRAM 1: Play one (A). This play is executed
from a five-up set. 1 has the freedom to drive toward
either side of the floor. In this example, 1 dribbles toward
2, with 2 first starting to cut up for the expected handoff
before breaking down to the deep corner. 1 may have a
penetrate-and-pitch opportunity to 2 for a 3-point shot.
At the same time, 3 flattens to the deep corner while
4 cross-screens for 5. Both bigs step out to the 2-guard
spot-ups above the arc. 1 can drive to the basket or make
passes to either teammate spotted in the deep corners.
DIAGRAM 2
6 JULY/AUGUST 2019
July/August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July/August 2019
