In an age of basketball where small ball and high tempos seem to be dominating, the post presence who can score on the low block is a rare and valued commodity – but for some of us, it’s been so long (or never) since we had a player like that, that were not entirely sure what basketball plays would work most efficiently.
Often coaches will just setup a player on the low block and throw him the ball, without any offball movement or screening, making it
extremely easy for these fast, attacking defenses to load up and “ limit your post up effectiveness. Here’s a great, simple play that will allow you to isolate your big man on the block, while also giving them plenty of cutters and passing options to hit off-ball.
5 Man Iso
This set is based off of the Tempo Control Offense, with the goal being to slow down the tempo, rather than speed it up. This is a great basketball offense if you have a skilled post player and an abundance of great shooters, but a shortage of great ball handlers.
The pre-play setup in the Temp Control Offense uses a 4 out, 1 in set, which looks as follows: your guards up top, a couple feet off the three point arc and just outside of each foul lane extended, “ your wings along the three point line, on the foul line extended, and your big man on the ball-side elbow.
To initiate this play, have your point guard swing the ball to the weak side guard, and then use a flare screen from the wing on his side, spotting up on the three point line.
The shooting guard, now with the ball in his hands, will swing the ball out to the wing on his side, and then cut straight down through the middle of the key to the hoop, before circling out for the corner three (otherwise known as Bruce Bowen Place). “ The wing who set the flare screen on our point guard will fill into the top of the key, and our big man will cut to the block, filling in the space cleared up by the shooting guards rim cut.
The ball will now move down to the big man on the block, and he can go to work, with options on the ball-side wing, the top of the key, the 45 degree angle pass to the opposite wing, or even a pass along the baseline. This will keep the defense stretched out, and force them to either stay in one-on-one coverage in the post, or give up a fairly easy pass to a shooter, spotted up on the three point line.
Of course, unless you have a big man who is comfortable down low, this isn’t a great play to use. Even if your bigs are tall with alot of potential, they’ll never reach it unless you as a coach take the responsibility to put them through a gauntlet of post drills!
If you’re looking for more offensive ideas, make sure you check out our complete directory of basketball plays. You’ll find step by step tutorials for the most popular half court sets, as dozens of proven plays you can take right to the gym.