Lot of coverage lately revolving defending Steph Curry in ballscreen situations.
First, good luck. Second, there are a variety of ballscreen defenses out there with even more terminology used across all levels in order to communicate and stay on the same page within your own program.
Depending on who is considered the more significant threat ballscreen defenses aim to mitigate the disadvantage that is created by the screen. Within the highlight seen below you will see 3 types of ballscreen coverages attempting to disrupt Steph Curry as much as possible.
Blitz (Trap) – L.A. Clippers Clips
L.A. Clippers want the ball out of Steph’s hands. The idea here is to make others make plays. Number one priority is to not let the ballhandler beat the trap by splitting or evading. If the ball does get passed out to a teammate, a rotation ensues and it is a scramble with know-your-personnel assignments from there (i.e. Klay shooter or Livingston mid-range).
Switch – Houston Rockets
Houston has been known for switching across the board, on-ball and off-ball screens. Largely during this series (also blitzed), Houston looked to use their interchangeable pieces to switch any ballscreens. The idea behind this is to minimize any advantage gained with the screen taking away driving angles or 4v3 scenarios after a pass is made. This can be an effective strategy when players of similar defensive ability switch on to the ball, but when players out of position are left to defend dynamic playmakers it can become problematic.
Drop – Portland Trailblazers
Game one garnered all the attention. Portland decided to utilize the drop coverage on the screener, while intending to chase Steph off the 3-point line. You can see the one clip where Steph missed the tactic was executed. Where as the majority of the night – indicative of the 9 3FGM from Steph – it gave too much space. Coach Stotts understanding it is Game 1 and adjustments may be made, but is not here for any of your questions regarding his schemes.
Terry Stotts is IN NO MOOD. pic.twitter.com/RspBRpI4CO
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) May 15, 2019
Coach's Climb 