Ball Screen Offense—Twisting The Ball Screen

What Does it Mean to Twist a ball SCreen?

“Twisting” the ball screen is another concept that originated and was heavily used in international basketball, before being adopted by the NBA and filtering throughout all levels. The “twist” action involves the ball screen being set, then quickly re-set, and is typically triggered when there is no advantage created from the initial ball screen action.

The Basics Of Twisting a Ball Screen:

The most common scenario when you would want to “twist” a ball screen, is when the on-ball defender slides underneath the initial ball screen and is able to recover to the ball handler. After the on-ball defender slides under and recovers, the screener would simply turn and re-set another ball screen on the opposite side.

The twist action allows the ball screen to be set lower or closer to the rim, and creates a better angle for the ball handler to attack. At the same time, it makes it extremely difficult for the on-ball defender to slide under the screen once again, thus forcing him to go over the top which the defense is not prepared to handle. Now the ball handler should be able to turn the corner off the ball screen to attack the basket or engage the screener’s defender to create a 2-on-1 advantage.

Dribble handoff:

Another action where the twist action is commonly used is a DHO, especially when it is a big-to-small DHO. If the defender guarding the player who is going to receive the DHO slides underneath the hand off, the player who handed the ball off (big) can simply “twist” or turn and re-screen.