Basketball Tactics Board

Half-Court Offense

Half-court basketball is where most games are decided, and the pick-and-roll is its most fundamental action. But coaching the pick-and-roll means coaching all the options that come from it: the ball handler can reject the screen, use it with a middle drive, use it with a pull-up jumper, or dump off to the rolling big. On CourtDraw you can diagram the decision tree for a single pick-and-roll action as separate phases — each option represented with arrows showing ball movement and player movement in the correct order.

Beyond pick-and-roll, diagram these core half-court principles:

• Give-and-go — pass, cut backdoor to the basket; simple but devastatingly effective against over-helping defenders.
• Motion offense principles — ball reversal, skip passes, corner cuts; show the spacing responsibilities that prevent defensive recovery.
• High-low action — pass to the high post, opposite forward cuts to the low post; the timing of the cut relative to the high-post reception is the key coaching point.
• Horns set — two bigs at each elbow, three guards on the perimeter; highly versatile starting formation that can flow into multiple actions.

Zone Defense

Zone defense confuses attackers who've only been taught to beat man-to-man. The 2-3 zone is the most common: two guards on the perimeter, three players across the paint. Teams attack the 2-3 by placing a shooter in the high post and hitting the corners rapidly. Diagram the defensive rotations required to close this gap.

The 1-3-1 zone is more aggressive — one player pressures the ball at the top, three across the middle level, one at the basket. It creates turnovers but is vulnerable in the corners. Draw the attack pattern (swing to corner, then swing back to opposite corner for a shot) alongside the defensive recovery rotation.

Transition and Fast Break

Transition offense should be diagrammed as a set of rules, not a play: the primary break (leading outlet pass to the wing), the secondary break (push the ball to the paint for a post-up), and the set play from the half court (if the defense gets back). Show the sprint lanes for each position and the decision-making triggers at each stage.

Transition defense — getting back in position before the opponent can score — requires diagrammed responsibilities: who sprints back first, who pressures the outlet pass, and who protects the paint.

Set Plays: BLOB and SLOB

Set plays from out-of-bounds situations are among the most rehearsed elements of basketball coaching — and the most in need of visual diagrams. A baseline out-of-bounds (BLOB) play typically involves four options, each triggered by different defensive alignments. A well-designed BLOB creates a catch-and-shoot, a lob to the basket, a mismatch post-up, and an escape option for the inbounder all in one action. Draw each option as a separate phase on CourtDraw, and players will know exactly which option to execute based on what the defense gives them.