Read the Tag
Read how the defense tags the roller and choose the right counter on a ball screen.
- Duration
- 16 min
- Steps
- 4
- Equipment
- 3 items
- Difficulty
- Advanced
How to run it
- 1
Use a ball screen; the weak-side defender decides how to tag the roller (hard, soft, none).
- 2
Read the tag: hard tag = kick to the tagger's man; soft tag = pass to the roller; no tag = finish.
- 3
Execute the right counter each rep; defender varies the tag.
- 4
10 reps, rotating the tag.
Coaching points
- Read the tagger before you commit to the drive.
- A hard tag leaves a man open — kick to him.
- No tag means the roller is open — pass to him.
Equipment
- Basketball
- Screener
- Defenders
Why it works
The tag read is the next-level pick-and-roll decision. The nugget: the defense tells you what to do with how they tag the roller — hard, soft, or none. In a game, the kid who reads the tag always makes the right pass out of the pick-and-roll, which is how elite pick-and-roll guards dissect a defense. This is the read that turns a good pick-and-roll player into a great one.
Read the Tag
Purpose: Read how the defense tags the roller and choose the right counter on a ball screen.
▶How to run it
- 1Use a ball screen; the weak-side defender decides how to tag the roller (hard, soft, none).
- 2Read the tag: hard tag = kick to the tagger's man; soft tag = pass to the roller; no tag = finish.
- 3Execute the right counter each rep; defender varies the tag.
- 410 reps, rotating the tag.
✓Coaching points
- ✓Read the tagger before you commit to the drive.
- ✓A hard tag leaves a man open — kick to him.
- ✓No tag means the roller is open — pass to him.
▢Equipment
★Why it works
The tag read is the next-level pick-and-roll decision. The nugget: the defense tells you what to do with how they tag the roller — hard, soft, or none. In a game, the kid who reads the tag always makes the right pass out of the pick-and-roll, which is how elite pick-and-roll guards dissect a defense. This is the read that turns a good pick-and-roll player into a great one.