What does attack the rim generally mean in basketball
Attack the rim generally means that an offensive player in possession of the basketball will dribble it towards the lane area, usually between the gaps of one or more defenders, to ultimately generate scoring or playmaking opportunities for themselves or other teammates.
It should be stated as well that attacking the rim is also known as driving to the basket or slashing to the basket. Furthermore, an offensive player that consistently attacks the rim could be referred to as a driver or a slasher.
Additionally, most of the time, perimeter-based basketball positions such as the point guard, shooting guard, or small forward would typically attack the rim.
However, a power forward or center with adequate dribbling skills could also possibly attack the rim in certain situations such as transition offense, particularly as a one-man fast break or primary break.
Moreover, it is usually more efficient to attack the rim against man to man defense as opposed to zone defense.
Essentially, zone defenses will almost certainly have at least one defender near the rim at all times so this essentially limits the effects if an offensive player were to attack the rim.
However, it should also be noted that it is possible for an offensive player with the ball to dribble into the gaps of a zone defense and then possibly execute a kick pass to another teammate for a potential three-point jump shot.
Similarly, the offensive player in possession of the ball could potentially get into the gaps of the zone and take a mid-range shot themselves in some situations.
Nevertheless, as stated previously, it is usually more difficult to dribble the basketball all the way into the lane, especially to score against the zone, as there would typically be at least one defender protecting the basket.
What generally occurs once an offensive player begins to attack the rim
Once an offensive player begins to attack the rim, one or more defenders would usually execute help defense by collapsing into the lane to mitigate the dribble penetration.
Also, at least one help defender would generally slide towards the front of the basket to prevent high percentage field goal opportunities such as layups or dunks.
However, if the offensive player is quick enough, then it is possible to score with a layup or dunk near the basket before the help defense is able to totally collapse or slide towards the basket.
Nevertheless, if the help defense does happen to collapse into the lane and/or slide towards the basket, then this basically means that other off-ball offensive players that could have the potential ability to shoot mid-range or three-point jump shots near the perimeter areas of the court would be open, at least temporarily.
So, the offensive player that would be attacking the rim could counter the help defense action by executing a kick pass to one of those potential perimeter shooters.
This could result in additional scoring opportunities for the other offensive players near the perimeter as well as an assist for the slashing offensive player.
Additionally, in some instances, when a help defender slides into the lane, especially in front of the basket, a secondary offensive post player near the low post area or dunker spot on the weak side could receive the ball from the offensive player that would be attacking the rim.
Following that, the offensive post player could quickly score with a layup or dunk, particularly before that same helping defender is able to contest or block the secondary shot attempt.
Furthermore, in other situations, when the offensive player with the ball attacks the rim, weak side perimeter players could possibly backdoor cut to the basket, which might also lead to a scoring opportunity as well.
Essentially, the defense will typically focus on the ball once an offensive player attacks the rim.
As a result, off-ball offensive players, especially on the weak side could sometimes sneak behind one or more defenders with the backdoor cut, receive the ball, and score at the rim before the defense is able to fully react.
Simply put, attacking the rim is an important basketball element to consider because it can lead to playmaking or scoring opportunities near the basket or near the perimeter areas of the court.
Which actions could an offensive player execute to attack the rim
First step
When an offensive player gains possession of the basketball, an on-ball defender will usually try to contain the ball by staying in front of that offensive player.
Therefore, to counter against the contain defensive action, the offensive player could attempt to attack the rim with an explosive first step to blow by the defender, especially if that same offensive player has a speed advantage over the defender.
This speed advantage could also happen when a perimeter player creates a mismatch opportunity with a post player.
For example, let’s say that within transition offense, a point guard, which is traditionally a perimeter-based position, has possession of the ball and begins to dribble it down the court to ultimately attack the rim.
Let’s also say that during transition defense, a power forward, which is traditionally a post-based position, matches up with the point guard to mitigate dribble penetration.
When that occurs, this creates a potential mismatch, especially if the point guard is faster than the power forward, which is usually the case.
Therefore, during the offensive team’s secondary break action or even within standard half court offense, the point guard could call for an isolation clear out at the top beyond the three-point line or perhaps on the wing.
Afterwards, the point guard could simply utilize an explosive first step to blow by the power forward and then attack the rim.
Following that, the point guard could possibly score with a layup before the help defense is able to protect the basket or possibly execute a kick pass to other teammates if the help defense does make adjustments to limit the dribble attack.
It should also be noted that in certain instances, an offensive player could still attack the rim via the first step with other possible advantages as opposed to an exclusive speed advantage.
For example, let’s say that an offensive player has a strength advantage over the on-ball defender.
If that is the case, then the offensive player could use a first step and use their own strength to keep the on-ball defender near their outside shoulder while attacking the rim.
Essentially, it would be challenging for the weaker on-ball defender to stay in front of the offensive player by slowing down the dribble attacking action with their own strength.
Basketball dribble moves
An offensive player in possession of the basketball could consider utilizing a series of one or more dribbling moves to attack the rim, particularly if it is not feasible or possible to simply use an explosive first step against an on-ball defender.
The basic dribble moves include the crossover dribble, between the legs dribble, and the behind the back dribble.
Essentially, an offensive player could use these types of dribbling moves to change a defender’s stance and then attack the rim in the opposite direction.
For example, let’s say that an offensive player has possession of the ball near the top and that same player desires to attack the rim for a scoring or playmaking opportunity while being covered by an on-ball defender.
So, for this case, the offensive player initially executes a simple pound dribble with the right hand followed by a double crossover to attack the rim.
In other words, the offensive player initially dribbles with the right hand and then executes a right to left crossover.
From there, if the on-ball defender swiftly slides towards the left side of the court to stop the dribble penetration, then this would mean that the offensive player successfully changed the on-ball defender’s stance.
Moreover, at that point, there would be a small window of opportunity to dribble in the opposite direction.
Therefore, the offensive player quickly executes a left to right dribble, which also completes the double crossover action.
Afterwards, the offensive player could continue to attack the rim with a few more right-handed basic dribbles and then score or pass, depending on help defense rotations.
Pick and roll
In certain instances, the pick and roll could be a viable offensive action when it comes to attacking the rim, which could also lead to a scoring or playmaking opportunity.
Essentially, the pick and roll is generally useful because the offensive player in possession of the ball as well as the offensive player that would roll after setting the pick would put pressure on the defense when both of them move towards the basket.
For example, let’s say that an offensive shooting guard has possession of the ball near the right side wing area. Afterwards, let’s say that an offensive center lifts from the right side low post area to set a side ball screen.
As a result of that basic two-man game, the shooting guard with the ball could attack the rim, particularly from the middle, and as that happens, the center could roll to the basket.
This situation could be a problem for the defense because it would be difficult to limit or completely prevent the offensive capabilities of both offensive players.
So, the defense would typically try to get around this potential issue with various pick and roll defensive tactics such as the drop coverage, ice defense, the defensive hedge, switch defense, or blitz defense.
Nonetheless, the offensive team could also thwart those pick and roll tactics with various countermeasures as well such as the snake dribble, pick and pop action, the slip screen, or the short roll.