What is general information about the fast break in basketball
The fast break consists of offensive action that occurs when a team gains possession of the basketball and then attempts to quickly score points, primarily before the opposing team is able to fully prepare their respective defensive strategies.
The fast break is also considered transition offense because it typically occurs when one particular team is transitioning from defense into offense while the opposing team is transitioning from offense to defense.
For example, let’s say that a certain player on Team A attempts a field goal but misses the shot, which is then followed by team B gathering the defensive rebound.
When that happens, Team B would then be in their transition offense and they would also have an opportunity to execute their fast break action against Team A.
Furthermore, Team A could also counter the transition offense of Team B by executing transition defense in an attempt to limit or prevent fast break scoring opportunities.
Moreover, as a very brief history lesson, Coach John McLendon, who was enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor in 1979 and as a coach 2016, was well known for his patented fast break style offense.
Furthermore, Coach McLendon also wrote a book about his fast break style of play, published in 1965, entitled Fast Break Basketball: Fundamentals and Fine Points.
Related: John B. McLendon – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Related: Basketball legend ‘Coach Mac,’ John McLendon, finally in Hall of Fame as coach – Andscape
What is a primary fast break
The primary fast break, also known simply as the primary break, is a basketball offensive strategy as well as the initial fast break phase of transition offense and its main objective is to create scoring opportunities, particularly when the defensive team is at a disadvantage from a numbers perspective, generally within the first two or three seconds after gaining possession of the basketball.
The primary fast break could be beneficial at times because unlike set plays or other types of basketball offense such as continuity offense or motion offense, it does not use predetermined actions to create one or more scoring options.
Instead, the central focus of the primary fast break is to move the ball down the court with at least two offensive players and score quickly against an opposing team that would feature less defenders than the number of offensive players at that point in time.
What is a secondary fast break
The secondary fast break, also known simply as the secondary break, is a basketball offensive strategy as well as the alternative fast break phase of transition offense which includes scoring options near the basket or near the perimeter areas immediately after the defensive team prevents the initial primary fast break action.
The secondary fast break could be beneficial because the defensive team is usually not fully prepared to stop the offensive team’s alternative scoring options which are generally fast-paced quick hitters.
What is a numbered fast break
The numbered fast break is a basketball offensive strategy in which each of the five players, during transition offense, are assigned distinct numbers and given specific roles related to those numbers with the main objective of creating quick scoring opportunities near the basket or near the perimeter areas of the court.
The numbered fast break could be helpful for a team because it usually provides a predetermined plan in relation to the primary fast break and/or secondary fast break phases within transition offense as opposed to the a free-flowing standard fast break, which heavily emphasizes improvisation between the players.
What is a one man fast break
A one man fast break comprises action that occurs when one particular player gains possession of the basketball within their backcourt during transition offense and immediately dribbles by one or more defenders towards the basket in their frontcourt to ultimately score quickly via a layup or dunk.
What are common types of fast break situations
1 on 0 fast break
A 1 on 0 fast break situation occurs when an offensive player is ahead of all defenders with no resistance to hinder or prevent an easy layup or dunk.
As an example of a 1 on 0 fast break situation, let’s say that there are two teams denoted as Team A and Team B playing a standard 5-on-5 basketball game.
Moreover, let’s say that Team A is currently executing a basic 5 out motion offense with each of their five players filling perimeter areas near the top, wings, and corners while also being respectively covered by five opposing defenders from Team B.
From that information, let’s say that the point guard of Team A has possession of the basketball at the top while being covered defensively by the point guard of Team B.
Afterwards, the point guard of Team A throws a simple chest pass to their teammate, who, for this scenario, is a shooting guard near the right side wing area.
However, as the initial pass is in mid-air, basically as an air pass, let’s say that the defensive shooting guard of Team B, jumps into the passing lane to steal the ball, which is also fairly risky as the space between the point guard and shooting guard of Team A is only one pass away.
During that time, once the shooting guard of Team B catches the ball via interception, Team B is now in transition offense while all five players of Team A are transition defenders.
Next, the point guard of Team B quickly sprints down the court and while that happens, the shooting guard of Team B throws it to that same point guard, who is also ahead of the current transition defenders of Team A.
From there, the point guard is now in a 1 on 0 fast break situation as there are no defenders in front to limit or prevent a quick score at the rim via a layup or dunk.
It should be noted as well that a 1 on 0 situation could be executed by way of cherry picking action, although that is usually frowned upon, especially within pick-up basketball games.
2 on 1 fast break
A 2 on 1 fast break situation occurs when two offensive players have an opportunity to score points during their transition phase while only one defender is available at that moment to limit or prevent the offensive scoring possibilities.
When a 2 on 1 fast break opportunity presents itself, the offensive player in possession of the ball should almost certainly attack the rim while the off-ball offensive player cuts toward the basket as well.
That type of offensive action puts a large amount of pressure on the solo defender, who would be challenged to guard both players at the same time.
3 on 2 fast break
A 3 on 2 fast break situation happens when three offensive players have an opportunity to score points during their transition phase with only two defenders available to limit or prevent potential scoring opportunities near the basket or near the perimeter areas of the court.
In a 3 on 2 fast break situation, the offensive player in possession of the ball should dribble towards the basket. At the same time, one of the off-ball offensive players should cut towards the basket while the other off-ball offensive player cuts to a perimeter area behind the three-point line, especially the corner areas of the court.
Executing that type of offensive action puts pressure on the two defenders, who would be challenged to protect the basket or give up a potential wide open three-point shot.
What are the basic transition defense concepts to limit or prevent the fast break
Protect the basket
When initiating the transition defense, at least one defender should sprint into their team’s backcourt to protect the basket as soon as possible.
Additionally, during most cases of transition defense, it will usually be the team’s point guard and/or shooting guard that sprints into the backcourt as those particular defenders are generally the fastest players on the team.
Stop the ball
Assuming at least one defender is in position to protect the basket, a secondary defender should attempt to stop the ball or at the very least, slow down the offensive player in possession of the ball.
Completely stopping the ball potentially eliminates fast break opportunities for the offensive team while slowing down the ball gives the other defenders more time to sprint back into their backcourt, which could end fast break scoring options as well.
Match-up
If one transition defender is protecting the basket and another defender is attempting to stop the ball, then any remaining transition defenders should match-up with offensive players as the transition defenders sprint into their backcourt, which is also the offensive team’s frontcourt.
This is especially important if one or more players on the offensive team possess three-point shooting ability as transition three-pointers would typically be uncontested prior to defenders matching up with offensive players.
What are the common types of passes typically used during fast break action
Overhead pass
The overhead pass consists of action that occurs when a player in current possession of the basketball places it over their head before throwing it with two hands towards a teammate that is able to receive it.
An offensive player, particularly at the beginning of the fast break action within the backcourt, could use the overhead pass to move the ball quickly towards the basket.
Baseball pass
The baseball pass comprises action that happens when a player in possession of the basketball throws it to a receiver, typically using a throwing motion that is somewhat similar to a pitcher’s throw in the sport of baseball.
An offensive player could use the baseball pass at the initial phase of the fast break action to move the ball a fairly long distance down the court, which could lead to a scoring opportunity at the rim via a layup or dunk.
Pitch ahead pass
The pitch ahead pass consists of action that occurs when a player, particularly in the backcourt, throws the basketball ahead to another player, typically in the frontcourt and usually near one of the wings or corners.
The pitch ahead pass is typically utilized during the primary fast break when the offensive team has a potential numbers advantage or within secondary fast break when the defensive team is not fully prepared to properly defend against the actions of the offensive team.
What is a typical basketball screen that could be utilized during fast break action
The drag screen consists of action that occurs when a player in possession of the basketball receives a screen from another player, typically during the secondary fast break phase before the defense is fully prepared or within a numbered fast break strategy.
The drag screen is potentially effective because the transition defenders will usually not be able to implement an adequate amount of ball screen coverage to limit or prevent it.
Afterwards, the offensive team that implemented the drag screen could create scoring opportunities near the basket or near the perimeter areas of the court.
What types of basketball teams could consider implementing one or more fast break strategies
Fast break action could be very useful for a guard-oriented team as well as an undersized team, particularly because the players associated with those types of teams generally would possess an above average amount of speed and quickness, which are key components, especially within the primary break, secondary break, or numbered fast break.
Additionally, a fast break strategy could be beneficial for teams that possess one or more role players who could provide an offensive spark from the bench after a substitution occurs.
Essentially, this is important to consider because if a team has starting players with adequate or above average skills but at the same time, that team’s bench players have less than average abilities, then implementing a fast break strategy might lead to fatigue for those starting members.
Once those starting members get tired, especially during end of game action, that could result in decreased offensive and/or defensive performance, which could also lead to the team possibly losing the game.
Moreover, teams that prefer to implement a full court press defensive strategy could also consider executing fast break strategies as a part of their offensive repertoire.
Basically, defensive pressing action could lead to potential live-ball turnovers and afterwards, those live-ball turnovers could result in easy scoring opportunities via the fast break.