Empty-Side / Empty-Corner Pick-and-Roll Coverage
It is the defensive answer to one of the most-run modern offensive designs.
Team Defense
Help-Side Defense
Help-side defense is the organization of off-ball defenders who are two or more passes away from the ball.
Direct answer
What is Help-Side Defense?
Help-side defense is the organization of off-ball defenders who are two or more passes away from the ball.
Quick facts
| Category | Team Defense |
|---|---|
| Source volume | BASKETBALL_PLAY_VAULT.md |
What it is
- Help-side defense is the organization of off-ball defenders who are two or more passes away from the ball.
How it works
- - The I-Line (Ball-You-Basket Line): Imagine a straight line drawn from the ball, through the defender, to the basket.
- The I-Line (Ball-You-Basket Line): Imagine a straight line drawn from the ball, through the defender, to the basket. The help-side defender should be on or near this line.
- The Lane Line: The vertical lines marking the edges of the paint are also organizational anchors. A help-side defender (guarding a player on the weak side) should never be deeper into the paint than the lane line
- Combining the two: The ideal help-side position is approximately one step off the lane line, on the I-line, at a depth that allows the defender to see both their man and the ball simultaneously.
- This is the central tension of help-side defense.
Bilingual terms
| English | Help-Side Defense |
|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 弱侧协防 |
| Traditional Chinese | 弱側協防 |
Related concepts
Hammer Action (Weak-Side Baseline Pin)
A hammer action is an off-ball play where, as a teammate drives the baseline, a weak-side player sets a baseline back/flare screen ("hammer") for a corner shooter, freeing them for a skip pass and a wide-open corner…
The Dunker Spot: Weak-Side Baseline Spacing
The dunker spot is the low weak-side baseline position just outside the lane, level with or slightly below the rim, where a non-shooting big stations himself to finish lobs and dump-offs and to crash the offensive glass…
Help and Recover (Play Library)
Help and recover is the two-phase sequence that every help-side defender executes when the ball penetrates the defense.
Help-Heavy vs. Matchup-Heavy Philosophy
Help-heavy defense prioritizes collapsing on the ball.
Empty-Side / Single-Side Pick-and-Roll Spacing
Running a pick-and-roll on a side of the floor that has been deliberately cleared of off-ball offensive players (an "empty" corner/side), so there is no low-man help to tag the roller