Flip Action / Handoff Into Immediate Ball Screen
Mechanics: An initial handoff occurs between two players (typically a Primary Ball Handler and a Secondary Ball Handler or Off-Screen Shooter).
Actions And Plays
Pistol Action / Dribble Pitch Into PnR
A quick side action where a guard dribbles toward a teammate, pitches the ball, then flows into an immediate pick-and-roll.
Direct answer
What is Pistol Action / Dribble Pitch Into PnR?
A quick side action where a guard dribbles toward a teammate, pitches the ball, then flows into an immediate pick-and-roll.
Quick facts
| Category | Actions And Plays |
|---|---|
| Diagram | pistol-5 |
| Source volume | Basketball Knowledge Vault/vol5_professional_the_frontier.md |
What it is
- Pistol action is a side-entry sequence where the ball handler dribbles toward a teammate, pitches or hands the ball off, then the action quickly becomes a ball screen.
Why it matters
- It creates speed before the pick-and-roll starts.
- It shifts the point of attack to the side before the defense is set.
- It can look like a handoff, keep, backdoor, or ball screen from the same entry.
How it works
- Handler dribbles toward the receiver.
- The ball is pitched or handed off.
- Receiver turns the corner as the screener arrives.
- The action flows into side pick-and-roll.
- Weak-side players lift or space based on the drive.
Reads and counters
- Defender trails the pitch: turn the corner.
- Defender jumps the pitch: backdoor or keep.
- Big is late: attack downhill.
- Low man tags the roll: hit corner or lift.
- Defense switches: isolate or slip.
Teaching cues
- The pitch must create momentum, not just move the ball sideways.
- The screener's angle decides whether the receiver can turn the corner.
- Teach keep and backdoor as equal reads, not emergency options.
Bilingual terms
| English | Pistol Action / Dribble Pitch Into PnR |
|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 手枪战术/运球甩传接挡拆 |
| Traditional Chinese | Pistol 動作 / 運球 Pitch 接擋拆 |
Learn before and after
These graph neighbors help place Pistol Action / Dribble Pitch Into PnR in the larger basketball map.
Related concepts
Flip Action / Handoff Into Immediate Ball Screen
Mechanics: An initial handoff occurs between two players (typically a Primary Ball Handler and a Secondary Ball Handler or Off-Screen Shooter).
Pistol 5 — Full System Deep Dive
A side-entry system built around a playmaking 5 at foul-line extended, with DHO, backdoor, keep, and counter reads.
Ghost Screen / Fake PnR
Mechanics: A Primary Ball Handler approaches the screener as if initiating a PnR, but the screener does not set a hard screen.
Spain PnR
A Spain pick-and-roll variation that layers a back screen onto the roller's defender to open the rim or free the screener as a shooter.
Fist Action / PnR with Post Initiation
Mechanics: A post player (Versatile Big, Stretch Big, or Post Scorer) initiates the action by dribbling or receiving a pass in the mid-post.
Floppy Action
Floppy is an off-ball action designed to free a shooter coming off staggered or sequential screens.