Legal Pick and roll

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by BigT

When is a pick and roll an illegal screen and when is it a great offensive play?

I am looking to some vets who have seen this enough they can help me with the difference and then I can tell the coach why the call/no call.

Thanks in advance!

Essentially, the roller must lead the movement. If the defender has gone under or is attempting to go under the screen to stay with the opponent they were guarding, any movement by the screener into the defender or into the path the defender is trying to take is (potentially) an illegal screen.

The roll, if legally done, happens fast, before the defender has a chance to adjust his/her path. If the screener holds too long before rolling, the likelihood of it becoming illegal increases.

You also have to judge whether the defenders are switching or whether the screened player is still trying to cover their original matchup. If you judge they have switched, the pick/roll is not really a screen any more as a new defender took over the defensive responsibilities. The player that was being screened is now a guard covering the rolling player and is subject to the rules of guarding....meaning the rolling movement above that could have been an illegal screen is no longer an illegal screen.

Note, all of the above is contingent on their being CONTACT on the potentially illegal screen that prevents/delays the defender continuing to guard the opponent.