Press Break Basketball

The Basics of the Press Break

A press break offense is any offensive set that is used to try and get the ball up the court against a full court or half court pressure defense. Many different alignments and players could be used to achieve the goal of moving the ball up the court without turning the ball over however no matter the lineup or alignment. All press breaks have the common goal of playing turnover free offense and hopefully scoring some easy buckets at the other end of the floor if the press is beat well.

Strengths of a Good Press Break

The best ways to succeed in a press break is to make sure the offense is always patient in breaking the defense. If the offense allows the defense to speed it up and dictate the tempo things will not usually turn out well for the offense. The offense can also dictate the tempo using this defensive strength against them by being patient which may force the defense to no longer press which would be even better for the press break offense, forcing the press to stop entirely.

Drawbacks of a Poorly Run Press Break

If a press break does not do its job, the defense can create turnovers and dictate the tempo being sped up very easily. If the press break offense speeds up, they can begin to turn the ball over as well as rush bad shots making bad possessions occur more often and swing the momentum of the game towards the defensive team that is pressing. The press break must stay composed and patient to prevent these bad events from happening over the course of the game.