Implementing the Weave Screen Pivot

By Greg Nix
The five man weave is an open post five man motion offense that is based on how well players read their defender and capitalizes on their defenders mistakes. When teaching the offense to your players, you must teach the options of the weave one at a time. The basic options are the hand off, pass and go away any time, back door cut, pivot, and the wing cut. As you implement the options you show the players how the options go together. Whenever I go to a new program it takes around two weeks to get the offense to where it begins to resemble the motion offense it really is. As one option takes place another option immediately takes place. It takes a commitment of a full season of running the offense before it gets really efficient.

To begin, the players have to be taught what the term balance means. Balance means that all fiveplayers should occupy all five spots (both corners, both wings, and the point) in the front court atthe end of the fastbreak. I always teach our fastbreak first to show them where each player will end up. Balance is very important. Every coach has a different philosophy about fast breaking but know where your players are going to end up at the end of the break in order to transition into theweave. It doesn’t matter in the fastbreak that we run. In our system we say that every player is aguard and every player is a post player also because in the weave they all face the basket, they allhandle the ball, and they all post up when they cut or pivot. On dead ball situations we alwayshave our big guys in the corner and our guards at the top and on the wings for balance, then gointo the offense.

The first option of the weave is to handoff and go all the way to the corner. It’s okay that there is a pivot man in the corner already. He will be going across to pivot when the ball goes around the horn the other way. When introducing the weave to the players have them handoff to the wing, go to the corner. Have the man in the corner fill up to the wing as the ball is going away to the other side. Repeat the handoff over and over until they understand. It is extremely importantfor the point guard who started the offense to bore in to the top of the key and then dribble toward the defender. This is a very important point to begin the offense with a good angle when dribbling to the defender. Then put a soft defense out there and have the group on offense concentrate on dribbling toward the defender and handing off then going to the corner just like you did 5 on 0. Repeat as often as you need to. This will teach the players how the handoff is a natural screen and how they need to look for the drive or shot after every hand off. Make sure handoffs take place on the wings and not at the top. If a handoff takes place up top it creates a bad angle for the pivot man coming across when that option is added. There is one last point about the handoff. Make sure the man receiving the handoff gets it and pauses for one second to look inside to see what he’s got which is either a dribble drive or a pass to the pivot man then go on around the horn.

Then add Pass and go away to the opposite corner. Passing and going away is a counter to handing off and it creates a big space for the dribble drive. A pass may take place at any time within the offense. We don’t allow skip passes but passes to the next spot in either direction. It’s okay to pass the ball after a hand off or from wing to corner or wing to the top of the key. The passer must cut or go away to the corner. The beauty of the five man weave is that the defenders don’t know if a handoff, pass, or backdoor is going to take place. Make sure players go all the way to the corner. If they just go to the wing and stop, then they’re in the way. After every exchange whether it’s a pass, hand off, or back door that player should go all the way to the corner. NO SHORT CUTS.

Then add the pivot which will be posting up. Make sure you look at the options I sent you already. Now, when going 5 on 5 you have the sentiments of an offense with handing off, pass and go away, and pivot. Those three are essential to making the offense work.

Next add the Backdoor cut. The defense starts to believe they got it figured out so teach the back door cut on the defensive over play. Backdoor cut goes with Wide lane where the backdoor cutter screens across for the pivot. The backdoor cut works well against teams who like to play aggressively and deny the wings. The back door makes defenses have to play honest. Sometimes we call out widelane as a play or during a time out.

The last of the basic options that make the offense really click is the wing cut. The wing cut like the pivot takes place when the ball is either on the opposite wing or the opposite corner. This provides a great angle for a pass to the wing cut. If the cutter doesn’t receive the ball then he goes to the corner he’s headed toward on the cut. We tell our player to never receive a hand off at the top of the key. If you have a player who is impatient for the hand off then train him to wing cut. If you have post player you don’t yet trust to take a hand off or handle the ball on the
perimeter then have him wing cut. The wing cut is very difficult to defend and very effective. After a couple of weeks of running the offense and the players begin to get more comfortable with the basic options then you can begin to add the other options as you see fit such as the Screen and roll or screen and pop We’ve incorporated this option five years ago within the weave. Our big guys have the freedom as they pivot or come up on the wing to set an on ball screen for the guards up top. I always encourage big guys setting on ball screens for the guards to create the mismatch. I don’t allow guards to set on ball screen for guards. If the screener rolls he must go on to the corner.

The other options that are listed with the original material are important and can be included but the main basic options will occur more frequently. As I said earlier it takes time for the offense to come together but it will if you stay with the basics.