Reading Coverages: Gap, Lock & Trail, and Top Lock
Death By A Thousand (Intelligent) Cuts
When I sit down to grade a client’s film, I always start the same way: I write the city of the team they are playing at the top of the page, and in the top left corner, I write the acronym WIMS. There has never been a time in five seasons that WIMS wasn’t the first basketball-related word on the page; it’s that important.
WIMS stands for: Where is my space?
My grading system is strictly based on how effective the player's process is during specific inflection point actions, not stats from whether the ball goes in the basket.
I make it a point to view cumulative averages only once the last game of the season is finished. If I’m coaching the player to trust that hitting a high percentage of process-based reads will lead to improved play, I would be quite the hypocrite if I were focused on whether the ball is going in.
Each client will have a different collection of unique inflection point moments, like fingerprints; no two are the same. However, one inflection point remains the first on the grading chart for every client: WIMS.
The Basics Of WIMS:
WIMS is strictly for off-ball movement. It does not apply when you have the ball in your hands.
Space is the most valuable commodity on any basketball court. Open space is always in different spots and can only be accessed by being able to read three central questions in unison.
Where is the open space?
You can’t attack the space if you don’t know where it is. This is always step one.
Where is the ball?
The ball can only travel in a straight line. To get the ball in the open space, you must create a clean passing window the ball can travel through.
Where is my defender?
The defender will always give away something; they can’t take away everything. Once you see the open space, plus the straight line the ball can travel through, it’s time to be a good actor and set up the desired cut.
That’s all. These are simple “Yes or No” questions that, when answered correctly, can lead to intelligent cuts that create high percentage opportunities for the player making them and their teammates. But just because something is simple doesn’t always make it easy to execute.
One important note: I define an intelligent cut by these three reads. If a player makes a cut that answers these three questions correctly, it’s intelligent. If not, then it’s merely aimless running inside a rectangle, hoping and praying that something good might happen.
The Protagonist, Doug McDermott:
While working with a client in Chicago this summer, I ran into Greg McDermott, the Head Coach of Creighton University and Doug McDemott’s father. We stayed at the same hotel that week and discussed his son and the concept of WIMS. Doug has made an outstanding career out of being able to shoot the ball and understanding WIMS at an elite level.
Is Doug’s movement primarily focused on getting himself an open shot? Absolutely.
You don’t score over three thousand points in college without knowing how to hunt shots! But intelligent movement off the ball, like Doug’s, can also pull defensive gravity from help defenders to him. This is pure offensive gold; pulling defensive gravity without having the ball in your hands is reserved for superstars, so to do this as a role player is high-level.
His movement on the court creates panic and fear in defenders, and panicked defenders make mistakes. Those mistakes open more space for his teammates to attack without Doug needing to touch the ball. His desire to hunt a shot for himself often turns into a selfless act of being a decoy to open space for teammates.
The Action & Coverages:
This piece will look at WIMS in the context of a secondary break action Doug ran with the Pacers. It involves the court being balanced, plus the ball being in the hands of the five-man in the trail spot—a common starting point for offensives from the NBA level down to pick-up games at LA Fitness.
We are grading two different “games” stacked on top of one another where Doug is required to make WIMS reads. These actions combined are called various names at various levels, but right now, for convenience, we will look at his reads in the context of one three-man game (pin-down) and then a two-man game (DHO).
Pin Down Screen
DHO
Doug will be going through a read progression based on different coverages, not unlike what a quarterback does in the NFL. Every coverage has a simple solution if looked at through a binary lens. The defense can not take away everything at once. However, having the skill to solve every simple solution or to demand specific coverages is a story for another day. For today, we will only look at his reads vs. particular coverages:
Gap:
Defensive Goal - Take a shortcut known as “The Gap.” This is the space between the screener and the screener's defender. The primary goal of the defender using gap coverage is to be there when their primary cover catches the ball and not allow an open driving lane. If they have done that, they have been successful. This coverage is used on players who are better drivers than shooters.
Offensive Solution - There are two solutions for the offensive player. First, they can shoot it, which is the simplest solution and can be the most effective depending on the shooter's skill level. Next is a re-screen. The offensive player can reverse course and use the same screener again, returning the way they just came.
Larry Nance Jr. performs poor Lock and Trail coverage during the initial pin-down screen; he is too far behind Doug. Because of this, he tries to make up the space by shooting the gap in the DHO. This is a blown coverage and an easy read for Doug to shoot.
When Bradley Beal switches the pin-down screen, Doug must keep reading. Doug knows the coverage and solution once Beal digs his right foot into the ground to shoot the gap. I believe Doug thought this one would be a little too off-balance to shoot, so he re-screened it.
Justin Holiday makes a great WIMS read here by slipping the pin-down screen. His intelligent cut into space creates panic from the defenders, opening up more space than a screen would accomplish. Because of this panic, the Clippers botched a switch action, and Doug received a wide-open three by his standards.
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Justin’s cut is a perfect example of how intelligent WIMS cuts can lead to pulling defensive gravity without the ball, even if used to try to get a basket for yourself. His cut answers all three questions perfectly and leads to a wide-open three by a phenomenal shooter. I call this a cut assist, and I’ll put a star under the WIMS category for any time a client makes one of these in a game. They are GOLD!
Lock & Trail:
Defensive Goal -The defender aims to “lock” onto the offensive player's back hip and “trail” them around the screen. If you can lock onto the hip, the thinking is that you will not be able to be screened without it being a foul. The primary goal of the defense is not to allow a jump shot; this coverage is reserved for shooters.
Offensive Solution - The coverage solution for the offensive player is to curl the action. They have an open lane to attack the basket where the defensive shell is cracked. This can lead to a finish or, if help comes, a pass to an open teammate and defensive rotations. Both are excellent outcomes for any offensive possession.
In these clips, Kris Middleton and Delon Wright play Lock & Trail coverage perfectly. Doug does an excellent job of understanding what the coverage gives up and sticking with the cut. It’s easy for players to get frustrated by not getting the ball immediately and throttle down the cut. Sticking with the cut at full speed, as Doug does here, is what it takes to be successful at the highest level.
Top Lock:
Defensive Goal -The defender aims to get on the offensive player's top hip and “lock” them from using the screen. If you can lock onto the top hip before the screen, the thinking is that you will not allow the player to use the screen. The primary goal of the defense is not to allow a jump shot; this coverage is the top-level nuclear deterrent for shooters.
Offensive Solution - The coverage solution for the offensive player is to backdoor the action. They have an open lane to attack the basket where the defensive shell is cracked. Like Lock & Trail, this coverage opens an opportunity for a finish or, if help comes, a pass to an open teammate and defensive rotations. Both are excellent outcomes for any offensive possession.
The coverage is played correctly here, but great offense beats good defense every time. This is a masterclass by Doug regarding the timing of his cut. He reads the coverage and WIMS early but waits to set up his cut till the ball is in a spot where a pass can be delivered to him for a basket.
The Importance Of WIMS:
Basketball is a team sport; no serious basketball player will ever have a usage rate above fifty percent. So, no matter how good you are with the ball in your hands, you’ll always play more of the game without it than with it. The percentage of time you play without the ball will only rise at the higher levels of basketball. So, it's vital to know where your space is on the court when you do not have the ball and then understand how to use that space to your advantage.
There are endless combinations of actions in basketball. But, the game's true beauty is that no matter how complex it looks, it can always be drilled down to simple “Yes or No” reads:
Is the defender shooting the gap? Yes. Then, I should shoot it or use a re-screen.
Is the defender locked on my back hip and trailing me? Yes. Then, it’s time to curl to the rim.
Is the defender top-locking me? Yes. Then, I should be setting up a back cut.
Being able to hit a high percentage of these binary reads will ultimately put the player in a position to have an opportunity to succeed. Missing these reads will have the opposite effect.
For any player to fully grasp the concept of WIMS, they must first accept that having the ball in their hands is no longer the center of the team’s basketball universe. Without this level of self-awareness and acceptance, it’s impossible to fully lean into learning how to move in unison with your teammates and the basketball.