Play the pick and roll right: set the screen cleanly, use the angle and read the defence. The simplest path to good shots - read, don't hope.
You play the pick and roll (P&R) well when you treat it as a read: the big sets a clean screen for the ball handler, and how the defence reacts determines your choice - drive, shot or pass. The P&R is the most common and effective action in modern basketball because it creates an advantage with two players and forces the whole defence into decisions. The key is not the pre-planned action but the read - hoping is not a strategy.
The big signals the screen by hand and stands wide and stable right next to the ball handler's defender. The feet are planted, the body still - if the screener moves on contact, it's a foul (illegal screen) and the advantage is gone.
The ball handler runs tight past the screen, shoulder to shoulder with the screener. Only then does his own defender really get caught. Run too wide and the defender slips through and the whole P&R was for nothing.
Now watch the big's defender. If he stays deep near the rim (drop), you have room for a mid-range pull-up. If he steps out (hedge/show), pass to the rolling big or make a kick-out. If both defenders switch, hunt the mismatch. The defence gives you the answer - you just have to read it.
From the read, four options emerge: drive if the lane is open; pull-up if the defender stays deep; pass to the rolling big if he helps out; or kick-out to an open shooter in the corner if a third defender rotates. This fast decision-making is best trained in small-sided games.
After the screen the screener has two basic paths. On the roll he turns and runs to the basket - ideal when he finishes strong at the rim and the defence stays deep. On the pop he steps out for a shot - useful with a shooting big and against a defence that helps out aggressively. As ball handler you have to know what your big prefers and feed him accordingly. A well-drilled guard-big duo that chooses roll or pop by coverage is far harder to defend than a player who always does the same thing.
The P&R lives not only on the duo but on the space the other three create. If they stand tight, the defence helps out easily and the whole advantage evaporates. Position shooters in the corners and on the wings so their defenders can't help into the paint without giving up an open shot. Exactly that creates the kick-out option: if a third defender helps on the roller, you pass to the open shooter. Good P&R is therefore always an action of all five players, not just ball handler and screener.
Contact on the screen can be hard - the screener should stand stable and braced to avoid injuring himself. The ball handler takes tight but controlled paths to avoid collisions and ankle sprains. As with any action full of direction changes: well warmed up and with strong core and leg muscles, the injury risk drops.
Practise the P&R first in slow motion against passive defenders and say out loud what you see ("drop - pull-up", "hedge - pass to the roller"). This vocal reading cements the decision patterns before you need them at speed. A big who sets good screens and a guard who reads cleanly are a nightmare for any defence.
After the screen, watch the screener's defender. If he stays deep (drop), take the pull-up. If he steps out (hedge), pass to the rolling big or make a kick-out. If both switch, attack the mismatch. The defence's coverage dictates the right option - you react instead of pre-planning.
Stand wide and stable directly next to the defender, feet firmly planted and body still. The moment you move on contact or push the defender with arms or hip, it's a foul. A calm, well-positioned screen is the foundation for the whole advantage.
Usually one of three things: the screen is set too early or illegally, the ball handler runs too wide of it, or the other players' spacing is too tight so the defence helps easily. Check these three before working on the decision itself.
On the roll the screener turns after the screen and runs to the basket - ideal for bigs who finish well at the rim. On the pop the screener steps out for a shot - useful for shooting bigs. Which you use depends on the screener and the defence.
Pick and Roll: Defensive Strategies