The purpose of a fast break is to transfer the ball from a defensive to an offensive situation as quickly as possible before our opponent’s defence is organised to hopefully get and unopposed lay-up shot at the basket.
To achieve this we must try to outnumber our opponents in a 3v0, 3v1 or 3v2 at their basket.
We try to run a fast break out of a 2-1-2 zone defence but we can potentially run it from any situation when we win the ball if we apply the attacking principles of width, support and penetration.
There are 2 main advantages of running a fast break out of a 2-1-2 zone defence.
Firstly, our 2 players at the basket and the 1 middle player form a strong rebounding triangle to allow us to win possession from any missed shots by our opponents.
Secondly, our 2 front players are in a good position to get wide early when we win the ball and run the fast break with the middle player.
After we win possession of the ball the 2 front players provide width and balance by moving wide, right out to the sideline to get into space to receive a pass.
Whoever wins the defensive rebound should give an outlet pass to them as quickly as possible. This gives the ball handler more space to dribble with less pressure on the ball.
When they receive the ball the wide player should dribble up court and towards the middle to threaten the basket. This opens up passing lanes on the right and left hand side of the court.
As the ball handler is dribbling, the middle player must run round and fill the passing lane on the side left open by the ball carrier by running wide and running straight up the sideline.
The front player who does not receive the ball fills the passing lane on their own side of the court by funning straight up the sideline. This provides support to the ball handler.
As we get to the top of the opponents’ shooting circle the 2 wide players should “V-in”. This means they cut towards the basket to give the ball carrier has 3 options to try to penetrate the opposition’s defence.
If there are no opposition defenders or no defenders pressure them, the ball carrier can drive to the basket and take the lay up themselves.
If there is an opposing defender pressures the ball then one or both players filling the lanes should be open. The ball handler should pass to one of them and they then drive in for an unopposed lay-up shot.
After playing the final pass, the ball handler stays at the top of the key to provide depth by staying around the free throw line for an outlet pass should the attempted lay-up fail. This allows us to keep possession of the ball or to take a jump shot.
