November 1, 2006
Pick and Roll
Matt Brown plays lacrosse professionally for the Arizona Sting (NLL) and the Denver Outlaws (MLL). A former standout at the University of Denver, the 23-year old is rapidly making a name for himself in the pros, having led all Sting rookies in scoring last season and winning the 2006 MLL goal-scoring title with 38 tallies. A native of Burnaby, British Columbia, Matt won three Minto Cups in Canada as a member of the Burnaby Junior Lakers in 2000, 2002 and 2004.
The two-man "pick and roll" play is quite possibly the most important part of the indoor game's offense strategy.
When both teams have five players on the floor, there is a weak side and a strong side of the attack zone. The strong side of the floor would be the side with three players and the weak side would be the side with two players. It is very important that teams take full advantage of the weak side of the floor, and the best way to do so is the two-man pick and roll play.
The pick and roll creates a space between the ball-carrier and the defender, plain and simple. One player not carrying the ball creates a screen by impeding a defenders ability to cover his man that has possession, thus allowing that player to procure a quality scoring shot vis-à-vis a direct look at the goalie and, hopefully, the back of the net. If the player with the ball decided to pass, the recipient of his feed is more often than not the teammate that set the orginal pick. If the play is executed correctly, a scoring opportunity should most definitely arise from a pick and roll.
There are a few key objectives to keep in mind when working the pick and roll play. First off, wherever the player without the ball is setting the pick, they must do so in the middle of the floor; we call this 'setting an inside-out pick'. The reason for setting an inside-out pick is to make it as difficult as possible for the opposing team to be able to cut off the shooter to the left or right of the net.
When setting a pick, I always pick the defender's back first, because it gives my teammate with the ball the option to go either right or left since his guard is completely turned around and off balance.
If you encounter a mobile defensive unit, you can still take advantage of the two-man pick and roll play by faking a pick on one defensemen and hammering a second to create a shooting lane between them since the first player will likely be temporarily out of position due to the threat of having a pick set on him and the second will be taken out by the actual pick.
A common misconception is that the two-man pick and roll play can only be utilized in the indoor game. This simple but effective maneuver can yield tremendous results in field lacrosse as well as box lacrosse.
At the recent World Championship in London, Ontario, Team Canada dominated the powerful American squad by playing a two-man pick and roll game all over the field. There are six players in the offensive end and they had three pairs of players that worked together setting picks to free each other up.
More teams are starting to realize that the "old school" method of running and dodging down the sideline or alley with your stick to the outside is not always the best method to attack the goal. The pick and roll game is a big part of lacrosse and you should definitely make it a part of your game.
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