The Gortat Screen - Atacking the drop coverage

The Pick-and-Roll situation is indisputably a key to any game at the highest level. Within a single game, teams use different coverages to stop this two-men action. Consequently, coaches and teams have to be prepare different counters for these defensive variations.

The “drop coverage” is a technique to guard a ball screen, mostly effective when no great shooter is involved. The defender guarding the screener "drops" below (closer to the basket) the level of the screen while the on-ball defender fights over the top of the pick to chase the ball-handler.

In order to counter this drop coverage, the “Gortat screen” is becoming more and more popular. This specific type of screen is named after the Polish big man Marcin Gortat, who played for more than 10 years in the NBA. Gortat was a masterful screener in every area of the floor and rarely got the credit he deserved for his basketball IQ.

To set a Gortat screen, the roller screens and seals off his own man, creating an open path for the ball handler to the basket. Important for the ball handler is to keep his defender in his back (hostage dribble) and “snake” between the screener and the drop. In the video I break down all the fundamentals for the two players involved. I highlight clips of the action by Fenerbahce, Baskonia, ASVEL and others.

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Pascal Meurs (°1980) works currently as the headcoach of Sparta Bertrange (Luxemburg). Recently he worked as the headcoach EuroProBasket International Academy for professional players in Valencia, Spain. He has experience as a headcoach at the highest level in Belgium, The Netherlands, France & was part of the staff of the Saint Joseph’s Hawks (NCAA1).
Pascal is an expert in advanced basketball analytics with a Phd in mathematics. As a skilled speaker on coaching clinics, he has been invited to three different continents. For Eleven Sports, he’s an NBA analyst on Belgian TV.