Improve your Outlet Zone to Supercharge your Fast Break

and Transition
by christopher Riches Posted in Coaching Philosophy, General Basketball Coaching, Offensive
Philosophy
A commonly overlooked facet of a team’s fast break or transition offense often
overlooked when considering how to improve performance is the Outlet Zone. The
Outlet Zone describes the area in which the ball is passed to for the initial start-up of a
fast break or transition phase in basketball. Changing the philosophy of a coach and
their team to deepen or push towards the front-court the target Outlet Zone a team looks
to utilise, will pay dividends to a team’s overall offense and command over the game.

Understanding the Outlet Zone

Many teams will utilise a set Outlet Zone because of affiliation to a particular system that
places players into roles and positions where they are to receive a pass, such as an
outlet. Another group of coaches will have not thought about their teams Outlet Zone
and so can also benefit from this discussion about the standard areas of out letting of
the basketball commonly seen.

Examining a team’s Outlet Zone is very important in developing and understanding of

how a team plays basketball. For those teams utilising a shallow Outlet Zone they will
have to battle their way through all five defenders. This by its nature takes time and
relies often on the full scope of players involved in the offensive play.
 Outlet Zone Diagram 1

The shallowest Outlet Zone can be seen in the shadowed area depicted in the diagram
above. An example of this type situation is seen in many games where the rebounder of
a missed shot secures possession only to have to wait for a guard or outlet target to
come and collect the ball from them. In these situations, the ball is mostly progressed
through it being dribbled up the floor. One of the reasons for the offense dribbling out of
the back-court is because to pass is difficult with the ball having to progress through the
defence instead of around or ahead of it when the outlet is so close to the offensive
teams defensive baseline.

Outlet Zone Diagram 2

The next Outlet Zone (and probably the most common) is for the ball to be outletted to
the wing or foul line extended area. Within most systems for transition this is the often
depicted starting point for a team’s Primary Transition. This area obviously has some
benefits over the previously mentioned shallower area purely because there will be
fewer defenders between the ball and the basket. Because of this situation where the
ball is outletted ahead of some defenders the changes for a small numbers advantage
for the offense can be increased and scoring in broken play can be favourable to the
offense in achieving a scoring outcome.

Outlet Zone Diagram 3

The final depicted Outlet Zone is one which is between the top of the keyway and
towards halfway. This Outlet Zone is probably the least common with it only being
utilised very rarely within most basketball games. But this does not have to be the
standard practice and a team’s Outlet Zone can be changed the same as any team
strategy or philosophy.

The benefit of a deeper Outlet Zone are again fewer, if any defenders being between the
ball and the basketball. The negative aspect to this strategy are that it sometimes
requires a slightly longer outlet pass and passing over or through player traffic which like
anything is a skill in itself that must be developed in rebounders especially.

Reasons why you Should Improve your Outlet Zone

While not every team will want to implement a deep Outlet Zone into their team’s
offense. What can be analyised is for a team to become more consistent in avoiding the
shallowest outlet area. This alone will allow a team who is constantly out-letting in this
area to improve their speed and options in moving from one end of the floor to the other.
In fast break and offensive transition the fewer players involved in the play the more
likely a succinct scoring option will be found. The more players that are involved in the
balls movement from one end of the floor to the other, the harder it is to have every
player consistently making the right read at the right time. The deeper the Outlet Zone
implemented the fewer players there will be involved in the phase of play. Once also
improving a teams commitment to breaking out of their own end of the floor in offense a
numbers advantage situation might be more common then not.

By having a deeper Outlet Zone the next pass within a team’s offense will naturally also
be further down the floor. This means that in a team’s fast break and transition offense
fewer passes will need to be made in advancing the ball from one end of the floor to the
other. This again will improve speed and reduce the players needed to effect a positive
outcome in attacking the oppositions basket in transition.

Like any outlet situation there are two people involved into the process. The rebounder
or player with possession, and the outlet target. It is important that the rebounder is
patent and positioned to make a good pass. While the outlet target must be active in
finding space and then breaking into the front court while still maintaining control and
composure.

By starting to think about a team’s Outlet Zone there is no guarantee that changes need
or have to be made. But by thinking about these situations an coach can more easily
identify where gaps are and how they can possibly change the teams strategy to
achieve a better outcome.
Ideas on Building a Fast Fast
Break Offense
Posted on July 12, 2017
All solid offenses run breaks that are fast up to a point. In this entry I’m trying to see how
we could accelerate the offense beyond the point set by conventional wisdom. This is where
the title comes from: “fast fast break offense” refers to an offense that is visibly faster than a
solid, reasonable offense on the average.
I am writing and posting entry this piece by piece, chapter by chapter. The 13th
chapter Learn to Steal While Limiting Gambling was posted on Monday January 1. Please let
me know if you spot loopholes in my thinking or if you want to share some of your ideas.
1) Run All Out

This sounds obvious: of course players need to go all out when running a break. Yet most
attempts to build a fast fast break offense start and end right here.

Please take a quick look at a random game tape. Do all your players consistently run all out
when there is a slight chance for a fast break? Be brutally honest. Do not make one single
excuse. Give the players no benefit of doubt. Pay attention to all the plays and players.

My guess is that your players don’t run all out consistently. That is the case in most
basketball teams around the world. Regarding our own teams, this is painful to notice. It
undeniably shows that we’ve been unable to teach the players the most basic element of the
game: full effort.

So, if you get your players to run all out your fast break offense will be accelerated.
However, this improvement will not happen overnight. That is because the players must
start running all out in practices, too. It is the only way to learn the tactical and technical
skills necessary to run a fast fast break offense in games.

So please, take a quick look at a random practice tape. Do all your players consistently run
all out when there is a slight chance for a fast break? Be honest, make no excuses and so on.

2) Use a Deep Rotation

Why then don’t players run all out? An obvious reason is the playing time. Given the team’s
substitution pattern, the players figure out that they are better off reserving energy.

That is a natural tendency – and a beneficial one. It makes sense to get any job done with as
little effort as possible. That is an important skill.

However, if you want to build a fast fast break offense your players must sprint full speed in
transition more often that they used to sprinting. It is not going to happen if they play too
many minutes. If they do, they will either reserve energy or end up exhausted and non-
effective. In other words, you must use a deep rotation.
It is not just about the total amount of playing time but also about distributing the minutes.
With a seven-player rotation in a 40-minute game, players will get 29 minutes on the
average. However, it’s difficult to distribute minutes that evenly so someone will end up
playing way over 30 minutes.

Another problem with a seven-player rotation is the length of the stretches on the floor. You
will rotate three players in two spots (e.g. inside players #4 and #5) and four player in three
spots (outside players #1, #2 and #3). Rotating four players in three spots creates
problems. Say your starting #1 is the last player to get a breather. At that point he may have
played eight to ten minutes continuously – and that is too much in a fast fast break offense.

With an eight-player-rotation you will be better off with the substitution pattern. That is
because you only need to rotate three players in two spots. Your depth chart will be
something like:

 Two point guards rotating at #1.

 Three outside players rotating at #2 and #3.
 Three inside players rotating at #4 and #5.
An eight-player rotation still leaves your fast fast break offense very vulnerable. If just one
player misses a game or gets into foul trouble, you’re in a seven-player rotation – and it
doesn’t fit your offense.

If you want to run a fast fast break offense, you need at least ten capable players for the
season. Then you have some protection against injuries and foul trouble. Eleven capable
players is better, twelve is luxury.

3) Make Your Transition Offense Tactics Simple

Besides too short a rotation, another thing that keeps your players from running all out is
complicated transition offense tactics. So keep them as simple as possible. Radically simple.
The rules for players could be something like this:

1. Run all out in a straight line from our basket towards their basket.
2. If you have the ball, get it up the court as quickly as possible, either by passing or
dribbling.
3. If there’s no defender in their paint, cut or drive hard to the basket.
4. Otherwise stay behind the 3P line and away from our other players.
5. Create an advantage over the defense.
6. Score at any opportunity.
7. Initiate the half court offense.
And that’s it.

This type of approach accelerates the fast break for three reasons.

1. At the start of the break there’s very little tactical thinking required.
2. Because they run in straight lines, the distance from basket to basket remains as short
as possible.
 3. Covering a certain distance in a straight line is quicker than covering the same
amount of meters if you are taking turns.
4) Get the Players in Shape

Most often, having well-conditioned players is mentioned as a prerequisite for running fast
break effectively. And it is.

However, sometimes the basic idea behind this seems to be misunderstood. Having well-
conditioned players allows you to run the break effectively, or fast fast – not to use a short
rotation. No matter how hard the players can go for 28 minutes, after the 28 minutes they’ll
be tired.

If you want to run a fast fast break, there’s no way around using a deep rotation.

5) Use the Fast Fast Break as a Recruiting Tool

The fast fast break will help your recruiting. Players want to play, and you play a lot of
players. So, you have a recruiting tool.

Certainly, you can’t promise them floor time. Every minute needs to be earned. However,
the players know that no matter what, many of them will play substantial minutes.

So, it works both ways. You need a lot of capable players to run the fast fast break
effectively. But in the long run the fast fast break will help you recruit a lot of capable
players.

Because of the pace of the action, it’s rare that your players average more than 30 minutes a
game.There’s a downside to this. It will put some recruits off because they want to play
more.

6) Keep Running

During the off-season or early in the season, coaches often talk about running the fast break
more than before. Usually this talk doesn’t lead to anything. Either the team never shows
any signs of really running, or the tempo of the game gradually slides back to where it was
to begin with.

This is easy to understand because running the fast fast break effectively is difficult and
hard. Having the players run all out on a consistent basis is just a beginning. This blog entry
is basically a long list of thing of things that need to be done.

There will bumps along the way. Turnovers that make you think maybe you should slow
down just a little. Injuries that shorten your rotation. Bad plays by the 9th and the 10th
player that make you think maybe you stop playing them. Doubts about playing in a way
different from what most teams do and from you have done previously.

And who knows, given your situation, playing the fast fast break may be a mistake.
However, if you stick with it, you have a decent chance of achieving relative success.
That is because as practices and games pile up, your players will be able to execute the fast
fast break faster and faster. You will be able to coach it better and better. Your 9th and 10th
players will improve. It will be more and more difficult for the opponents to adjust to what
you do because it will be more and more different from what other teams do.

And as mentioned, refusing to stop running will improve your recruiting. So, the real
upsides of the fast fast break only appear in the long run.

7) Develop a Consistent Substitution Pattern

During the course of any given basketball game, there are innumerous possible
substitutions the coach can make. At any break he can replace any of the players on the
floor with any of the players on the bench. How should you deal with this complexity?

The key is to give up trying to figure out the substitutions situation by situation. There are
simply too many options. We are not smart enough to make our substitutions fit the play.

Work the other way around: make the game fit your substitutions. Meaning, develop a
substitution pattern, get your players used to playing within it, fine-tune the pattern when
needed, and stick to it.

As mentioned above, a deep rotation is necessary in order to play the fast fast break
effectively. However, just rotating players in and out at random is not enough but there
must be a plan. Because we are too dumb to figure out the optimal substitutions one by one,
we must develop a pattern. This pattern will then gradually become the optimal way to
substitute, more or less.

What may make this work is having the players realize their place and job within
the complex system of the team. They know what the team is trying to do and how each
individual can help the team do it. They have an idea with whom they will play, when in the
game, and for how long. They know what is expected of them and which skills they should
improve at practice in order to be able help the team win.
8) Use Heuristics When Substituting

So, you need a deep rotation to run the fast fast break effectively. And you need a consistent
substitution pattern to use the deep rotation effectively. How then do you develop and use a
consistent substitution pattern?

By using heuristics.

Mousavi et al define (2016) define: “Heuristics are adaptive tools that ignore information to
make fast and frugal decisions that are accurate and robust under conditions of uncertainty.
A heuristic is considered ecologically rational when it functionally matches the structure of
environment.”
In other words, heuristics are rules of thumb you can use to make smart decisions even
when there’s little time and information. As when substituting in a basketball game.
Write down a depth chart that goes four players deep at each position as in the picture
below. Decide how you rotate at least nine to eleven players according to the depth chart.
Plan tentatively the order and timing of substitutions so that the fives on the floor are
balanced.

When needed, make game-by-game adjustments to the basic plan. Against a

certain opponent you may e.g. want to have your best inside defender on the floor
whenever they play their star center. Use a different set of heuristics during the final minute
of each quarter and the latter half of the fourth quarter.

When the game is on, follow your heuristics. For example:

1. Stick to the basic planned rotation.

2. If a player is not running all out where required, take her out at the next stop of play.
3. When a player picks up a foul that exceeds the running number of the quarter, take
her out immediately. Don’t play her anymore during that quarter.
4. Don’t play anyone for a stretch longer than six minutes.
5. When someone comes out, have her rest for at least two minutes.
6. Stick to the plan even if someone is playing exceptionally well or poorly. (Not running
all out is the exception.)
Some coaches say they go with their gut feeling when it comes to substituting. However,
they are probably not doing their job at random but rather using some heuristics
subconsciously.

There is an important advantage to doing the same thing in a conscious fashion: only after
explicitly stating your heuristics can you critically assess them. That is to see if each one
“functionally matches the structure of environment” i.e. works. If the they don’t work, you
can change them.
9) Do What Fits Your Team

Some probably object to some of the substitution heuristics presented in the previous
chapter. And they should.
Those heuristics are not supposed to fit all situations. They are merely suggestions that may
help some coaches and teams.

This is true about most things in coaching. Because of this, you have to make your actions fit
your context and the goals of your team .

This is obvious, right? So why am I even pointing this out? Because ignoring this is common
and leads to a lot of inefficient coaching.

Most coaches watch a lot of elite level basketball, typically men’s NBA or Euroleague. We
attend coaching clinics where elite level coaches speak. We read blogs and tweets about
elite level basketball.

Because it is human nature to copy what other humans do, we end up copying what elite
level coaches do. Men’s NBA and Euroleague serve the default settings of what basketball is
– and should be like.

Obviously but quite inconspicuously this may make coaching inefficient. Almost none of us
coach in the NBA or Euroleague. What works there, may not work here. And just as
importantly: what does not work there or in not even being tried, may work very well here.

Take the fast fast break, for example, It does matter to you whether they run the fast fast
break offense in the NBA or not. What matters to you is if you can make it work for your
team, in your context, in your league, against your opponents.

10) Keep Building on the Little Advantage Created by the Break

As mentioned previously, the fast fast break tactics are quite simple. Basically, you just take
the ball and run all out.

Unfortunately, regarding the tactics there are tricky parts, too. A tricky part is flowing off
the break into the half-court offense.

The efficiency of your fast fast break can not be determined by how many points you
score off the break. That is because the number of fast break points depends on multiple
things:

1. How you define fast break.

2. What your shot selection is like on the break.
3. How much you gamble on defense in order to create fast break opportunities.
4. How effective your offense is overall.
5. How effective your fast break is.
Say you push the fast fast break continuously. Sometimes you manage to create such a big
advantage over defense that you end up taking a high-percentage shot right off the break –
typically a lay-up or an uncontested 3PA. Sometimes you can’t create any advantage at all,
but you must start the half-court fully matched up 5-on-5.
Those two options are the white and black areas: big advantage, no advantage.
However, often you will end up in the grey area: the break creates you a little
advantage over the defense, but not quite enough to take a high-percentage shot right away.
The on-the-ball defender may be half-a-step late, or a weak side defender may be a step too
deep in the paint.

In this little advantage situation many coaches want their team to set up the half-
court offense. Typically it means getting the ball to the point guard and starting a set play.

On the plus side, this setting up gives the team a chance to run a play in an organized
fashion. On the minus side, they give up the little advantage they created by running the
break. This is waste of energy, because you have put in a lot of effort into running the break
and creating that little advantage.

If you as a coach want to move from the grey area mentioned into setting up a play, you
probably should not run the fast fast break offense. Rather, you should do the conventional
thing and push the break only when a viable opportunity arises.

Yes, you will miss some fast break points. However, they are compensated for by the energy
conserved. Your best players will remain effective for longer stretches. You probably avoid
some turnovers. And the efficiency of your half-court offense is enhanced because you settle
for it earlier in the shot clock.

What this implies regarding the fast fast break offense is this: you need to have a half-
court offense that can be initiated right off the break. This and only this will allow you to
maintain the little advantage created by the break – and to keep building on that advantage.
In other words, only this may make the outcome worth the energy consumed.

The dribble drive motion is the most obvious choice but by no means the only one.
11) Run With a Slow Team, Too

The traditional thinking is that if you have quick players, you run a fast break offense. And if
you have slow players, you concentrate on your half-court offense.

This is not an optimal way to approach the issue. Rather, make the decision based on the
number of capable players. If you have ten or more of them, run the fast fast break offense.
If you don’t have, don’t run.

Why should this be the case?

1. All offensive systems are more effective with quick players than with slow ones. If you
have really slow players, you’ll be in trouble no matter what. Your fast fast
break offense will not be great, but neither will your half court offense. However, if
you have a lot of slow players, the fast fast break offense might be your best chance. It
allows you to take advantage of your depth, and that may be your only strength
compared to your opponents.
2. Quickness is usually referred to as a physical characteristic – meaning foot speed.
However, basketball requires tactical and technical quickness, too. So, even if your
 players have slow feet, they can be relatively quick in the basketball sense of the
word. And if they are not, it’s your job can to help them become quicker.
3. Quickness is relative. If your team play at a young age group or in a low-level league,
the players will be slow in the absolute sense of the word – in other words, compared
to elite teams. But you don’t need to worry about those teams. All you need worry
about is your team and its opponents.
12) Play Any Type of Defense

Sometimes it is claimed that a fast-breaking team should play a type of defense that
enhances their offense. Usually this implies that you should use some kind of full-court
pressure.

The rationale is that the defensive pressure speeds up the pace of the game and thus leads
to more fast break opportunities. Also, it is assumed that full-court pressure causes
turnovers, and turnovers lead to fast breaks.

These claims are correct. Full-court defensive pressure does speed up pace of the game and
thus increases the number of fast-break opportunities. That is why it is rational for a team
to press when trailing late in the game.

And yes, when properly executed, full-court pressure probably does raise the opponents’
turn-over percentage. And yes, a steal does provide a better opportunity to run a fast break
than a defensive rebound does.

However, this does not imply that a fast-breaking team should press full court. That is
because the goal of fast-breaking is not to maximize the number of fast breaks. Rather, the
goal is to maximize the odds of winning games.

In other words, when choosing your defensive tactics, you should consider the net effect
and the net effect only. As mentioned above, applying full-court pressure probably has
pluses. But it will probably have minuses, too. It may lead to extensive fouling, or enable
the opponents to have a high FG shooting percentage. And so.

13) Learn to Steal While Limiting Gambling

So, a steal provides a better opportunity to run a fast break than a defensive rebound does.
Possessions that start with a steal produce more points per possession. Thus it makes sense
to try to enhance your fast break offense by increasing the probability of steals.
Up to a point, that is not hard to do. As discussed previously, you can pressure
the opponents full court. Or aggressively overplay the passing lanes. Or double team the
post-ups. Or simply tell your players to go for steals. And so.

The problem is that there is a price to be paid for steal attempts. There is usually risk
involved. For example, if a player gambles to steal a pass but doesn’t get the ball, he will
very likely be out of his designated defensive position. This may open up an easy
scoring opportunity for the opponents.
Thus, the question becomes: how do you enhance the net effect of your steal attempts? For
some teams the best short-term answer is “by making fewer steal attempts”. Lowering the
number of gambles may lead to fewer steals but enhance e.g. the defensive field goal
percentage – and thus be net-effective.

For some teams the best short-term answer may be the opposite: for them, the best way to
enhance the net effect of steal attempts may be to make more of them. That may be the case
if the coach has taught his team to play containing, conservative defense and not to take a
slightest risk when attempting steals.

However, In the long term the best way to enhance the net effect of your steal attempts is
this: practice stealing while limiting the amount of gambling involved. This practice should
include both tactical and technical aspects.

This may sound simple and obvious. But outside practicing pressing and trapping,
how often do you see teams practice stealing? Quite rarely, wouldn’t you say – especially
considering the high value of steals.

So, for a lot of teams, some practicing stealing would probably be time and cost efficient.
Why then don’t teams practice it? Maybe because:
1. Practicing steals is not a part of the basketball coaching tradition.
2. Coaches are worried about encouraging gambling.
3. Steals are such rare occasions that they are undervalued and perceived as random.
4. Coaches don’t perceive stealing as a trainable skill.
5. Tactics and techniques used to get steals are so varied and numerous that it’s hard to
figure out which ones to practice.

Basketball Fast Break

Most of the time in a basketball game, the more shots you take, the more points you
score. In fact, a GREAT goal for any basketball team should be to get a SHOT every time
the team gains possesion of the basketball. Have you ever thought about that? In youth
basketball games, it is common to find that over half the time the youth team gets the
ball, they DO NOT get a shot.

As basketball coaches, we sometimes are a little too proud of our Offense and Plays and
want our kids to really set it up, run it, and execute. But, youth basketball players will
get plenty of that type of coaching as they grow up and play at higher levels. Not to say
that some structure is not important, but we think it is fine to bring it up and shoot it
within the first or second pass. We like to change sides of the floor and reverse the ball,
and we like to throw it inside, but we are also good if we bring the ball up and shoot it if
we are open.

It is better to take what some coaches would call a bad shot, than not take a shot at all.
There is always a chance of an offensive rebound and second shot. Generally, we like to
tell the kids that GOOD things happen when we shoot, and we want them ALL to SHOOT
IT!

A 5th grade team that scores 40 points or more in a game, will have fun and get better
regardless of the win/loss record, because the kids are moving, passing, dribbling, and
SHOOTING.

The Basketball Fast Break is key to playing this way!

The Outlet Pass

The concept of TRANSITION, in other words, having 5 players IMMEDIATLEY convert
from Defense to Offense, is important to get the kids to understand. It is a fact that the
kids will generally run harder when their team has the ball, than when they are running
back on defense. So, there is an advantage with the fast break.

The first step on the fast break is THE OUTLET PASS.

The outlet pass should be made on the ball side of the rebound or steal - free throw line
extended - one step from out of bounds on the sideline. The outlet pass should be made
wide and NOT in the middle of the floor.
 The Basketball Fast Break Structure
We give the kids a number - 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

This allows us to assign responsibilities and spots for each player on the break.

1 - gets the outlet pass

2 and 3 - are exactly the same - they each pick a different side of the floor and SPRINT
to the other end.

4 - sprints to the top of the key.

5 - sprints to the rim and then post on the ball side block.
As Player 1 brings the ball up the floor we want him to pick a side and NOT be in the
middle of the floor. This is different than a lot of coaches teach the fast break.

As Player 1 crosses half court, if he only see's 2 or fewer defensive players back, we are
going attack the basket to shoot the ball within 5 seconds if possible. Most coaches will
call this a Primary Break.

If there are 3 are more defenders back, we will go to the spots shown above and first
look to throw it in to Player 5 on the post. Most coaches will call this aSecondary
Break.

Ball Reversal
As we bring the ball to one side we also bring the defense strongly to that side of the
floor. Now the ball Reversal happens.

As 1 reads Player 5's defender - if the defense is playing on hte high side, we pass to
Player 2 in the corner, and after 5 leg whips and seals the defender high away from the
basket, Player 2 passes to 5 for a lay-up.

If Player 5 is played low or behind, we reverse the ball to Player 4 and look high-low to
5, then continue the reveersal to Player 3 looking for 5 posting on the other block.

Please see diagram below for diagram of this action.

Player 1, 2, 4, and 3 are all threats to SHOOT IT if they are not guarded closely. Player
1, getting the ball lower than Player 4 initially, will create a terrific Backdoor
Cut opportunity for Player 4 on the ball reversal. If Player 4 is overplayed in the passing
lane, the defender will likely have feet parallel to the passing lane in order to see the ball
below. Player should "break the noodle" and cut backdoor to the basket.

As we contimue the ball reversal to Player 3, we look hard inside for 5. Any of the
players can drive to the basket if their defender is too close - Explode Step, Explode
Crossover, Rocker - Jab Step, Shot Fake all in effect.
The spacing and timing of the set will provide great opportunities for the kids to PLAY
with their fundamental skills. Most of the dribble drive penetration is met with help
rotation from Player 5's defender and create a perfect 3D - Drive, Draw, Dish
opportunity.

There are many other options for continuity out of this Basketball Fast Break. We have
found that youth basketball teams can become very successful at playing a quicker
paced game under control with this type of break.

KEY POINTS

- Goal is to get a SHOT every time we get the ball

- Get the ball down the court and SHOOT IT before the defense gets back

- Outlet Pass is KEY - wide on the ball side of the rebound

- 2 or fewer defenders back - shoot it within 5 seconds

- 3 or more defenders back - bring it down the side - look inside - reverse and
ball - BE A PLAYER from Triple Threat Position when you catch it!