- X-Ray is our 1-2-2 matchup defense. Pressure the ball, deny the post, and force contested mid-range shots.
Pressure and contain
THIS DEFENSE DOES NOT WORK WITHOUT BALL PRESSURE.
THIS DEFENSE DOES NOT WORK WITH BLOW-BYS.
THE KEY IS PRESSURING THE BALL WHILE KEEPING IT IN FRONT.
Everybody
ANTICIPATE. WORK EARLY. EXPECT A TURNOVER.
Play with your feet. Always be in your stance. Hands up. Sprint rotations. Check your mirrors, keep your head on a swivel, and don't ball watch.
ANTICIPATE THE PASS. GO GET IT. IF YOU DON'T GET IT, DIG UP ON THE CATCH.
Dig up at the ball, not down across the receiver's hands. ONE DIG does not apply to show and recover.
A-Guard: Attack. Alpha dog.
A-Guard pressures the ball handler. Close out hard to take away the three. Dig up once on the catch, trace, pop back, measure. Measure with an extended arm: you should not touch the ball handler's body.
Stick and move: crowd the ball handler, then give space. Stay in the driving line. Turn the dribbler. Allow one dribble in the new direction, then turn again.
B-Guard: Backup. Bump cutter.
Deny the high-post pass when the ball is on the wing or higher. Deny low post when the ball is in the corner. Bump cutters and anticipate passes across court.
B-Guard alone helps on drives. Get your feet in front of the driver and stop the advance. Don't escort the driver toward the rim. The ball handler is your responsibility now; nobody else is coming to help.
C-Guard: Create chaos. Cause problems.
Deny the next perimeter pass. Keep the ball on one side. When the ball is at the top, deny either wing to get the play started. Ball is not allowed at the top. Get it out of the middle.
B-Guard and C-Guard use long-trap denial: face the ball, head on a swivel, hands up. Use jumping-jack denial. At the post, deny the quick entry, then post up like you're on offense.
Exchange guard jobs
The guard closing out becomes A-Guard. The other two fight for B-Guard. First to the backup position stays; the other becomes C-Guard.
If A-Guard gets beat, B-Guard takes the driver. Beaten A-Guard takes B-Guard's old assignment. No chasing into a double.
Strong-side forward: Post and corner
Strong side means ball side. Front the post player and anticipate the corner pass.
Jab and melt: show a quick jab at the driver, then recover with at least one arm in your passing lane. B-Guard stops the drive. If you become a second helper, melt back immediately.
On the corner pass, use a banana closeout: baseline foot up, no baseline drive. Close out and stay.
Weak-side forward: Own your half
Straddle your block. Keep your butt toward the baseline and arms wide, parallel with the baseline.
SIT ON TOP. PUSH HIM DOWN. EASY RELEASE. Sit on top of the post player and keep the post player down toward the baseline. Don't leave an open diagonal entry to the rim or fight around inside where the post player can seal you.
Bump cutters on the first step. Call B-Guard for cuts too high to reach. No ball-side help.
Cover the skip
Weak-side forward: anticipate the skip and attack the pass in the air.
Corner: close out and stay.
Wing or slot: show to discourage the three, then plant and sprint back to your block. Don't wait for B-Guard to bump you back.
ONE DIG does not apply to show and recover. Skip passes to wing shooters are a known weakness, even when X-Ray is played well.
On an over-the-top post pass, the weak-side forward volleyball-spikes the ball out of the paint. No soft tips. Live to fight another battle.
Corner pass: Double drop
- Forward: guard the ball; no baseline drive.
- B-Guard: deny low post.
- C-Guard: deny high post.
- Old A-Guard: deny the return pass to the wing.
- Weak-side forward: cover cutters and the skip.
Wall and block
Forwards: wall up to force a shot over your raised hands. Do not foul. As soon as the shooter lands, turn and block out the shooter. Finish the contest with rebounding position.
NO POST ENTRIES. NO DOUBLES. NO DUMP-OFFS. NO OVER-ROTATION. RUN THEM OFF THE LINE. FORCE CONTESTED MID-RANGE.