Ice defense, also referred to as blue, down, or push, is designed to force the ball handler toward the sideline. Many teams prefer to set screens that allow the ball handler to attack the middle of the court, where more scoring opportunities typically arise. Ice defense counters this philosophy by having the on-ball defender jump toward the screen, leaving the ball handler with no choice but to reject it and drive toward the sideline.
When 5 sets a screen towards the middle of the floor, defender #1 jumps towards the screen and forcing the offensive player to the sideline.
Defender #5 denies the driving lane. The only decent option for the offense at this point is a quick bounce pass to #5.
If the offense manages to beat the coverage towards the middle of the court then defender #5 is out of position and we have a lot of space to attack.
If the on-ball defender is highly skilled and prevents the ball handler from using the screen to drive toward the middle of the paint, a simple adjustment can be made.
Have the screener pop out to the top of the key, pass the ball to them, and then chase the ball (hence the term "Chase" Action) for a handoff to create scoring opportunities in the middle of the court.
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