Motion Offense Gives Teams Options
Using Base Concepts, Offense Can Be Customize To Match Talent
Feb 17, 2009
One of the most important things in basketball is to keep moving on offense whether you have the ball or not. Just the name of motion offense should hammer that point home but the concept behind the offense gives that principle more than just lip service.
The motion offense use basic principles like movement to set up scoring opportunities but its ability to be run in several different sets, makes it difficult to defend and one of the more popular offenses for coaches to run in high school, college and even the pros.
How the Motion Offense Works
The main principle of the motion offense is to move the ball around and get open shots through the pass rather than the dribble. Dribbling is only used to improve passing lanes or if an open lane to the basket exists.
The offense begins when the point guard brings the ball up the floor to the top of the key. It is important for the point guard to bring the ball to the top of the key rather than on the wing to maintain spacing.
The initial setup of the motion offense has the post players starting on the wings, with the guards on the blocks. The post players will screen down as the guards pop out to the wings. One variation of the offense would be for the guards to start on the wings and the post players on the block. The guards would then get a back screen from the post players, cross under the basket and head to the wing on the opposite side of the floor they started on.
From there, the point guard passes the ball to one of the wing guards and goes to set a screen for the back side guard. In the post, the post player on the side of the ball will post for a count of two and then go and set a screen for the opposite side post player, who cuts across the lane either to the block or to the elbow to receive the entry pass.
If there is no pass to the post, the player with the ball then passes the ball back up to the top of the key and the offense can be reset again with the guards crossing through the lane under the basket and back to the wings to receive a pass.
The offense will continue to cycle through these options until a shot opens up.
Variations of the Motion Offense
While the base motion offense may seem simple and easy to defend, the number of variations that can be added to the scheme are endless depending on the personnel of the team.
The ideal player in the motion offense is one who has both inside and outside scoring ability. With personnel having those qualities, offenses can create mismatches by forcing guards to play post defense which they may not be used to.
Setting up this situation is easy with the motion offense like described above. After cycling through the base defense and returning to the set position, the guards can down screen as the post players pop out to the wings.
This sets up two situations the defense may not be used to. First if you have a post player with good outside range, his defender may play off, giving him an open 3-point shot. The second is a guard posting up on another guard who also may not know how to defend the post.
After making the pass to the wing, the guard at the top of the key will screen the opposite wing, which is now a post player, who rotates to the top of the key.
Variations in the Motion Offense Setup
While moving players around is one way to mix up the offense, the principles of the motion offense can be used in any player alignment.
Such variations include playing with a four perimeter set and one post player. In this variation, teams with little post presence can open up cutting lanes by clearing out the middle. The same principles of passing, screening and cutting apply but with the wider alignment of the offense cutting guards have a better chance of getting to the basket.
Another common variation of the motion offense is a high-low set up. This is accomplished by the guards positioned in the basic set with one post player at the free throw line or elbow and the other on the block. This is good for teams with post players who can hit the 15-foot jumper and also gives post players additional screening options.
Who is Running the Motion
The motion offense is widely used in some form or variation. Bob Knight was one of the first to perfect the motion offense when he was with Indiana University.
