When a basketball team plays effective defense, it often leads to scoring opportunities. One of the best basketball strategies is for players to see the connection between playing solid defense and getting quickly to offense. This article describes how that process works in games. It identifies times when players can transition quickly from defense to offense for relatively easy scores. It shows how to set up passing so that makeable shots present themselves easily and often.

The first situation occurs when there is a long defensive rebound that your team has secured. This is a sign for all 5 of your players on the court to run fast to fill a left, middle, and right lane on the basketball court. With all 5 of your players running fast, it is hard for the opponent defense to get back in time. Your players are in a race as to who can run fastest to the basket. Your ball possessor has a head start, but his/her teammates should quickly catch up, without the ball in their hands. Other situations when this "playing fast" can occur is when your team creates a turnover and when your defensive rebounder can dribble out of the pack quickly. It ought to become automatic that your players will implement one of the soundest basketball strategies, which is to transition very quickly from defense to offense.

Quick, accurate passing makes this strategy very effective. The ball possessor dribbles to the foul line and then passes quickly to an opponent teammate closer to the basket. All teammates should make an effective cut toward the basket to receive a pass that he/she can then convert to a score. Often this one pass is enough, but sometimes a 2nd pass is necessary if the opponent defender has gotten back quickly and is contesting the receiver of that first pass.

At this stage your players should be thinking of taking the first makeable shot which presents itself. Often this is a layup. But sometimes it is a pull-up jump shot not too far from the basket. Your players should be thinking that they must get a makeable shot attempt out of this situation. The good thing is that your players, when they run fast down the court, are now in prime position for an offensive rebound. That is why this is one of the most effective basketball strategies on offense. It puts tremendous pressure on the opponent defense to get back quickly and to contest shot attempts that occur in the "open court" rather then from a set-up offense. In a way, though, it is a set-up offense, as it is designed to set up a number advantage when all 5 opponents do not get back. I hope that you will consider implementing this strategy into your offense so that your team can get many more scores.