The Phoenix Suns were the most entertaining and efficient team in the NBA during the Mike D'Antoni era. They have single-handedly put scoring back in the NBA game and the Suns Fast Break reflects that philosophy.
It is much different than the Carolina Fast Break and serves a different purpose. The Sun Fast Break is the Phoenix offense. There is not much movement and there is not the traditional secondary or transition fast break options.
The fast break is defined by 2 things, spacing and philosophy. The Suns' philosophy is to get a shot within the first 7 seconds. That creates a pace that forces players to get up and down the court. This creates defensive breakdowns because the defense cannot recover in time. Spacing is critical as it creates gaps in which the ball can penetrate and either finish at the rim or kick out for a 3.
This is not a fast break for the faint of heart. You have to have players that are fearless as shooters, a point guard vision and a coach who can ride the waves.
1 is the point guard. He must get the ball up the floor as quickly as possible. He is always looking to penetrate for a layup or kick out for a shot.
2 and 3 are shooters. They sprint to the corners, outside the 3 point line.
4 is your best shooting frontcourt player. He runs on the opposite side of the ball along the foul lane line.
5 is the post trailer.
1 looks to penetrate and score or dish
1 pushes the ball and passes to 2 in the corner. 2 looks to shoot
1 pushes the ball to the middle and throws over the top to 3.
3 looks to score
1 pushes to the sideline and passes to 4
4 looks to score.
Flare Break
1 pushes the ball up the floor and headmans to 2 at the foul line extended wing.
2 returns the ball immediately, either by pass or handoff.
4 comes ball side
4 sets a flare screen for 2.
2 cuts over the flare screen to the Weakside.
5 cuts block to block to the Weakside block.
1 throws over the top to 2 who can:
- Look to score
- Pass to 3 for score
- Pass to 5 in the post
If 1 doesn't pass over the top
4 steps out to ball screen
1 dribbles off the ballscreen
1 and 4 can screen and roll
1 and 4 can screen and pop
1 can turn the corner and look to penetrate.
1 will look to score or to kick out
If 1 calls off his drive, 5 backscreens for 3
1 looks for 3 on the backdoor.
Do you have any questions or suggestions for this offensive play? Let us know by leaving your comments...
this thing is too bad & we lost 11 games in a row, our coach is crazy for this.i am not coming back to this site ever again.
Sean says:
12/3/2008 at 10:58:02 AM
I am trying to implement this fastbreak with a freshman (HS) team and it is very cofusing to them. I am trying to break it down pass by pass but they are struggling with the fact that they have never seen a 4-1 set before. Any suggestions?
Ryan says:
12/4/2008 at 6:44:15 PM
great
penn says:
12/14/2008 at 8:03:35 PM
we kind of play this play in canada but were not very good
Doctor Basketball says:
2/3/2009 at 6:38:16 PM
I'd give the ball to Matt or Rurik they dominate
i <3 b-ball says:
2/3/2009 at 6:41:22 PM
maybe a good coach would bring your team to success...sean i have a suggestion..u seam like a good coach but i believe you should get the kids from varsity and make them play freshman games so you can be better than 4-16
Bryan B says:
3/8/2009 at 12:24:03 AM
Guys, this is a very easy offense. Don't break this down pass by pass, that is not how you do it. The thing about this offense is the players have to make decisions. How you teach this offense is you make sure each and every player knows all of their options. What they can do with the ball or without the ball. It will never be the same passes two times in a row. So it's a action - reaction type offense.
kitsi says:
5/4/2009 at 1:43:20 AM
oh yes...what iv been looking for...the suns fastbreak...i am a believer in this philosophy...
Shady Z says:
8/15/2009 at 10:36:31 AM
The idea of this is to take advantage of insane shooting and athleticism. For those of you who are saying you're trying to run this, but not very good at it, try something else. I'm not trying to be mean, but you HAVE to have GREAT shooting/ball-handling/passing players for this to work. My team was made up of guys who had played together for years and could all shoot and run and were very smooth with the ball. Unless you have the players, this offense will hurt you more than the other team.
Dr Laurence J. MacDonald PhD says:
11/13/2009 at 8:06:13 PM
Shady Z is correct, I coach Professional basketball in the HKPBL and many of these players excell at the skill positions. I implemented this break and even with all their skills, they still struggled with it but eventually got it down. It takes time and patience. I'm reading some of the other comments, but most good offenses are like Novocain if you keep taking it, eventually its going to work.
Coach Laurence MacDonald Lady Keen HKPBL Division 1 Hong Kong Professional Basketball League
some coach says:
12/16/2009 at 11:14:18 PM
There are alot of things to consider when trying to install an NBA fast break in high school or even college. In the NBA all the players are very skilled for their particular spot. Point guards are exceptional ball handlers for example. Also there is illegal defense in the NBA, that is not so in high school. Which means there will be helpside defense waiting in the paint in most cases. That may make this break somewhat difficult to run.
