Cross Screen

The cross-screen is the canonical post entry. A weak-side player sets a screen on the strong-side block defender; the post or wing cutter uses the screen to seal on the block for an entry pass. The action’s been around as long as basketball — every era’s offenses include some version of it.

What varies is what happens AFTER the cross-screen. In a Punch series, the screener gets pin-down screened on the weak side. In a Flex offense, the cross-screen is part of the continuity — the screener becomes the next cutter. In a more isolated post-up set, the cross-screen is the only action and everyone else clears.

Defenses respond to cross-screens by switching (creates a mismatch the offense can attack), hedging (slows the screen but recovers), or fighting through (loses time but maintains matchup). The offense reads the response and chooses where to attack next. The cross-screen itself rarely produces a shot — it’s the setup for the next read.