Pistol action, also often called a hurry-up offense or even sometimes referenced by the shorthand “21”, is a strategy of basketball offense that initiates out of transition. It’s really a series of movements between the point guard and a wing, hence the “21” nickname, an interaction between players 02 and 01.
The pistol action basketball offense is a clutch trick to have up your sleeve. It’s not really something you want to lean as a backbone for your offensive strategy, but it will get you some points in transition and it’s a fun one to practice. It’s also still fairly common, and it’s fun to be able to spot it in a game and call it out. It’s historically a sub-set of the famous triangle offense though, which is definitely a fully developed system.
In this post we’ll dig into pistol action basketball. The goal here is to help you understand the tactic and identify it. But we’ll also provide some resources in case you’re looking at introducing pistol action to you team. If you’re trying to add a new dimension to your game, pistol action could be just the thing.
Pistol Action Basketball Movement
Pistol action initiates in transition. Your guard is coming up. A wing stops short near the arc, ahead of the wing, just a step or two in front of the free-throw line. The big marches up the middle of the court, but they’re often more of an added barrier than a direct participant. The weak-side fades away from the basket to draw defenders from the action.
Pistol action thrives on continuous motion. So without hesitation, you want to launch into one of the options.
Option 1: Pass to the Wing
The guard passes off to the wing. this will typically result in a give and go. The guard screens what they can off the wing and takes the ball back on a run for the basket.
Or the guard can pick up the dribble handoff as they swing by the wing.
Option 2: Wing screen
The point guard can also decide to just take a screen from the wing directly and drive around the outside.
Both of these are questionable attacks. You’re running down the sideline here, which is generally where the defense wants you to be. You’ll have to catch your opponent off guard to make things happen. That’s why pistol action basketball movements work best as quick and continuous plays out of transition.
But you can always reverse back to the screener, often a lucrative endeavor. And the pistol action, as common as it is, has a ton of subtle variations. whatever option you go with, you’re going to want your weak-side to draw attention. In addition to catching the defense unprepared, if you can pull extra defenders away from the paint, you’ll have a clearer path on the pistol drive.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Pistol Action Basketball
This strategy can be a strong transition set. You’re not in a fast break, but your whole team hasn’t quite faced up yet? You can still run a pistol for a shot at some quick transition points. But this is only an isolated tactic, it’s not going to serve as your entire offensive philosophy.
Advantages
- The occasional easy transition points.
- Maintains the offensive flow.
- Catch a defense out of alignment.
Disadvantages
- Easy to defend.
- Only valid in early transition
- Needs the right setup.
- You’re beating the defense to their readiness. That consumes extra energy.
History of Pistol Action Basketball
Pistol action is a key piece of the broader triangle offense refined by Tex Winter in the 1940’s. In developing the triangle offense, Winter’s version was built on a foundation he picked up from Sam Barry at USC.
Winter would utilize the triangle as head coach of both Kansas State and Marquette. And he published a book outlining the offense in 1962. But it wasn’t until a stint as Assistant Coach with the Bulls that the triangle offense really hit the big time.
When Phil Jackson joined the Bulls, he worked with Winter to incorporate the triangle philosophy as the core of the system that took the Bulls through their incredible run through the Jordan era. The strategy remained a central part of Jackson’s offense with the Lakers, helping him secure several more championships.
The triangle offense has lost favor recently. Some suggest that today’s game doesn’t allow for it. It’s a diverse playset though, so that seems a little silly. More likely we’ve just lost the masters of the strategy to more modern frameworks. Regardless, pistol action basketball is still alive and well.
Pistol Action Drills
The dump and go
Dump and go is a hockey term. It basically means you flick the puck over defenders into enemy territory and chase into the fray after it. It’s an interesting concept.
But the pistol offense can feel a little like this sometimes, it really thrives under confusion. With this drill we’re going to try and give our players a feeling of what it’s like when they’re rushing into a pistol action.
Count off your players into 2 groups, we’ll call them wings and guards. Line up the wings even with the free-throw, touching the inside of the arc. Lineup the guards along the sideline at half-court. Give the ball to the first guard.
Blow the whistle. The ball handler surge dribbles forwards, fires off a pass to the front of the opposite line, then sprints past them for a pass and a layup. Have the two participating players move to the ends of the opposite lines.
This sets you up to run through the feel of the play repeatedly. You get to feel that burst of speed that comes when you unload the ball, rush into that screen, and practice
Defending Against the Pistol Action Offense
How do you stop this quick attack in transition? Well, you will need to play better basketball. Simply be better basketball players. But that’s not helpful, so let’s get you some actual techniques. If you have to go up against a pistol-frenzied team next week, here’s what you should do.
Spot the action
Pistol action is pretty easy to spot. You see the transition, you see the quick attack, and the pass to the wing or the surge. If you spot it early, it becomes easier to dismantle.
If you’re way early, you can jump over the screens before they’re in place. As a team, you need to block the passing path and the exit path. If the first pass is completed, you can anticipate the feed to the basket.
So a first order of business would be to have your players crush some video to fully internalize what the setup for the pistol can look like. Ideally, you’re watching video of your opponent.
Defensive Recovery
Get your players back across the court in transition. The main goal of this offense is to catch you unawares. Get back on the resistance and fight.
Zone Defense
If your opponent really is beating you up with pistol transitions, try a zone. First of all, this could help give your players a target in transition. They know they have to get back on defense, but having a physical space to get to can tighten things up.
A simple 2-3 could work, clogging the outlet of the pistol, but a good shooting team may just jump back off the wing screen and take an open shot. A 1-3-1 could be a great option, as it’s designed to trap in the general region of the main action.
If you’ve got the stamina for it, you can try a press too. It’s probably worth it to get some presses into your rotation anyway.
Offensive rebounds
I mean, what better way to reduce the effects of a transition offense than to eliminate the transition. Crash the boards!
Conclusion
The pistol action basketball offense is an exciting little trick to have in your stash. It can create open shots and scoring opportunities. If your team can jump into this movement quickly, you can pick up some nice smooth points in transition.
This is really a great little tactic for any team to practice. Even if you can’t pull it off effectively, it helps to introduce some concepts of transition offense, and generate some good communication and camaraderie, which is great even for inexperienced youth teams.