Meaning & use
down screen
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablesport
In basketball, a block set by a player moving toward the baseline so that a teammate can run free toward the ball.
Grammar: Countable: set a down screen, run off two down screens.
Patterns
- set a down screen for someone
- come off a down screen
The center set a down screen for the guard, who curled to the wing for an open shot.
Our coach drew up a play with a down screen on the left block.
She came off the down screen and caught the pass in rhythm.
Word forms
| plural | down screens |
|---|
Common combinations
- set a down screen
- He set a down screen and then rolled to the rim.
- run off a down screen
- The shooter ran off a down screen along the baseline.
- use a down screen
- The team likes to use a down screen to free its best scorer.
- a staggered down screen
- A staggered down screen gave him room to shoot.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pin-down
- Pin-down is a near-exact coaching term for a screen set toward the baseline, but it is more informal and less widely used in broadcasts.
- screen
- Screen is the general word for any block, while down screen specifies the direction toward the baseline.
- pick
- Pick is an older, more casual word for a screen and does not say which way the screener is facing.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: down screen or downscreen?
down screen vs downscreen
Some coaches write it as one word, but both spellings refer to the same play.
Practice
The forward ran off a ___ set near the baseline and got an open jump shot.
Choose one answer.
A down screen is a block set toward the baseline to free a shooter; the other choices are different basketball or non-basketball terms.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “down screen”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.