With the double drag continuing to surge across the game, we’re diving into one of our favorite executions, courtesy of Maccabi Tel Aviv, and how they layer simple tweaks to consistently create space and advantages.
The staggered ballscreen has long challenged defenses. Even when teams feel comfortable in their base approach, double drags rarely present the same picture twice. Changes in spacing, how high it’s initiated, how wide it’s set, or subtle shifts in personnel across the two screeners keep defenses in a constant state of adjustment.
Maccabi takes it a step further by pairing the action with a baseline exit screen, introducing additional movement and decision points that stretch help responsibilities and open up multiple scoring windows.
Let’s take a look at one of Europe’s most effective double drag attacks.
Setting the Stage
One of the best ways to gain an early edge is by initiating action before the defense can settle into its coverage. As we’ve seen in our recent look into extended screening actions {🔒}, timing and early organization can be just as valuable as execution itself.
When an offense flows directly into a double drag, triggering that first screen just over half court, the defense is often caught in between. They’re not fully in coverage, communication is late, and responsibilities are unclear.
That brief moment is where the advantage is created.
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Zooming In: Instead of having the second screener hold contact, Maccabi slips them early. With the floor spaced and the action happening quickly, there’s no need to stick the screen. The screener can simply turn and sprint to the rim, forcing the defense to react in real time.
At the same time, the baseline exit screen pulls help out of position, removing the low man and opening a clear path to the rim.
A Quick Aside: While Maccabi Tel Aviv uses the backside clearing exit screen to slip the big for a rim finish, another effective strategy is to leverage that same early slip into a seal {🔒}. As the defense reacts to the initial first screen and coverage responsibilities begin to blur, the slip screener can pin their defender inside, creating a driving lane for the ballhandler while neutralizing rim protection.
The Cost of Helping
By running a shooter accross the baseline into an exit screen, the action essentially shift into an empty-side look.
Now the backside defense is forced to make a decision:
- Stay home on shooters
- Or step in to protect the rim
Even a brief hesitation can create enough separation for a clean look off the exit screen.
Why This Works
What makes this action effective isn’t just the initial advantage, it’s how quickly it compounds.
The slip creates pressure.
The exit screen removes help.
The spacing forces indecision.
And suddenly, the defense is reacting instead of controlling.
Inside the Full Breakdown (SG+)
In the full SGTV breakdown, we go deeper into:
- How the exit screen eliminates the low man entirely.
- The cost of helping from the first screener.
- Maccabi’s automatic re-trigger into a second exit screen.
- How these actions create more rim pressure than perimeter shots.
With layers of pace, spacing, and constant flow, Maccabi Tel Aviv turns a simple double drag into a sustained advantage system, one that never lets the defense reset.
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