Blazers: Unsung Stars of Screen

Wesley Matthews thinks it’s Dante Cunningham. Assistant coach Bill Bayno says it’s Joel Przybilla.

Fellow assistant coach Buck Williams gave LaMarcus Aldridge the title, and when Aldridge got word, he smiled like a fifth grader who found out his crush liked him back.

“Buck picked me?” a glowing Aldridge said. “I’m paying Buck off for good quotes these days.”

So what exactly was the question?

Is it which Trail Blazer works the hardest? Dresses the sharpest? Would most likely thrive in the UFC?

Nah, nothing that sexy. Just this: Who sets the best screens on the team?

Still awake?

Screens are like the cue-card holders of basketball. They’re essential to the production. They keep things running smoothly. But no viewer notices or thinks about them.

However, to deny their significance would be blasphemous in the eyes of the sport’s aficionados. A good pick, it turns out, doesn’t just refer to draft choices.

“It’s truly a little thing technically that is actually a huge thing,” Bayno said. “I don’t think any team has won a championship that wasn’t a good screening team.”

Without good screens, Reggie Miller is just another spot-up shooter. Without good screens, John Stockton and Karl Malone are just two more bored Salt Lake residents.

Screens are what create space in the half-court set, force the defense to help and, ideally, generate an open shot at some point in the possession.

But what goes into this seemingly simple maneuver designed to unlock an offense? Blazers coach Nate McMillan proffers one word: “Willingness.”

Although this can mean a couple of things.

The first is having a penchant for contact.

Eric Reveno is in his fifth season as the head coach of the University of Portland’s men’s basketball team. Like Bayno, he recognizes the critical nature of screens along with the lacking appreciation for the skill.

But he also notes how quality screening is just as much about DNA as it is drilling. You have to want to plow into your opponent, and no amount of practice is going to spark that inclination.

“It’s kind of like tackling in football. There’s a guy that knows how to tackle, and then there’s the guy that loves tackling,” Reveno said. “He’s the one going after guys. You have to tell him not to blow them out.”

The second is being content with getting someone else open.

Visit any playground in the country and odds are there will be a very large dearth in screen-setting — especially away from the ball. To do so would mean working for someone else’s glory.

As Matthews said: “Setting a screen is one of the most unselfish acts in basketball. It’s a powerful thing seeing someone get open.”

The thing is, most NBA players are foreign to such sacrifice when they enter the league. They’ve spent their whole careers as the focal point of an offense and generally have been the ones receiving the screens.

So what would compel a lifelong star to engage in this reversal of roles? Actually, that’s an easy one, as Przybilla points out.

“It helps me get on the basketball court,” he said. “That’s my job. I accepted it a long time ago.”

Plus, screen-setting isn’t as altruistic as Matthews lets on.

Yes, laying down a pick in transition or on the weak side can be a generous gesture, but often times a screener’s best interest lies in the screener himself.

If a big man manages to set a solid pick for the guard with the ball, this forces an opposing post player to help off, allowing the screener to roll to the basket and earn an easy two points.

“Set a good pick and you’ll always get the bucket,” said Williams, adding that 80 to 90 percent of the offense is setting a screen. “You pick the guard, then step to the goal, most the time you get a good score.”

Cunningham understands this. The Blazers power forward says he enjoys the contact associated with screens — that he played football in high school and embraces the collision. But at the same time, he can’t deny that …

“There’s definitely an incentive,” Cunningham said in regards to picks potentially padding his scoring average. “It’s something you think about when setting the screen.”

What about the technical aspects of a pick? Sure, you can be a natural tackler in football, but there is still a proper form and technique.

Maco Hamilton, head boys basketball coach at Union High, said rule No. 1 is as simple as communicating — letting your teammate know the screen is coming.

It may seem counterintuitive, but keeping a pending screen under wraps is hardly consequential if properly executed.

Which leads to rule No. 2: Timing.

It’s better to be a second late than a second early when coming off of a pick. It’s not going anywhere. However, if the screenee tries to use it before it is set, the defender can slip through and render it moot.

“I think it’s really challenging for the rookies when they come into the league, because everything they do is real fast,” Williams said. “You have to wait off picks.”

And you have to read them, too.

Do you curl around them if the defender is trailing? Do you drive away from them if the defense is overcompensating? Do you spot up for a jumper if they’re sagging off?

All pertinent questions when it comes to this fundamental fundamental.

A couple weeks back, Reveno wondered aloud if screen-setting should be a more scrutinized ability when recruiting. And Hamilton, well, he won a state title with Union last year. Surely polished pick-setting played a prominent role, right?

“I don’t know,” Hamilton said. “I think we just had the best players.”

Matt Calkins is the Blazers beat writer for The Columbian. He can be contacted at 360-735-4528 or matt.calkins@columbian.com.