[Coach Rick]

What an excellent question!

First of all, you are correct about whose turn it is when the passer feeds the post. Of course if the post can catch the ball in such a way that “no move is necessary” to score, then we want that to happen. Some post players are very good at doing all of their work ahead of time so that all they have to do is catch and go up.

But, when the post catches with their defender between them and the goal (in other words, a move will be necessary to score), then the order of operations is like you described. The passer making a Laker Cut is first. The post should wait on the Laker Cutter to see if they are open and see what that does to his/her defender and to see if it’s safe to make a move. If so, the post can make a move after the Laker Cutter goes by. If neither are open, then there’s usually a good reason like HELP DEFENSE IS IN THE LANE!. This is the trigger for an inside-out pass to the fillers on the perimeter. Those filling are last in the order (unless their defenders immediately double-team the post when the post is fed. But I don’t usually have to teach the post to get rid of the ball when this happens. It becomes obvious that you need to get rid of the ball and who you should pass to becomes obvious also.

But an X-Cut is different. Of course “Sweet or Lob” applies, but I’m skipping the obvious. First of all, most teams know which post players you’ll Laker Cut and which post players you’ll X-Cut. I would X-Cut a post player who is very good one-on-one; a player who is good at making a quick move on the catch. The X-Cut gives them time and space. So, if an X-Cut or Relocate is chosen by the passer, then we’re saying that it’s OK for the Post Player to go ahead and make a move immediately if they want to – but they don’t HAVE TO MAKE A MOVE. An X-Cut is simply a DELAYED basket cut. The passer is going to get their chance to score at the rim, but we’ve added the complexity of a screen for the teammate who would ordinarily be filling the passer’s spot. With an X-Cut the post will be deciding whether to pass it to the basket cutter or the filler on the perimeter at about the same time.

Also, be sure to teach WHOSE TURN IS IT when the post is not fed. When the wing (as an example) passes uphill, it’s his/her turn to score in the lane. The post should step out and back screen the passer as they cut. Then the post can SHAPE-UP (usually for an ISO 1on1 situation) and still get their turn. Cutter goes first and post gets their turn second – the same order as the Laker Cut sequence. Now, I can teach the team that both players, the passer and the post player, are going to get their turns to score whether we feed the post or not. If the team truly understands this, then you’ll cut down on turnovers caused by forcing the pass inside.

Hope this helps!