Objective
Create layups off the flex cut and elbow jumpers off the down screen with a repeating pattern that keeps all five players involved and two players back for defensive balance.
Setup
Area
Half court
Players
5 offensive players; add a scout team playing man-to-man once the rotation runs smoothly
Equipment
1 ball, Floor tape or cones at both slots, both corners and both blocks
Duration
15–20 minutes per session during install week, then 8–10 minutes of 5v5
How it works
- 1
Start in the flex alignment
1 and 2 stand in the slots, just outside the lane lines about 22 feet from the rim, with the ball in 1's hands on the left. 5 sits on the left block and 4 in the left corner; 3 fills the right corner. 5 will set the first flex screen, and 4 is the first cutter.
- 2
Reverse the ball and flex cut
1 passes to 2. As the ball travels, 5 turns his back to the baseline and screens 4's defender, and 4 runs tight off the screen across the lane toward the right block, hands up. The pass from 2 should arrive in the first two steps of the paint; if not, 4 finishes the cut and posts on that block.
- 3
Screen the screener
1 turns and sets a down screen on 5's defender. 5 comes up to the left slot for a catch-and-shoot at the elbow or top, and 1 fades to the left corner. The defense has now guarded a layup and a jumper in about three seconds.
- 4
Repeat on the other side
The floor is now the mirror image of the start: ball at 2 in the right slot, 4 on the right block, 3 in the right corner. 2 reverses to 5, 4 flex-screens for 3, and 2 down-screens for 4. The pattern runs as long as the clock allows.
- 5
Enter from a 1-4 high or in transition
Few teams walk into the flex spots. From a 1-4 high, the point guard enters to a wing and cuts to the block, the two elbow players pop out to the slots and the wings settle in the corners; in transition, the trailing big fills a slot while the first two runners take the corners. Once the first guard-to-guard pass happens, the continuity is on.
| Step | Who | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Reversal | 1 to 2 | Guard-to-guard pass from the left slot to the right slot |
| 2. Flex screen | 5 for 4 | Left block player screens the left corner player on the baseline |
| 3. Flex cut | 4 | Cuts across the lane to the right block looking for 2's pass |
| 4. Down screen | 1 for 5 | Passer screens down; 5 comes up to the left slot for a jumper |
| 5. Refill | 1 | Clears to the left corner and becomes a future flex cutter |
| 6. Repeat | 2 to 5 | Next reversal: 4 flex-screens for 3, 2 down-screens for 4 |
Coaching points
The flex screener sets up low and wide, back to the baseline; screening too high lets the cutter's defender slip under and beat him to the block.
Cutters wait for the ball to leave the passer's hands, then go shoulder to shoulder off the screen; early cuts arrive before anyone can feed them.
The down-screener hits the defender, not the air near him, and sprints to the corner after contact so the elbow jumper has room.
Passes to the slot are crisp and on a line; a lobbed reversal gives every defender time to reposition before the flex cut.
If the cutter's defender switches onto a guard, the flex screener seals him on the block for the easy post feed.
Variations
Curl, fade and ball-screen counters
When the defender trails the down screen, the player coming up curls into the lane for a runner; when he cheats under, he fades to the corner. Against switching, the new slot player sprints into a ball screen for the player receiving the reversal, turning the pattern into a pick-and-roll with the flex spacing still behind it.
Flex against a 2-3 zone
Drop the down screen. The two slots handle the ball up top while the bottom three rotate: on every reversal, the block player screens or seals the middle zone defender and the far corner cuts to the ball-side block, giving a post touch or an open corner shot.
Build it in Coach Board
The flex only clicks when players see the court turn into its own mirror image. Set the five flex spots on a Coach Board court, animate one full rotation (reversal, flex cut, down screen, corner fill), and loop the playback so the pattern repeats on screen. Duplicate the board for the curl, fade and ball-screen counters and keep them in one playbook your scout team can open by link.