There are many ways to move without the basketball and today we are going to discuss the face cut. A Face Cut is a cut to the basket that is done in front of the defender.

In the video below, I teach how to do a face cut after you have passed the basketball but the face cut can also be done without passing the basketball as long as you are cutting in front of the defender in the gap or space between the defender and the player with the basketball.

What to Look For in the Defense

On ball defense is a good indicator of how achievable a face cut can be. If the on ball defense plays the player with the ball tight, the recovery time that the defense has is minimal. If the on ball defense gives the player with the ball space, they have more recovery time and executing a face cut will be more challenging.

When a defense gives the player with the ball space, the best approach is to set up the face cut by doing other action that will lead to the defense cheating or falling asleep because the action is repetitive.

The Two Ways To Face Cut

The first way to face cut is to set up the face cut by screening away. When the ball is passed, the defense jumps to the ball or to the gap. Jumping to the ball or jumping to the gap both force the defense to move to the ball and to occupy space between the ball and the player the defense is guarding.

When a player screens away, the player moves away from the ball and forces the defense to move away from the ball and to follow the man with the ball. The defense will play the player tight if the player can shoot and the scouting report requires for no space to be given. If the player is not a shooter, space will be given and normal man-to-man principles are followed.

Passing and setting a screen two or three times can lead the defense to fall asleep due to the assumption that a screen is going to be set. Sell the screen by calling the player’s name that you are going to screen and motion with the hand. After two or three screens, look to see if the defender forgot to jump to the ball and shifted closer to you because they are cheating the play.

If they cheat, shift your hips and face the player who you passed the ball to and use the leg/foot closest to the basket to outflank the defender by placing your foot outside of the defenders outside foot or the foot closes to the player with the ball.

Use your hips and your body to lean into the defender while moving closer to the basket. If you have outflanked the defender, there is no one to stop the pass on the face cut. Catch the ball and finish at the rim or pull up for the floater or the jump shot.

The second way to face cut is to beat the defensive player to the gap or to the space between yourself and the player you passed the ball to.

There is no set up but speed and proper footwork are needed in order to complete the face cut.

Pass the ball and take a step with your pass. After you pass the ball, use the foot closest to the defender to outflank the defenders outside foot. The defenders outside foot in the video above is the left foot. If you look at the video, my left foot has to be outside the defenders left foot because that will keep the defender from moving to the gap and that will allow my body to jam the defender and keep them on the inside as I cut in front of the defender.

The Benefits of Face Cutting Compared to the Back Cut

The benefit of the face cut is that is shortens the distance between yourself and the player with the ball. A common tendency of players that use the back cut is not cutting in a direct line. Instead of the direct back cut, the players drift away from the player with the ball, extending the length of the pass. When the length of the pass is extended, the chances of the pass being stolen increase.

A back cut places you in front of the defender and if you are to drift, you will drift closer to the player with the ball rather than drifting away. The length of the pass can only be shortened.

Another benefit of the face cut is that if you cut and do not get the ball right away, you can go into the post and post up. The defender will be inside you or behind you when you get to the post and that gives you optimal post up position.

A back cut has a limited window of opportunity and once that window of opportunity closes, the cutter has to empty out to the weak side or to the strong side. Emptying out to other side extends the length of the shot but the most likely pass for a shot after the window has closed, is popping out to the strong side corner and shooting a three-point shot or a long two point shot.

Emptying out weak side only creates a shot if there is a skip pass. The pass has to be tight as a rope without any lob. A pass with lob gives the defense time to close out. Back cutting and going to the weak side creates space for other players but the instant opportunity for the shot is lost unless a good skip pass is delivered.

Tools to Help Teach Face Cut

There are a lot of tools to help teach how to move without the basketball and how to face cut.

CONES are a reliable tool. They are small and compact and you can take them anywhere with ease. The challenge with using cones is that they help work on the footwork of the face cut. If the focus is on foot and leg placement, using cones is a great tool. Face cutting also requires the use of hips and upper body which you cannot incorporate into the workout with cones.

POP-DEFENDERS are portable and take up more space than cones do. Pop-defenders get the hip into the exercise because they are taller and it is possible to get the shoulder into the workout if you practice getting low enough. The one issue with Pop-defenders is they do not provide resistance. There are times when you face cut that you have to deliver a blow with your shoulder and having something that pushes back and provides resistance is helpful in developing aggression. Pop-defenders provide a better visual cue than cones do and if the player is young and not ready for aggression, Pop-defenders is an excellent tool.

Punching Bag my favorite tool to teach cutting, screening and ball handling is a free standing heavy bag. The heavy bag is wide enough to represent a defender. I use the bag to help players attack a defender and teach the how to be narrow with the attack dribble instead of going wide and avoiding the defender all together. The free-standing heavy bag is perfect to start teaching physicality and aggression. A player can cut and engage the bag with hips and with shoulder and deliver a blow with the shoulder without extending the arm. The bag is soft but firm enough to give pushback . The free standing heavy bag helps in teaching timing when being physical and keeps the player safe. The player also has to pay attention to the base of the bag and work on footwork because if all of the attention is on delivering the blow with the shoulder and the player forgets about the base, they will trip and fall.

And of course, you can always use a chair. If you use a wooden chair like I did in the video, watch out for the corner of the chair. Slamming your hip against the chair at full speed is not advisable. A chair is best for walk through simulation.