BLOB Man-to-Man Offense3 min read

Two Inside

Watch this play in motion

Open the set on the board and press play to see every cut, screen, and pass animate step by step.

Part of the Two Inside family — see the other reads off this same set.

Two Inside has one job: get the basketball to a post player with a size advantage, right at the rim. The two guards never touch the ball at all — they simply move to keep their own defenders busy while a screen-the-screener action clears a lane for the post.

Setting Up in the Box

Line up in a box with both posts down low and both guards at the high post elbows. This play is at its best with a genuine size mismatch inside, so save it for whenever one of your bigs has a real height advantage.

Two Decoy Cuts

One post sets an up-screen for a guard, who pops out to the corner — occupying his defender out on the perimeter. At the same time, the other guard cuts to the ball-side slot, calling for the ball even though he won't receive it. Both of these cuts exist purely to drag defenders out of the paint.

Screen the Screener

The second post waits a beat, facing the guard in the slot so the coming action isn't telegraphed, then cuts hard across the lane to set a strong screen on the first post's defender. That screen is what frees the first post to cut to the weak side of the rim, completely clear for the pass and the layup.

Coaching Points

Both guards need to call for the ball on their cuts even knowing they won't get it — a silent decoy cut doesn't drag the defense the same way a loud one does.

The screener has to start by looking toward the guard in the slot, not the post he's about to screen for — otherwise the defense reads the screen-the-screener action before it happens.

Key Takeaways

  • •Set up in the box with both posts low and both guards at the elbows.
  • •This play is built for a real size mismatch — save it for that matchup.
  • •Both guards' cuts are pure decoys meant to occupy their defenders.
  • •The screen-the-screener action is the entire engine of the play — it's what actually frees the post.
  • •The screener must disguise his intentions by looking away from his real target until the last moment.
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