Yesterday we took a look at how guards use footwork on the outside to creating scoring opportunities.  Today, we are going to look at how the big men do it.  In my opinion, good footwork on the inside just might be more important than footwork on the outside.  The reason being that big men are so reliant on their post game to get their shots off, and this is really a series of pivots, pump fakes, and jab steps.

On the inside, footwork is important when setting up hook shots, when executing a drop step move, on up and under moves, and when a post player faces up.  We are going to look at each move individually with some of the best post players in the league showing us how it is done.

The Hook Shot

The hook shot is reliant on footwork, because if you don’t time your steps correctly, have the proper feet position, or turn in the correct direction, you aren’t going to have a pretty move.  Someone who is very effective with the hook shot is Pau Gasol.

Gasol makes the catch in the post, and it is obvious by the way his defender is playing him that he is trying to keep him out of the middle.  This is because Gasol likes to take that hook after making a move to the middle, however, he can hit the hook shot with either hand, and that is what makes him so tough to defend.

Now this is where some fancy footwork comes into play.  Instead of picking up his dribble here and starting his hook move, he takes one more step with his right foot putting it in the paint.

Now here is where Gasol finally establishes his right foot as his pivot foot (since this is when he picks up his dribble).  This gives him more range for his pivot move.

This pivot move is key because Gasol now has his body in between the basketball and the defender (you will notice that this is a trend through all of these post moves).  The defender can’t get to the basketball without fouling.

This allows Gasol to finish with the hook shot easily right at the rim.  Here is the play in real time:

The Drop Step

The drop step might be one of the best post moves in the NBA.  The reason behind it is because it uses the defenders own strength against him.  Do it quick enough, and the post defender goes from pushing the offensive player out of the lane to pushing air.

Here, Al Jefferson makes the catch in the post, and he is being defended by Ben Wallace.  Wallace is a defender who relies on his strength so he seems to be more susceptible to quick drop step moves.

As Jefferson gets Wallace down to the block, Wallace seems to buckle down and try to take a stand by pushing him out.

However, Jefferson quickly drop steps and leaves Wallace in a tough position.  He goes from being a position where he can push Jefferson out of the paint, to not being able push him out.

With Jefferson’s drop step, he now has his body between the basketball and Ben Wallace, making it tough to block the shot.  Here is the play in real time:

The Up And Under

Once you establish the drop step, you then can start working other moves off of that.  My personal favorite is the up and under move.

Here, Brook Lopez makes the catch way outside the lane (don’t even get me started).  However, he is good enough with the basketball that he can take this position and turn it into something.

After making the catch and letting his team clear out, Brook Lopez starts to drive towards the middle of the paint.

The defender however cuts him off, and Brook Lopez goes into his drop step move.  Again, like with Pau Gasol, Brook Lopez does a good job of establishing his pivot foot deep in the paint.

After Brook Lopez finishes with the drop step, the defense is expecting him to quickly go up with it.  However, he simply pump fakes, and after the pump fake, he tucks the ball in as he steps through the paint.

After the everything clears out around the paint, Brook Lopez goes up for the unchallenged little hook shot.  Here is the play in real time.  Notice how the defense tries to time his drop step and defend the shot that way.  Brook’s pump fake throws everything off:

The Face Up Move

The next post move that takes good footwork to master is the face up move.  This is used by post players who aren’t really strong enough to back there man down, but they are quicker than their defender and they use that to their advantage.  Someone who is really good at facing up is Carlos Boozer:

Here, Carlos Boozer makes the catch on the block, and he is in pretty good position.  However, there isn’t really any way that he is going to improve on it.  This is because he has the much bigger Andrew Bynum defending him.

So instead of trying to back Bynum down, Carlos Boozer faces up.  This quick face up takes the edge from Andrew Bynum and now gives it to Boozer.  After facing up, Boozer jab steps towards the middle.

Because Boozer is quicker than Bynum, he has to respect the jab step.  This puts him out of position and gives Boozer the baseline.

With that little bit of space now, Carlos Boozer picks up his dribble and starts to pull up for the jumper.

Boozer doesn’t create much space, but it is just enough to allow him to get off a shot that he is comfortable with.  Here is the play in real time:

The Turn Around Jumper

The final move we are going to look at today is the turn around jumper.  With post players (and defenders) getting longer and more athletic, this is becoming a go to move for some players.  Maybe the best right now at this move is Kevin Garnett.

When Garnett makes the catch, he quickly fakes over his right shoulder.  The fake doesn’t do much, but what I like about it is he does it before his dribble.  So many times you see a post player make a quick catch, take one dribble, and get stuck.  Garnett is very patient in the post, and he doesn’t waste his dribble too often, making him very effective.

After his pump fake, Garnett puts the basketball on the floor and starts his turnaround jumper move.

Garnett establishes his pivot foot as his left foot.  This is important, because now his move naturally puts his body in between the basketball and the defender (I told you we were going to revisit this again and again).  What makes Garnett so unique when he is taking this shot is that he jumps out.  I (or any other coaches) wouldn’t advise players to do this, but Garnett is so comfortable when shooting this that you can live with it.

Garnett’s long arms with his little fade on the turn around jumper, his shots are almost impossible block.  Here, he gets the shot off cleanly and knocks it down.  Here is the play in real time.