Whenever I find myself in a conversation about my favorite subject: the Read & React, I will invariably talk about the 3 possible formations: 5 Out, 4 Out 1 In, and 3 Out 2 In.
My listeners will make some telling comments like:
“5 Out does not have an inside threat…”
“I’m worried about spacing when using 5 Out, etc,…”
“How do you rebound out of a 5 Out formation?”
You get the point.
These are good questions, nothing wrong with them, but as I said, they’re “telling”. They tell me that we need to look closer at the Read & React. Perhaps my listeners just don’t understand some basics about how it’s engineered.
Anyone who has been on our website or read some threads in our forum knows at least one aspect of the Read & React that separates it from all other offenses: If you pass, then you MUST basket cut. Let’s look at what that does to our formations and spacing.
When your formation is 5 Out, the first pass will change the formation to 4 Out 1 In. From that moment on, there will be one player cutting with 4 players left on the perimeter. In other words, even if you’re initial formation is 5 Out, the spacing on the perimeter is occupied by only 4 players. 5 Out in the Read & React is actually a 4 Out 1 In offense with a constantly changing inside player (whoever is cutting).
When a shot goes up, there’s always one cutter caught in the act of cutting the lane – that’s one interior rebounder – and it changes with each pass. When someone says that there’s no inside threat when you’re playing 5 Out, it tells me that they don’t understand how the Read & React is engineered.
Similarly, when your formation is 4 Out, it’s actually 3 Out with 1 permanent post player and 1 “constantly changing” post player (the cutters). 4 Out equates to 2 inside threats. The spacing on the perimeter needs only to accommodate 3 outside players at any one time.
The Read & React 3 Out formation consists of 3 inside threats: the 2 permanent inside players with a 3rd inside threat that’s constantly changing with every pass. There’s lots perimeter space because once a pass is made, there’s only two perimeter players.
5 Out is only 5 Out when you first draw it up! The same is true with 4 Out and 3 Out.
