Cutting

Cutting refers to off-ball attacker movement, essentially toward the basket. A good cut can create an easy bucket either directly (the cutter receives the pass and scores) or indirectly by pulling defenders and opening space elsewhere.

Several cut types exist: the backdoor cut (when the defender turns their head, the attacker slips behind them toward the rim), the flash cut (horizontal move toward the ball), the UCLA cut (after passing, the passer cuts using a screen), and the give-and-go (pass and re-cut to the basket).

The Princeton offense system and Golden State's motion offense under Kerr rely heavily on constant off-ball cutting. Smart cutting requires defensive reading, timing, and complete trust between passer and cutter.

Statistically, baskets scored off cuts are among the NBA's most efficient (often above 65% FG).