Layer 4 is NOT about Dribble Penetration. You can dribble penetrate at any time in any offense. But that usually means the end of the offense.
Layer 4 in the
Read & React is about how the offense
continues if Dribble Penetration fails or Penetrate, Draw the Defense, and Pass does not produce a shot.
I don't think most understand WHY we Circle Move on Dribble Penetration in the Read & React. Here’s why:
Elementary Reason: Receivers moving vs standing are harder to guard.
Advanced Reason: Defensive help and rotation moves in the opposite direction as Circle Movement.
Engineering Reason: What if the drive fails or what if the drive and pass fails to produce a scoring opportunity? The reason to Circle Move is to continue action with another Layer of the R&R if the drive fails. That requires everyone to be on SPOTS. (All layers START on spots and END on spots in order to have continuous linkage of layers or basketball actions.)
When I was first engineering the Read & React (8 years ago), we did not Circle Move when someone Dribble Penetrated. That produced a problem: The empty spot from where penetration occurred was being filled by the next player (due to the habit of Layer 1) and the spot behind the filler was being filled, etc. That meant
some were moving on the perimeter while
others were not. The spots that were not being filled were the highest percentage
