While watching a basketball game, or playing pickup basketball you may have heard the term “mouse in the house” and wondered what those people meant by that. So what exactly is the significance of the term “mouse in the house” in basketball?
The term “mouse in the house” is typically use when a bigger player gets the opportunity to post up a smaller or weaker player. Announcers will say this after a play that matches this description, or a player may actually say it during play to let his teammates know he has a legitimate mismatch down low.
How Do Players Get These Mouse In The House Mismatches?
There are many ways players can wind up in these situations, but there are a few common reasons.
Fast Break Situations
Sometimes in a fast break, the two players that wind up down the court are mismatches. The bigger player will sometimes immediately post up and look for the pass to easily finish over the smaller defender.
Double Team Situations
When a team rotates to help cover the ball handler, it often leaves smaller defenders out on their own against bigger players. This is a classic situation where you may see players calling for the “mouse in the house” as they look to take advantage of the mismatch.
Switching on Screens
When teams have shooters that you can’t give any space to, the smartest thing to do is switch screens. This is good to not give players any space to shoot, but bad in terms of giving up mismatches. This is because if a power forward is setting a screen, a smaller guard will switch and get caught guarding a power forward leading to a “mouse in the house” situation.
Mismatches In General
Sometimes even when two players play the same position, there is a big difference in strength. In these instances nothing out of the ordinary needs to happen, it’s just the natural matchup that the game presented. A good example of this is when one team plays small ball, and one doesn’t. In this case the center on the team that doesn’t will have a great mismatch.
How Do You Get Position On a Smaller Player In Basketball?
Smaller players may try and front you if you have position. If this is the case, there are a couple things you could do to get in proper position. If you don’t know what we mean by fronting, we mean someone standing in front of you, instead of behind you in the post, denying you the ball.
How To Deal With People Fronting You In The Post
If you have to deal with this situation, it could be annoying. However we have the solution. When someone is defending you this way you should either:
A. Call For a Lob Pass Over The Top
If you’re really that much bigger, you should be able to just have them lob it up. However, sometimes they have another help defender waiting for the lob. If this is the case, go to option B.
B. Have The Offense Swing The Ball To The Other Side
When the offense swings the ball to the other side it gives you an opportunity to seal the defender, cut across, and get an opportunity for a post up on the other side of the block. This should be done especially if it’s that big of a mismatch.
Conclusion
Now when you hear the term mouse in the house, you will know exactly what it means and you also know what types of situations can lead to these mismatches. If you found this post helpful, please share it with others to help spread your basketball knowledge! Also click on the tags below in order to explore more content on basketball and other topics: