Just Out of Reach, or a Just Sew Story

 They called him "the Tailor," since he was so good at seams...

Two thoughts here.

Treasure: 

I've noticed an area between opponents where one is forward of the second.  The seam that you can exploit is between them and just out of reach of the forward opp.  The forward guy goes for it, it's too close to let it pass, but he only gets the paddle top edge on it.  Or it just splits the court up the middle.  The back guy is going to have trouble handling it, even if he doesn't just stop after seeing his partner try to hit it.  

Granted this is a small area, but it seems worth looking for.  I think the seam is wider than you would think as a lot of players will not let any kind of a near ball go by.  Then there is the tendency of not moving one's feet and we have the perfect storm of a pickleball point.  A ball that is hit with some side spin to go around the forward guy works quite well.  It has a high aesthetic value as well.

If you grant me that this seam exists, and if you look for it, you will see it too, then the question is how to create the needed separation between the opponents.

Some opps will do the hard work for you, as some will not follow a service return to the kitchen line.  Once that happens the forward/backward gap is produced.  Then you want to temp the opps to hit to the player who is facing the back opponent.  From there it is an easy cross court shot to take advantage of the gap.

This gap also occurs if you can keep one of the opps back and keep them there.  Again you are looking for a cross court shot to finish the point.  This scenario will more likely show up against the serving side.

 

Defense:

There is defense to this.  If you are on the side with the gap, the solution is to dink or drop to the side where your partner (or you) is at the kitchen line.  This is basically a short soft cross court shot, that doesn't allow the opps a cross court shot and allows the back player to advance and eventually close the gap.  A softer shot allows more time to advance.  Just avoid hitting it hard at the opponent in front of you.

A lob would probably work too, as it gains some time for your side.

And the best defense is to avoid creating the gap in the first place.  Do your part and... always follow your service return into the kitchen line, and... Don't go up to the KL unless your partner can (and will) join you.  (You can get away with an early rush if your last name is Waters or Johns, otherwise stay with your partner.)