Defense

These notes on matchup zone defense are from Scott Peterman’s Ultimate Matchup Zone eBook. I hope they give you some ideas to apply to your zone defense. If you don’t play zone in games, then hopefully you can use them as you practice your zone attack against your second team in practice.

The Ultimate Matchup Zone eBook is paired with the Full Court Pressing Playbook as this week’s eBook Bundle.

Click here to find out more about the pair: Ultimate Matchup Zone and Full Court Pressing Defenses Playbooks

If you do have any questions about the Playbooks, please feel free to email me or call/text me at (317) 721-1527.

Here are some favorable zone defense situations:

• * Man to Man Matchup problems
• * 2 non-shooters who are both small.
• * You are playing against a high volume of post-up teams and penetration teams.
• * You are playing your second night of a back to back.
• * When you are coming out of a time-out. You can take the opposing coach out of the set play by changing to a zone defense.
• * Low clock situations with a sideline out of bounds play, baseline out of bounds play, or an end of the quarter play.
• * Limited preparation time
• * Foul Trouble

Zone Defense Issues that cause problems:

These are areas that you must have a plan to counter and practice.

• No one is in your “home” area.
• When your opponent spreads the floor with multiple shooters.
• When the zone offense screens the middle man.
• Back Screens on the weak side of a zone defense.
• When rotating two players to one. If in doubt then the smaller person stays.
• If two players try to defend one offensive player. You must talk on zone defense.
• If you have two offensive players in one “Home” area.

Zone Defense Tips:

• The quality of the shooter will dictate your ball pressure level on the offense.
• The Ball can’t rest in a “Bump” area. The “Bump” areas require reading and talking among teammates.
  If the ball is in the High Post area then it’s the 5 man’s responsibility.
• Watch out when you are switching on/off the ball in a bump area.
• The Player that is further from the ball must communicate more.
• If you don’t have someone in your “home”area then look at the next area and pick someone up.
• You must go “HOME” on all Skip Passes.
• When the ball gets below the free-throw line then all five defensive players must be below the free throw line.
• If you are more than one pass away then you should be thinking of protecting the basket first.
• If you are one pass away then you should be defending the ball first.
• All five players must Rebound.
• If you don’t know what to do, then go “Home”. Someone will come in your “Home” area.
• If no one is in your “Home” area, then build your help from the basket out.
• If we get caught sending two players to the same rotation then we want the strong side defender to stay with the ball, and the weak side defender to re-rotate to another man.
• Never leave the ball during a scramble situation.

Zone Defense Checklist | Think about how you want to handle these situations

• Ball Screens: Middle, Side, Step-up, and Elbow Pick and Rolls.
• Off Ball Screens: Stagger Screens, Double Screens, Flare Screens
• Passes: One pass away, Two passes away, and Skip Passes
• Areas where the offense will attack: Short Corner, Dribbling between areas, Low post flash, Low post
  flash into corner, High post flash, High post flash into perimeter step-out, Dives to the rim, Drives to the rim.
• Concepts: Baseline Runner, Overload, Underload, Defending two people in one space, 5 out on the
  perimeter, 4 out and 1 post player.
• Zone Offensive Sets and Alignments: 1-4, 1-2-2, 2-1-2, 1-3-1, 2-3, 3-2, Running “X” in the paint.
• Situations: Baseline out of bounds, Sideline out of bounds, Low Clock, End of the Game, After a free
  throw, After a press, After a missed shot, and Low clock resets.

These notes on matchup zone defense are from Scott Peterman’s Ultimate Matchup Zone eBook. I hope they give you some ideas to apply to your zone defense. If you don’t play zone in games, then hopefully you can use them as you practice your zone attack against your second team in practice.

The Ultimate Matchup Zone eBook is paired with the Full Court Pressing Playbook as this week’s eBook Bundle.

Click here to find out more about the pair: Ultimate Matchup Zone and Full Court Pressing Defenses Playbooks

If you do have any questions about the Playbooks, please feel free to email me or call/text me at (317) 721-1527.

This video sample from Kevin Eastman’s CoachingU Live came from his clinic entitled ” Defending the Pick and Roll the NBA Way.”

He served as an Assistant Coach for the Celtics from 2004 to 2013.

He finished his career prior to retiring as an assistant coach and VP of Basketball Operations with the Los Angeles Clippers.

At the bottom of this post, there are more links to other short videos with Coach Eastman on various topics.

Make sure your sound is on and you click the play arrow to see the video.

This four minute video clip came from a presentation entitled “Stimulate Your Defensive Thinking” with Veteran NBA Assistant Kevin Eastman.

He served as an Assistant Coach for the Celtics from 2004 to 2013. At that time he made the move to Los Angeles with Doc Rivers and was on the coaching staff and also served as the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Clippers.

He is now retired from the NBA and is on the speaking and clinic circuit full time.

The purpose for the video is to provide some thoughts and ideas for you to apply to your thought processes about your defensive system. AT the bottom of this post, there are more links to other short videos with Coach Eastman on various topics.

If you are interestd in learning more about Coach Eastman’s 45 minute presentation on imporving your defensive thinking, click this link: Kevin Eastman Defensive Thinking.

You can also see another 5 minute video on Skill Development from Coach Eastman by clicking on this link below:

Make sure your sound is on and you click the play arrow to see the video.

Some thoughts on pressing philosophy and a couple of drills to work on your presses.

These drills are from Trey Watts’ Meet the Press Playbook which is paired with the the Princeton Hybrid Offense Playbook this week’s eBook bundle.

You can find out more about the pair at this link: Princeton Hybrid Offense & Meet the Press Playbooks

If you have any questions about the Playbooks, please feel free to email me or call/text me at (317) 721-1527‬.

Keys to Pressing Success

Ball Pressure:

• We must be able to exert pressure on the ball. It is vital that the man pressuring the ball be able to pressure without fouling. Fouling will negate all the work that the team is putting into our pressure defense.
• We must not get beaten on straight line drives by ball handlers
• We cannot let a ball handler look over our press and pick apart the gaps with passing. He must be forced to dribble.

Sprint Mentality

• We must always have a sprint mentality. Regardless of what previously happened.
• We must sprint to rotate.
• We must sprint to recover.
• We must sprint out of traps.

Rotation

• We must rotate without hesitation. We can’t second guess whether we should go or where we should go.
• Repetition has built confidence in our rotations.
• Rotating out of traps is critical
• Rotating on ball reversal is critical.

Backtips

• We must become very good at backtipping dribblers.
• If we get beat off the dribble our defenders must sprint and look for opportunities to backtip the ballhandler
• It is very important that they sprint thru the backtip.
• They chase the ball handler until he either passes or picks up the ball.

Anticipation

• We our players to get good at anticipating what the offense will do.
• Will they try to beat us off the bounce?
• Where do they like to pass the ball?
• We need to learn to read the passers eyes and anticipate where he is going with the ball.
• Each is important that each player know what they are capable of doing on the court, coverage wise.

Backwash

• We get a lot of steals in what we term “Backwash”
• This is when the ball is headed up the sideline and our backside defenders are sprinting back down the middle of the floor.
• Usually the offense is looking to make a cross court pass for a basket, we ANTICIPATE this pass and try to steal it in the BACKWASH.

Diagrams created with FastDraw

Help Side Wing Drill

This drill is designed to work on help side wing play. One of the most important team attributes of great pressing teams is PATIENCE. Traps and high tempo are not always in order.

The drill begins with the ball in 1st trap situation with X2 and X4.

The ball is then reversed to the middle of the floor and dribble hard at the weak side wing or held for a two count as some teams like to do against pressure.

In either case, the wing must exercise patience in order to allow teammates to recover to proper spots.

If the wing comes up too fast, the opponent will “dump” it right over the top ad create a numerical advantage BE PATIENT ON BALL REVERSAL

NOTE: X4 AND X3 MUST OPEN HIPS AND SHOULDERS TO DIRECTION THE BALL IS THROWN AND GET TO SPOTS SHOWN. WING SPRINTING OUT OF TRAP MUST

BE READY TO COVER DIAGONAL PASS. X1 MUST CROSS FLOOR QUICKLY TO BALL SIDE. X5 MUST MOVE TO WEAK SIDE NORMALLY.

*** AGAINST PATIENT, METHODICAL OPPONENTS WE ARE LOOKING FOR 2ND TRAP OPPORTUNITIES.

Pass Escapes

Here we want to work on how we react when someone makes a pass out of trap.

We will start with the players in a trap in the first trap area.

We start by the coach dictating where they will pass the ball for their escape.

We want to work on the reveral pass first.

Once the 1st pass is completed we play it out live, down and back.

Diagrams created with FastDraw

 

Pass Escapes II

Here we have the offense complete a pass up the sideline.

We consider this to be a vertical pass.

We will sprint from behind and trap.

X5 covers sideline.

X2 SPRINTS to cover backside.

X4 SPRINTS back.

Once the pass is completed it is live, down and back.

These drills are from Trey Watts’ Meet the Press Playbook which is paired with the the Princeton Hybrid Offense Playbook this week’s eBook bundle.

You can find out more about the pair at this link: Princeton Hybrid Offense & Meet the Press Playbooks

If you have any questions about the Playbooks, please feel free to email me or call/text me at 765-366-9673.

Some Defensive Terminology used by retired longtime Utah Jazz assistant Gordie Chiesa.

I hope you can find a couple of things to apply to your defensive terminology and system.

Back on the Raise — when the shooter raises on his shot and the ball is released, two opposite defenders are sprinting back to half court in defensive transition.

“Backside Help” — Helpside Defense

Ballside/Backside — Divide the court down the middle. The ballside is where the ball is and the backside is where it is not.

Basketline — A direct imaginary line that illustrates ballside and back side defense.

Beat to Point — When the dribbler gets his head and shoulder by his defender, the defender must pick an angle and sprint to re-establish good defensive position to get the dribbler under control.

Bump & Under — defending cross-screen action, “lock-in” to the cutter, take the cutter to the screen and “release” and go under the screen and meet the cutter

Buying Time — One defender playing two offensive players by “stunting until a teammate can recover to his man.

Circle the Post — the post defender constantly changing post position.

Close Out — A defensive technique of getting Control of your body to contain the dribbler or challenge the shot. This happens when the defender gives help and now is rotating to the open shooter.

Contain — Staying in front of the dribbler, getting the ball handler under control.

Contest — No easy passes or shots, hand up, always challenging.

Corral the Dribbler — Nearest defender in the middle of the floor is in position and directing the defender on the dribbler. He is in a containment mode.

Corral Stance — The defender on the ball’s body position is influencing the dribbler to above the elbow area.

Dig out in Post — Perimeter defender drops to help, then challenges the post player’s dribble in the lane.

Eight Defense — an attempt in the back-court to create an 8 second violation. If the ball is passed to the front court at the end of a game, automatic foul

“Empty” — An offensive player leaves the strong-side area.

Fire – early trap before the screen is set on pick and roll coverage.

Footfakes – Quick step fakes by offensive players. The defensive player takes these fakes by creating space with the back foot to allow proper reaction.

Force Down – Push the dribbler to baseline.

F.U.S.D. — Fake up, stay down, close-out technique.

Get Legal — Regardless of your defensive job you must be legal when you position yourself. “Gold” — Denying the low post.

“Gold 2” — denying the low post, second phase keep denying the post player as he steps out off the block.

“Gold Butt Front” — a denial of the low post in which the defender is driving his feet and using his back and butt to discourage the post entry

“Gold Clamp” — the backside defender rotates across “jams’ the receiver of a lob pass and forms a trap.

“Gold Face Front” — a denial of the low post in which the defender has his back to the ball to discourage the post pass.

“Gold Slip Front” — a denial of the low post in which the defender is shoulder to shoulder with one leg above the post player encouraging the pass to create a steal

“Gold Sandwich” — The 2nd defender is discouraging a post pass by playing behind.

Helps — When one defensive player moves to help another defensive player to stop penetration or challenge a shot.

Heipside — The opposite side of the floor that the ball is on.

Help the Helper — The secondary help defender gives support and “stunts upw to contain the offensive player of the primary help defender until he can recover back.

Hit — aggressive double team on the dribbler both in the front court and backcourt.

Inverted — Regardless of defensive position, keep “Bigs” guard basket area and ‘Smalls” out on the perimeter.

Jam Point — Forcing the outlet receiver to go back for the ball.

Jam Outlet — On rebounds the nearest player pressures outlet pass to delay break.

K.B.I.F. — Keep Ball In Front

“Knock Off” — A big defender bumping out a small defender to perimeter after a Big/Little Mismatch inside.

Late Peel Back — emergency switch where the beaten defender pursues back to a cutter

Level of Ball — In transition, all defensive players must get below the ball in order to be in the Corral Position”.

Line — Imaginary line drawn between the offensive player you are guarding and the ball.

“Load to the Ball” — All help defenders are in position on the strong side and forming a defensive wall.

Lock and Decide — “lock-in” to cutter’s body, stay connected and take the cutter to the screen and
decide to “ride” or “shoot the gap”

Lock and Ride — lock-in” to cutter’s body, stay connected and take the cutter to the screen and “ride
over the top”

Lock Screens — Put chest on the screener to force the screen to be set further up and away from the
basket.

Lock/Trail — Forcing the baseline cutter, and being ready to trail to go in only one direction.

Lock/Trail 2 — defending loop action the defender of the second screener is creating a double team
on the catch on the wing

Most Dangerous Man — In transition when determining who to guard we must get to the most dangerous offensive player first; not necessarily our own man.

Muck — the help defender drops into the lane before the ball is passed to “tag/clog” the paint area Nail — The help position in the middle of the floor across the foul line extended

Open & Through — ‘lock-in” to the cutter, take cutter to the screen and shoot the gap by sliding through between the screener and your teammate who opened up.

Pack It In – A concept in which the defensive players are in a “corral presence” at the elbows or at the pro lane line to shorten different driving gaps.

Plug — The defender at the “Nail position”.

Point of Pick-Up — The area of the court where the defense will pick-up and start defending.

Pre-Rotate — A designated help defender who rotates early to take on the cutter whether rolling or flaring. Protect— Protect the basket area, take away lay-ups.

“Red Dog” — Hard trap action defending screen/roll.

Release — When the big man rotates back to the basket, he releases the protector to recover back to his own man.

Ride to the Backside — “lock-in” to cutter and influence the cutter to the backside of the floor into “tags”

Rotation — A defensive player leaves his own offensive player to stop the ball or protect the basket.

Shade the Ball!Man — The defender slightly angles his body left or right to influence either the ball or man to cut or drive in a less dangerous direction.

Shift— Movement up or down an imaginary line in relation to the ball.

Silver — playing behind in the post.

Sink — help defender drops below the level of the ball to pick up a new offensive player

Split Defender — when doubling the post, this perimeter defender takes the first pass opposite.

Spy — in transition, the defensive point guard “jams” the inbound pass receiver in order to force him to come back and catch the outlet pass.

Step Up and Stick — the help defender stays “at home” on dribble penetration at the ball side corner.

Strong — nearest baseline big man rotates early above the strong side block vs. a wing isolation.

“Strong I” — Imaginary direct line that establishes baliside or is occupied by the backside defender.

Swarm — Intense body pressure with active hands going after the ball is picked up.

Swipe Hand movement attacking the ball usually in pick and roll defense or as a help defender in the post.

Switch and Fight — after emergency switching action, the mismatched defender has to fight off by dpeeling back” looking to steal or getting into a “Gold” (front) position

“Tag” — Help defender steps across chucking/swiping at the cutter usually entering the paint.

“Take On” — Ride/stay on the cutter’s body

Tandem — In transition the two defenders are back in recovery. The top defender stops the ball and the back defender takes the first pass out in a close-out position

Tandem — In transition the two defenders are back in recovery. The top defender stops the ball and the back defender takes the first pass out in a close-out position

Trail – Follow cutters off baseline screens then recover

Trapping — Sending a second defender to trap the ball out on perimeter.

“Turning’ — Making the dribbler change direction usually in the back court.

“Up” — Maximum pressure on the ball.

White — nearest defender corrals and slow traps the offensive threat on perimeter.

Wide — all help defender’s hands are spread out and active.

— Double team in the post.

“X Big” — a double team of the post by the top big defender

“X Cutter” — a double team of the post off the cutter

“X Nail” — a double team of the post from the nail position

“X Switch” — backside screener switches onto cutter

Zoning — The help defender is protecting against penetration by staying in a direct line between the dribbler and the basket.