Who Else Wants To Learn The Secrets To Defensive Basketball Success?

"At Last! Defensive Basketball Plays That Really Work... Even If Your Team Is
Small, Slow, or Inexperienced!"

	14 killer defensive basketball plays explained with step by step diagrams and video
	How to use the 2-2-1 Corner Trap to exploit weak ballhandlers and force easy turnovers
	The single biggest "key" to defensive basketball success (HINT: it has more to do with talking and listening than shuffling and sliding)
	How to wreak havoc and confusion in your opposition by using the sneaky "Shanghai" Zone Defense
	And much more...

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Defensive Basketball Plays

Defensive basketball plays can focus on several different things. Some plays attempt to control the pace of the game and run down the clock. Other plays try to deny passes from the offense, while still others are focused entirely on stealing the ball or forcing mistakes. Depending on their needs, coaches can find a variety of easy, successful plays to use in competition.

Choosing the Right Defensive Basketball Play

For some coaches, choosing the right defensive basketball play is difficult. In competition, coaches should look at the offense they are up against and determine what is most potent about their attack. From there, coaches can choose a play appropriate to shut down that offense.

If a team is especially good at moving the ball around the court, coaches will need to choose a play that focuses on denying passes in order to overcome the offense. If they are especially good at scoring, a better play might be one that restricts their movement in the middle, forcing harder shots. The ability to select solid defensive plays is often what gets coaches into the basketball hall of fame, don't neglect this key area when working with a youth team.

Help and Defend

Man-to-man defense requires players to cover one person regardless of where they go on the court. In the Help and Defend play, Player 2 moves in to help stop the penetration of Offensive Player 1when Player 1 is unsuccessful.

Player 1 defends Offensive Player 1, who has the ball. If Offensive Player 1 manages to get around Player 1 by dribbling, Player 2 leaves Offensive Player 2 momentarily to help prevent any penetration by Offensive Player 1.

In the meantime, Offensive Player 1 passes to Offensive Player 2. Seeing this, Player 2 recovers his spot and defends against Offensive Player 2. All players one pass away play a few steps closer than normal to the ball in order to help stop penetration on their side.

Coaching Resource: If you are looking for more help with the basketball plays, check out The Coaches Clipboard

Zone and One

For teams with one strong shooter, defenders should consider the Zone and One play. Players 2-5 line up like a box around the basket, protecting their area from penetration and passes. Player 1 plays man defense, staying on the strongest shooter in hopes of shutting down that avenue of scoring.

Players and coaches must be careful of the middle of the box, where there are no defenders. This makes it easy for the offense to get off a successful pass right under the basket, so players have to know when to move into the area and when to maintain their true zone defense.

Defensive Basketball Strategies

Defensive basketball plays are designed to help the defense shut down the most effective part of an offense. Sometimes this is the shooting ability, but sometimes it is particularly good passing or use of time. Man-to-man and zone defenses, such as those shown here, are most useful for different situations, though all teams should have a basic understanding of both techniques.

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