How to defend taller players in basketball

How to Guard Taller People in Basketball | Live Healthy

By Dan Howard

Matching up with a player who is taller than you has some pros when defending far from the basket, but presents a matchup problem in the low post. You can use your quickness to crowd and take away your opponent's perimeter shot and steal the ball away if they try to dribble at you. Dealing with a taller player close to the basket is a tougher proposition, so do your best to establish proper defending position and play passing lanes to keep your opponent from catching a clean entry pass.

Perimeter Defense

Beat your opponent down the court and be prepared to defend by the time he reaches the three-point line.

Stay as close as possible to a tall, skilled shooter when you guard him near the three-point line. Actively slide your feet from side to side to stay near your opponent and minimize shot opportunities.

Chop your hand downward at the ball to slap it loose as your opponent starts a shooting motion. Stripping the ball before it reaches shoulder height is more effective than trying to block a taller player's shot.

Raise your hands straight up and position your body as close as possible to your opponent's without fouling them during a shot attempt.

Wave your hand in front of your opponent's face to disrupt his view of the basket as the shot is released. Take care not to hit your opponent in the face.

Lunge forward to slap the ball away if a taller opponent faces you and dribbles. Aim your arm swipe for the airspace a few feet above where the ball hits the court, and time your steal attempt so that you begin reaching at the moment the ball leaves his hand for the floor.

Fronting the Post

To front the post, stand between your opponent and the player with the ball. Only front the post when you have a teammate positioned to help on a pass over your head.

Turn your torso so that it's at a 45-degree angle to your opponent.

Extend your near arm into your opponent's waist and extended your other arm up into the passing lane.

Look over your shoulder at the ballhandler.

Rotate around your opponent to stay between him and the ball as it is passed or dribbled around the perimeter.

Spin back to a normal post defense stance if the ball swings to the other side of the court or if your help defender becomes busy and can't help guard against a pass over the top.

Post Defense

Make contact with your opponent as far from the basket as possible.

Lean a bent forearm into your opponent's lower back to maintain your current position.

Bend your knees and crouch down if your opponent tries to push you out of position. Pushing back at a point below your opponent's center of gravity improves your chances of maintaining defensive position.

Call for a teammate to help if your opponent gets the ball in a good position that you can't defend alone.

Rotate your body toward the basket the moment a shot goes up. Spread your arms out and thrust your bottom into your opponent to box him out. Push backward with a low center of gravity to move your opponent away from the rebound.

References

• Layups Coaching Blog: Guarding a Taller Player
• The Coach's Clipboard: Basketball Rebounding

Writer Bio

Dan Howard is a sports and fitness aficionado who holds a master's degree in psychology. Howard's postgraduate research on the brain and learning has appeared in several academic books and peer-reviewed psychology journals.

How to Play Against Taller Basketball Players

Basketball can be a tall task to take on if you are a small player. The better the skill level you are playing, the taller the players you will face in competition.

How do you play against taller basketball players? There are a number of different strategies that you can use to gain an advantage against your taller opponent. Using your skill, ball handling, and basketball I.Q. will go a long way in competing against your bigger competitors. Being able to make the open shot consistently when you do get an open look at the basket is important as these opportunities become much more difficult for the amount of space a taller player can gain when compared to a smaller player.

Using a variety of the tips listed below will help you score more points and play better defense on the players you come across who have the height advantage. These tips will help you outsmart your taller opponent and help you realize what you need to work on to help you at the next level.

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How to score over bigger defenders?

You may have played against players that are much taller than you playing the same position. You realize while your playing you are finding you are having to adjust to the taller players and bigger talent. Basically the better you are, the better the competition you will face, the better competition is always taller in basketball. This means you are going to have to be an excellent ball-handler and shot-creator to be able to score on taller defenders.

Smaller players need to have an advantage and that is the ability to have the ball on their hand like a string. Now that doesn’t mean you absolutely need to be able to cross players up like Kyrie Irving, but it does mean your ball handling has to be polished. The times you do get an open shot, you need to be able to make the shot with high accuracy.

Players in the NBA who are 6 feet and under are not like their taller competition, they have to stand out in a way that makes them taller than their actual height. This means they have far superior strengths in their game that stand out among other players. Usually, this is speed, ball-handling, and a consistent jumper.

How to get past taller defenders in basketball?

The truth is the smaller you are when compared to your opponents the quicker and more skilled you need to be, period. A taller player guarding you can afford to be the slowest guy on the court if he is long in stature. The player can get to where he needs to be on defense using his length to his advantage.

Having a great jab step with some fakes is necessary to be able to blow by the taller defender. In some cases it may not be enough to just get past him if he is trailing behind you ready to block your shot from behind when you attempt a layup or shot.

Taller players love to jump and block shots especially when the player they are guarding are smaller than them. This is a great opportunity to pump fake when you are in a triple threat stance to get them off their feet. Anytime time you can get them of their feet you are going to be able to get an open shot off if you follow the pump fake with a dribble towards the basket.

Speed Kills

You need to use your speed to your advantage, and not just when you are setting up on offense. You have to get the taller defender to bite, or in a bad position so you can use your speed to not just go by him but blow by him.

This can be in transition, in which you are pushing the ball down the open court.
When you receive the ball on the outside and the defense is trying to recover.
Taking advantage of the speed vs size mismatch at the top of the 3 point-line.

These are just a number of examples of when you can find the opportunity to score. look for these opportunities on the court, they are the same every game. Find your advantage, don’t play the game aimlessly, but actually think.

Smaller players have had this happen to them often, they are one on one with a much taller player who is meeting them at the basket. They go up for a layup, only to get the ball blocked viciously at the rim. What did this player do wrong? They didn’t finish high off the backboard.

Finishing high off the backboard is necessary against taller opponents to not get your shot blocked. Not only will you not get your shot blocked but your shot will not be altered either. When you shoot the basketball high off the backboard your giving yourself more space between you and your defender to shoot this type of shot. When shooting the basketball high with your right hand you will need to shoot it over the right corner of the layup square, this height can be between the top of the backboard and the top of the square. Somewhere in this middle is where you can aim for.

The top of the backboard is thirteen feet and the op of the white layup square on the back board is 12 and a half feet, you want to shoo the ball high when you lay it up between those two heights or more specifically between 12 feet and 12 and a half feet.

You must be able to use your body well on offense, if you as a smaller player this will help create space while protecting the basketball at the same time. If you are not doing this, your at a disadvantage as the bigger players will naturally over power anyone who is weaker then them, based on instinct alone.

There will be times where you will be hip to hip with your much taller defender and the only way your going to get up a shot is to use your body to do so. The best way to do this when attempting a layup is to think of using your body to push your defender underneath the basket while your able to get the layup off. This will not only help with avoiding a block but also drawing a foul in the process. This may require hanging in the air for a brief moment or picking your dribble up deeper in the painted area.

Basketball is a physical game, and as a smaller player you need to work on being able to use your physicality to your advantage on offense while also not shying away from it on defense. Player will take one look at you and think they can power through you with ease, unless you stand your ground and play physical defense yourself.

The closer you get to the basket and shoot the softer the touch needs to be when you release the ball this is why players use floaters. Two foot floaters are much more controlled an much more accurate then one foot.

This is a skill anyone can develop especially smaller guards. This is crucial to add to your game in order to score when meeting taller players just before the rim. The ability to beat your defender to the spot in front of the rim and shooting a floater is a high percentage shot. Shooting a 5 to 10 foot floater will help you get 4 to 6 points a game if you can make this a go to move.

Taller players who leave their man to help when you attack the paint to shoot a floater, this will allow you to drop a pass to your big man down low. The floater is a very difficult shot to block as it is a quicker shot and is very hard to time your jump to block as a defender when the player is shooting the ball.

If you are already a pretty good shooter this will immediately work to your advantage. Tall basketball players in general love to block shots, especially against their smaller opposition. Being able to shoot and a make a shot, or if the player knows you can shoot will be a big advantage to you. Whenever you do get the basketball you want to pump fake him hoping that he bites just a little bit. If so you can one-dribble pull up or get to an open spot in front of you and shoot. The pump fake especially works just after a made shot as the player thinks you want to shoot again and you do want to but only when your open.

Starting in your athletic stance, using the jab step is simple, when you jab step forward as if to say you want to drive, if the player moves just a little bit backwards, this will be a signal that you may return back to your athletic stance to take a shoot as the player as transferred some of his energy back to is heels. Think of the jab step as using your foot to either push the player backwards, or if the player does not go backwards you can go by him. Timing is very important!

The step back is an advance move. I only recommend this if you have good basketball shooting mechanics. If you don’t know how to do a step back here is a video that can help.

How to guard a big man in basketball?

When we talk about big men were not just talking about height but a player that is playing in the post and you are guarding that player. This may happen due to a mismatch or switch. It is extremely important to make it difficult for the post to receive the entry pass from the wing. This can be done by going from protecting the basket to three-quarter fronting to fronting the player completely back to protecting the basket. I would do this quickly, so the entry passer has to guess where you will be. You must not allow the post to seal you, he can’t seal you if he isn’t touching you so you may need to take a step back and as he backs up with you you can front him.

When there is a mismatch let your teammates know and have the wings deny the entry pass, you can also front completely hoping weak side defense helps.

The advantage you have over a taller player would need to be quickness and speed in order for this to work. When playing defense you really need to be in the player’s bubble making it very difficult for this player to dribble and get a shot off over you. This will require you to be aggressive and being a pest in the process, frustrating your opponent so that he is unable to do what he would like on the court. This is called hard nosed in your face defense.

Form time to time take a charge this will also frustrate them. When you are able to shift the player from comfortable to uncomfortable they tend to do things that are not apart of their game. Such as shooting from further out, dribbling too much, and taking bad shots.

Playing defense in basketball

Hello, dear visitors of the website basketball-training.org.ua ! Today I want to share with you my observations and conclusions, which I received as a result of 's desire to improve his game in 's defense.

It so happened that the first few years of playing basketball (mostly on street courts) my defense game consisted of constant attempts to cover the opponent's shot. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t work very well (I ended up either on the opponent’s back or on his head). It's a hell of a defense. A couple of years ago, I reconsidered my vision of playing defense, which I want to share with you.

Basketball Players The first video that gave any hint of developing a basketball player's defensive skills was 's three-minute performance by Bruce Bowen on the TNT Fundamentals series. Then there was a short article on how to play defense against A. Gomelsky. Well, the last, but probably the most important training video was the company's products Better Basketball - Better 1 on 1 Defense . Even after skipping over half of what was said (some because of the language barrier, something because of banal restlessness) and putting even less into practice, I became much better at defending myself.

By the way, in this article everything will be exclusively about personal defense (and not a word about zone defense, although it is also worth writing about). So, I highlight the following stages of defense in basketball:

Stage 1: Defense against a player without the ball.

The essence of defense is to prevent the opponent from getting the ball . This is probably one of the most difficult stages, but also one of the most effective. Agree, it is difficult to attack without having the ball. So, this stage of defense is incredibly difficult, because you have to give a lot of strength, not to be fooled by movements of the body, head and legs. A good result of such a defense is that the player does not receive the ball throughout the attack. Also a good result if the ball is received, but: in an awkward position (far from the ring; in the corner of the court) or in the last seconds of the attack. Shitty result - the ball is received quickly and conveniently.

Stage 2: Defense against the player who received the ball.

When a player receives the ball, he is in the classic "triple threat position". This means that he can shoot the ring, pass or start the dribble. This means that we will have to confront all three threats at the same time. So, the best option is to take a position that will minimize the range of movement of the enemy. First of all, close its strong side from the passage by sitting a little to the side of it. As an option - from the side of his supporting leg; those. You will know the direction of his movement (he will not step with his supporting foot).

Let's conditionally divide the opponent's body into 2 levels: the first zone - to the waist; the second zone is above the belt. So, in order to start dribbling, the ball must be in the first zone. Both zones are suitable for a pass, and for a throw, the ball must go from the first zone to the second. I hope it's clear for now. So, one hand is playing with the bottom zone (preventing dribbling and low passing), the second is defending against a shot and a pass from the upper zone. Remember about the legs: with bent legs it is much easier and faster to make a jerk. If the legs are straight, then for a jerk they must first be bent.

And one more piece of advice: pull the player all the time with your movements. Let the probability that these "ritual dances" help to knock out the ball will be small, but you will be able to knock the opponent out of his usual rhythm. And it's worth a lot!

Excellent defense: the ball is knocked out. Good defense - loss on pass, inaccurate pass, throw from an uncomfortable position.

Stage 3: Defense against the dribbler.

Assume that previous attempts to take possession of the ball have failed and the opponent has started to dribble. How to defend yourself then?

Let's not consider those situations in which the opponent is obviously weaker than you. It's just not interesting. The opponent is stronger, faster and jumpier than you - that's a good situation. Like I said, close his strong side. But if you don't know its strengths and weaknesses; you don’t know how to hold: from a throw or from a pass - that is, a good solution. We are trying to make sure that you are the leader. One side is obviously closed - and the player is deliberately skipped to the other. So you can not lose in the starting jerk and not guess the direction of movement: it can only go in one direction. Try to push the opponent with the ball to the end line, from where he can no longer comfortably attack the basket. Clamp into a corner, press to the line.

Again: close one side tightly. Better - if it will be his forte; if you don’t know which one is strong, close your weak side and let defenses under your strong side. And a safety net: sometimes it's better not to let a player throw from an average distance. Allowing him to get under the ring. After all, there will be a safety net in the form of a “big”, which cannot be thrown so easily.

Stage 4: Maintenance completed.

It can be a double step and a throw, a simple throw after a stop, a jump, a pivot (reversal), a series of displays, etc. Let's take a closer look at this.

Double step. Remember: he has 2 steps to complete the attack, and you have 2 steps to hit the ball down, and then another full step to block. I recommend doing this:

• A series of small touches to the ball during a double step (as if you were playing a drum). Thus, you will not knock out the ball, but you will disorientate it accurately. Yes, and in order to keep the ball, you have to make more.
• Trying to hit the ball from below! When hitting from above, there is a very high chance that you will hit your fingers - this is a foul. But from below: few people expect such a blow, few people close the ball from below. And taking the ball up for a throw, he will receive an additional impulse, the push of the ball - throwing it as it was previously thought would not be so easy.

A little tip: after picking up the ball by the opponent, very often the ball goes down, and this is done strongly and abruptly. Just substitute okay from below at the level of the opponent's lower back: he himself will knock the ball against your hand. This is a very cool and often unexpected trick for the opponent.

• If it was a jump stop, or just a stop, then you need to get as close as possible and raise both hands vertically up. Now you can not be afraid of a foul.

Stage 5: Jump Shot.

It's good if you jump high and sharp - then try to block at the moment when the ball leaves the thrower's hand. You can just try to brush it off at the moment when the supporting hand is no longer involved in the throw, and the ball is on the wrist. I will not talk about how to block-shot, this is a topic for a separate article.

Remember that you can block the thrower's view with your hand: just don't poke it in the eyes, just bring it closer to the thrower's face. A good way (if you have not already jumped out for a block shot, and the throw is being made) is to simulate contact with various organs of the opponent (guys, you understand what I mean). Belly, solar plexus, groin - all this interferes with concentration at the time of the throw. Well, and often on street sites there is a clap of hands: at games they can give a foul, but on the street it can bring down that very concentration.

And finally, I suggest watching the old film , about the individual protection of basketball players, filmed in the USSR. There are some really useful things in there (the movie is old - so turn up the volume).

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Well, that's all, the main points that will help you defend better without any drastic changes in the game. I am sure that each of you found something useful in this article. If you have any questions or comments - write them in the comments, I will be glad to discuss.

And this article is over, I wish you successful training and see you soon on the pages of our site.

Basketball team defense - CyberPedia