How to defend without fouling in basketball

How to Block More Shots in Basketball Without Fouling

January 28, 2021 by Jesse Parker

One aspect of basketball that has always been crucial to winning games is defense, and within the subject of defense, comes the issue of blocking shots.

Blocking shots is the best way to deny your opponent from scoring the ball, yet it is also the most dangerous one because many things could go wrong and turn against you when you try to block a shot.

The usual scenario is this:

You could either foul your player, or be pump-faked and get scored on after taking the bait and jumping.

Usually when a player pump fakes you, he wants to get you in the air so he could get around you, or in worst cases, get you fouled and squeeze that and-1.

So, in order to contest on your opponent’s shot, you need to learn how to defend properly without getting yourself into foul trouble.

Being a good blocker is not easy though, even huge players such as DeAndre Jordan (6’11 in height) only average about 2-3 blocks per game.

That goes to show you just how hard it is to be blocking in games since teams in the NBA have such a good offense these days.

What Makes A Good Blocker?

Being a good blocker heavily depends on your physique. Height and size are huge factors for becoming a good blocker. In the NBA, the players who are above 6’10” and close to the 7 feet range are usually the best blockers.

Also, long hands and arm-span play an important role here. We use our hands to block when we jump, so the longer your hands are, the further you can get, thus giving you a better chance to contest on your opponents’ shot.

But not everything relies on physical traits. There are other things that are equally important for being a good blocker such as your vertical jump (see more about that here), quickness, reading the offense well and most importantly your timing.

How JaVale McGgee Trains To Block Shots

This next video shows how one of the leading players in the NBA, JaVale McGgee does it. So pay attention and watch how you should go for blocking a shot the right way.

P.S. In order to become a good shot blocker you first need to increase your vertical jump. The best program on the market right now for improving your jump quickly and efficiently is the Vert Shock program, and it’s what I used myself.

The program provides important information and lays down the path that will take your vertical to the next level. You will have the opportunity to show the world that even short guys can become fearsome blockers.

Jesse Parker

Born and raised in sunny Florida, Jesse Parker grew up spending most of his days outdoors playing hoops and honing his basketball skills. He has a huge love for the game and is always striving to get better at it. His latest obsession is the subject of vertical jumping and dunking.

Defensive Close Out Fundamentals -- 5 Keys to Better Close Outs

By Joe Haefner

Home > Coaching > Basketball Defensive Strategy > Man to Man > Defensive Close Out Fundamentals

Great close outs are VITAL to your defense.

If you're constantly getting beat by the offense due to poor close outs, your team defense instantly becomes worse.

When the offense is at a constant advantage due to poor close outs, your team defense will suffer. The offense will get more easy looks and your defense will get more fouls which leads to key players spending less time on the floor and the offense getting more easy foul shots when they get in the bonus.

Here is another thing to think about...

On every single pass that the offense makes in a half court setting, there should be a defensive close out. Now how many times does that happen in a game? Against good offensive teams, you could have at least 5 close outs per possession. 50 possessions in a game and you have at least 250 close outs.

30 games in a year and there is at least 7,500 close outs!

Poor close outs wreck your team defense and lead to more points scored against you. And close outs occur hundreds of times per game!

That's why some of the great defensive coaches start most defensive drills with a close out. They understand how vital it is to a team's defense. It'd probably be wise for you to do the same.

Here is a sneak peak into our NEW product called Jim Huber's Man To Man Defense. In the video clip below, Coach Jim Huber does a great job of breaking down close outs.

Why should you listen to Jim Huber?

For those of you unfamiliar with Coach Jim Huber, he coaches some of the best high school players in the nation. He is a coach and director of operations for Mokan Elite who is a team in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL). Since Jim's team competes nationally and they often face teams with more physical talent, great defense has been a staple for Jim's teams to win tournaments and compete in the EYBL.

Jim has coached defense at almost all levels, ranging from 4th grade to college.

5 Keys to Better Close Outs

Here are 5 tips mentioned in the video above.

1. Be in your defensive stance.

   If you are in an athletic stance with hips back and knees bent, this saves time because you are ready to sprint to the shooter.

   "Be like a sprinter."

2. Sprint to the ball.

   Sprinting to the shooter as quickly as possible is VERY important.

   1 - If the offense is going to shoot, they will have a contested shot which dramatically lowers their shooting percentage.

   2 - A properly timed closeout will make it more difficult to drive past you. If you delayed your closeout and are still sprinting to the shooter who already has the ball, they can easily use your momentum against you and drive past you.

3. Chop your steps.

   You want to chop your steps or use a quick stop to slow your momentum so you can defend the dribble drive.

4. Hands Up

   By having your hands up, this leads to a contested shot, prevents direct post passes, and results in more deflections for your team.

5. Mirror Offense and Force East-West

   "Feet to feet."

   "Belly button to belly button."

   The purpose of mirroring the offense is to force the offense east-west and away from the basket. You don't want any easy straight line driving lanes to the basket because this typically breaks down the defense and gives more efficient scoring opportunities to the offense.

We hoped that these close out tips helped you in some way. If you have some more helpful tips, please share below.

 
UPDATE 5/12/13: Jim Huber's new DVD set is now available here.

What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...

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.

The language of basketball. Unsportsmanlike and technical foul, personal and zone defense

September 17

Our site presents the seventh issue of the rubric Language of basketball . In it, we talk about basketball terms - borrowed words, specific expressions and jargon - the language that all participants and fans of the game speak. Each word is accompanied by a video tutorial with illustrative examples.
We bring to your attention the seventh series of the project The language of basketball , in which we will analyze in detail four terms: unsportsmanlike foul, technical foul, zone and personal defense.

Unsportsmanlike foul
An unsportsmanlike foul is a personal reprimand against a player who, in the opinion of the referee, did not legally attempt to play the ball directly in accordance with the rules. An unsportsmanlike foul is called on the offender and a free throw(s) is awarded to the opposing team, after which the ball is passed to that team for a midfield throw-in.
Usually unsportsmanlike fouls are called in case of a gross violation of the rules that can lead to an injury to the player, as well as a deliberate foul in situations where the attacking side has a high probability of hitting the ring. So, for example, a similar punishment follows when trying to disrupt fast attacks, if the player who violates the rules is the last defender on the way to the ring.

Technical foul
A technical foul is a foul not caused by contact with an opponent. Called for unsportsmanlike behavior: disrespectful treatment of opponent players, referees or match commissioner, insulting or provocative gestures, delaying the game, entering the playing court without the referee's permission. A technical foul is called on the offender and a free throw(s) is awarded to the opposing team, after which the ball is passed to that team for a throw-in from the middle of the court.
Due to the similarity of penalties, technical and unsportsmanlike fouls are often confused. It should be remembered that an unsportsmanlike foul is punished only by players and only for game violations. Technical fouls can be received both by basketball players on the court and by representatives of the bench. They are associated with non-playing moments and can be recorded both at the time when the ball is “live” and when it is “dead”.