How to teach defense in basketball

Man-to-Man Defense - Complete Coaching Guide

The traditional man-to-man defense is by far the most common defense in the game of basketball today.

This is especially true as players progress to a higher level of competition. In fact, due to the great outside shooting of professional players, every NBA team almost exclusively plays man-to-man defense.

The man-to-man defense involves all 5 defensive players on the court being allocated one opposition player who they’re accountable for defending whenever they’re on defense.

Of course, there will be times when players switch opponents or help each other on defense, but for the most part, each player is responsible for one player from the opposition.

Learning to be a great man-to-man defender is perhaps the most important skill for a player to learn during their years of youth basketball.

No matter what defense a player goes on to play at the next level or on another team, the skills they learn playing man-to-man defense will transfer. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for players that solely learn zone defense.

If you’re coaching youth basketball, taking the time to teach your team man-to-man defense will go a long way to preparing them for the next level.

1. Every player needs to learn man-to-man defensive principles – It’s crucial that all youth players develop good man-to-man habits and understand man-to-man defensive principles.

2. Many Variations – There are many different ways to run your man-to-man defense depending on the team you’re playing against and what the strengths and weaknesses of your team are.

3. Preparation for future basketball – The better players get at man-to-man defense during their youth, the more opportunities they’ll get as they advance to higher levels of play.

1. There’s a lot to teach – Players will need to learn more defensive skills than if they were to play Pack Line defense or a zone defense. A lot of situations a player must know how to defend and where to position themselves.

2. It will take time for your players to successfully run – One of the most common reasons for youth coaches running a zone is that they don’t have enough time to teach a man-to-man defense. They’re right. There’s a lot to learn and it will take time. But it’s definitely worth it.

3. Unable to hide weak players – In the man-to-man defense, everyone is held accountable for their role defending the basketball and being able to help and rotate when needed.

While I’ve listened to coaches name hundreds of rules associated with the man-to-man defense, there are only 5 key rules that you need to teach to your players.

If you plan to run the man-to-man defense with your team, the next sentence is the most important thing you need to teach them…

Not allowing the opponent to into the middle of the lane from the top or the wings is the most important rule of man-to-man defense.

Instead, defensive players must use their stance and position themselves in such a way that the opposition can only dribble down the sideline and the baseline.

When an opposition player has the basketball at the top of the key, we direct them towards the sideline.

When an opposition player has the basketball on the wing, we direct them towards the baseline.

“Why the baseline instead of the middle?”

The reason we direct opponents towards the sideline and baseline is because it’s much easier to defend and rotate on a baseline drive than it is when a player drives into the middle of the lane.

This is because the help defenders roles and responsibilities are clear in regards to who is meant to help and rotate when the basketball is on the wings or in the corners.

When the basketball is driven into the middle, however, who is meant to help and who is meant to stay on their player becomes difficult to define which often leads to open scoring opportunities for the opposition.

How many times have you heard a coach scream out “Reverse the basketball!” to their players?

A lot, I bet. Perhaps you’ve even done it yourself.

There’s a good reason for it if you have… it works for the offensive team!

The more you can get the defensive team to move and rotate, the more gaps will open up in the defense and the number of open scoring opportunities will rise.

So when you’re playing man-to-man defense, once the basketball has been passed to one side of the floor, we never want to allow it reverse back to the top or the opposite side.

The players defending the ball-reversal should be in 100% deny the entire time.

This is the biggest difference between the Pack Line defense and the man-to-man defense.

In the Pack Line defense (which I often recommend), the players one-pass away from the basketball are helping in the driving lanes by taking away dribble penetration. This allows the basketball to be passed around the perimeter.

In man-to-man defense, since the players one-pass away from the basketball are denying the pass to their player, this leaves driving lanes open and means the on-ball defender is more accountable for keeping the player with the basketball out of the lane.

If an opposition player does attempt to drive down the middle, the player one pass away can quickly ‘stunt’ in their direction to get the offensive player to pick up the dribble, but they can never fully help.

If they do, it will often lead to an in-rhythm jumper or an offensive drive after a difficult closeout.

A defensive player must never allow their opponent to cut across their face in-between them and the basketball.

The ‘no face cuts’ rule will most commonly occur when the offense performs a ‘pass-and-cut’.

When an offensive player makes a pass to a teammate (they will still happen even if we’re denying them), the player defending the passer must immediately ‘jump to the basketball’ to force their opponent to cut behind them instead of in front.

This rule is also important when playing defense off the ball to stop players from flashing to the ball to receive a pass.

To put it simply, a defender must always stay between their man and the basketball whenever they’re playing off-ball defense.

The final rule is to ensure that players are playing correct off-ball defense.

Whenever the basketball moves, every defensive player on the court should be adjusting their positioning on the court.

By keeping the importance of this in mind, players will learn that they must stay alert at all times and anticipate passes that they may be able to deflect.

As the great Don Meyer puts it…

“Positioning, anticipation, and technique create quickness. Therefore, you can always get quicker.” – Don Meyer

This is incredibly important because the difference between a steal and an open layup or a missed steal and a break down of the defense can be a fraction of a second.

There are 3 roles you can be in when you’re on the court playing man-to-man defense…

1. On-ball defense
2. Deny defense
3. Help defense

In this section I’m going to talk about each of them in detail and what’s required of a player when they’re in each role.

Each player understanding all of these roles is crucial to good team defense. Being out of position by even a small amount can be the difference between blocking a shot or giving up an easy layup.

Positioning is everything.

The role of the on-ball defender in a man-to-man defense is to contain the offensive player while influencing them towards the sideline and baseline.

While containment is the ultimate goal regardless of where the ball is on the floor, if the defensive player is going to get beat, we want it to be towards the baseline instead of the middle. This is why the on-ball defender slightly overplays the middle.

It’s imperative that all defenders on the court have the ability to contain their man consistently. If not, dribble penetration will break down your defense very quickly.

In fact, I never encourage on-ball defenders to reach in for steals unless the offensive player mishandles the basketball. There’s a far higher chance of them getting called for a foul than getting a steal.

Here are the 5 keys to playing great on-ball defense:

1. Desire to be a great defender.

The biggest differentiator between a great defender and an average defender is that a great defender wants to be a great defender.

All coaches must emphasize the importance of learning how to be a great defender and the benefits your players will get from the skill as they progress to a higher level of competition.

A player who desires to be a great defender is willing to stay down in a stance the entire possession, chase their opponent around the court, dive on any loose basketball to gain possession, take a charge if they’re in the proper position, etc.

2. Stay in a balanced stance.

An on-ball defender must stay in a balanced stance at all times so that they’re ready to react to the offensive player as quickly as possible.

This means they should stay low, keep their chest up, and place an even amount of weight on each leg.

3. Slightly overplay the middle to force the offensive player sideline or baseline.

The player defending on the basketball should have their head in line with the opponent’s shoulder on the side you don’t want them to drive.

4. Keep an arm’s length distance at all times.

The defender should be able to stick out their arm full length in front of them and just be able to touch the player they’re defending.

5. Keep your eyes on the opponent’s chest.

It’s very easy for an offensive player to fake with their head, eyes, or body. The spot on a player that is most difficult to fake with is their chest.

As per rule #3, any player one-pass away from the basketball should be in a denial stance to deter any pass to their player.

A denying defender should have one hand and one foot in the passing lane at all times, their chest should be facing their direct opponent, and they should be looking over their lead shoulder to see both the basketball and their man.

This is important to note because I see far too many coaches teaching their players ‘ball-you-man’ stance when one-pass away.

The reason this is the wrong stance is because if your opponent was to suddenly backdoor cut, the denial defender would need to do a full 180-degree turn to defend it.

However, if your defender backdoor cuts when your chest is towards the player and you have a hand and leg in the passing lane, all it requires is the defender flicking their head around and the sliding in the deny position towards the rim.

The purpose of this is that we want to remove all easy passing options from the player with the basketball. This is why the man-to-man defense is an aggressive defense.

The distance a denial player should be from their man will depend on the distance the offensive player is away from the basketball. A good rule of thumb would be close enough to ensure you can close the distance and pick off the pass if a lob is thrown over the top.

Once again, the 3 keys to great denial defense are:

1. One hand and foot in the passing lane.
2. Chest towards your direct opponent.
3. Eyes over lead shoulder to see both.

Any defender two or more passes away from the basketball is playing help defense.

This requires the defender to be in ‘ball-you-man’ stance.

The ‘ball-you-man’ stance means that the defender is pointing one hand at their opponent and one hand at the basketball. They must be able to see both with their peripheral vision at all times.

The position of a help defender will vary depending on where the basketball is on the court and where their direct opponent is on the court at that time.

When the basketball is on the weak-side and below the free-throw line, the players two passes away will often be in either ‘High-I’ or ‘Low-I’.

This is an important concept to understand for the article so I’ll give you a brief introduction here…

When the basketball is on either of the wings or in one of the corners, there should always be 2 help defenders with at least one foot on the split-line (the line down the middle of the court).

1. A help defender close to the rim in the paint (low-I)

2. A help defender near the free-throw line (high-I).

By establishing these two help defenders, it makes it much easier for the defensive players to know their understand their roles and rotations on drives to the rim by opposition players.

Here are a couple of diagrams to give you an example…

Now, let’s get into how your team will actually run the man-to-man defense during a game!

First, I’ll talk about the positions the players should be in when the basketball is in different areas of the court.

After that, I’ll break down what rotations must occur on the floor when there is dribble penetration from the offensive team.

Whenever the basketball is within the lane lines at the top of the key, the team has one goal: Get it out of there!

As soon as the basketball is dribbled over the half-court line, the point guard defender (x1) immediately starts forcing the dribbler to the sideline by angling their defensive stance.

At the same time, the wing defenders (x2 and x3) pinch in and allow the pass to be made to a player on the wing.

(Note: When the basketball is at the top of the key is the only time that players one pass away don’t deny the pass.)

As for the help defenders (x4 and x5), both of them have a foot on their respective lane line.

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The goal when the ball is at the top is to get the basketball committed to one side of the court.

This can happen either with the point guard dribbling to one side or passing to a player on the wing.

Let me take a minute to explain why we allow the basketball to get from the top to the wing…

When the basketball is at the top of the key, the man-to-man defense is at its most vulnerable.

The reason for this is because on a drive through the middle of the lane, the defenders can be confused on who should help and who should stay attached to their player.

The confusion will often lead to easy layups and open shots.

This is because ball-side and weak-side has not been established.

However, when the basketball is established on one side of the floor, players on the floor know whether they’re in help or deny and what their responsibilities are making help and rotations much quicker and easier.

When the basketball gets to the wing, the most important thing is that you don’t allow the basketball to be reversed back to the top of the key.

The player defending one pass away towards the top (x1) must be in complete denial position.

The on-ball defender (x2) should be playing on the high foot of the player with the basketball to take away the middle drive and force them to drive towards the baseline if they choose to dribble.

If the offensive player does attempt to dribble middle, the on-ball defender should only slide vertically to force them to the top of the key.

As for the corner defender (x4), they should be in full denial as they’re one pass away from the basketball.

(Side note: Although I don’t recommend it for youth teams, there can be a benefit to allowing the pass to the corner to occur since it removes even more offensive options.)

Looking at the help defenders, x3 and x5 should have a foot on the split line as the basketball is at the free throw line extended or lower.

This puts them in the best position to help, but still gives them time to recover and perhaps get a deflection if the players with the basketball decides to throw a skip pass.

Once again, when the basketball is passed to the corner, the most important thing is that we don’t allow the basketball to be reversed to the wing.

The player one pass away to the wing (x2) must be in complete denial and not allow the pass to be made to the wing.

The on-ball defender (x4) must aim to contain the player in the corner. But by overplaying the high side, if x4 is beaten off the dribble, it must be towards the baseline because there is help waiting.

The player in low-I (x5) is in help position anticipating the drive from the player with the basketball.

The player in high-I (x3) is in help position and is preparing to drop down and rotate if 4 drives the basketball and x5 needs to help.

The final player (x1) is in ball-you-man position and are as low as possible while still being able to intercept a pass to 1.

If your players aren’t able to make the correct rotations when an offensive players drives the basketball, you will have a very ineffective man-to-man defense.

Make sure you constantly drill the following rotations each and every practice.

As explained in the previous section, dribble penetration from the top of the key through the foul line is the hardest penetration to defend when playing man-to-man defense.

We never want to let it happen.

This can often occur against a great point guard, if the player defending the dribbler is playing too close to their man, or if we allow ball reversals and rotations and closeouts are poor.

But knowing this will occasionally happen, your players must know how to best defend it.

Here’s how to do it:

When the defender at the top of the key is beat and the dribbler gets into the lane, whichever defender is the lowest on the weak-side must step across to defend the basketball.

X3 doesn’t help on the drive since they’re one pass away. They can quickly stunt to try to make the driver hesitate or pick up the basketball, but they must not leave their direct opponent.

Since help always comes from the weak-side, x4 must step out and take away the corner three-point attempt.

The player that must help is x5 since they’re the lowest on the weak-side.

When x5 steps up to help, x1 must immediately rotate down and will now be the player that closes out on the basketball if the pass is made across court to 3 or 5.

When the basketball is on the wing our ball-side and weak-side are clearly established which is great for the defense.

On the baseline drive from the wing, if there’s an offensive and defensive player in the corner (x4), they do not help off a ball-side corner player.

Remember: Help always comes from the weak side.

The player at the top of the key (x1) is denying the ball reversal.

Then since the basketball is on the free-throw line or lower, we have high-I and low-I established in the key.

Low-I (x5) helps on the drive and meets to trap the dribbler just outside the paint. X5 and x2 trap the offensive player if they pick up the dribble.

High-I (x3) must rotate down and prevent the pass to 5 in the corner.

The final defender (x1) drops down and positions themselves so that they can intercept a lob pass made to either 3 or 1 or defend either of them if the skip pass is made over the top.

The middle drive from the wing is a bit more difficult and not a drive the defense ever wants to give up.

If the on-ball defender is correctly playing on the high side of the player with the basketball, they should be able to take a large slide or two vertically and cut off the drive or draw a charge.

If the on-ball defender has been caught out of position, the next goal is to force the offensive player to dribble to the top of the key.

If the on-ball defender has really been caught out of position and the drive is inevitable, the lowest weakside player must step across and challenge the shot and the correct rotations must take place.

X3 can quickly stunt on this drive with their back to the basketball in an attempt to make the offensive pick up the ball as long as they can quickly close out on their player without giving up the shot. They should never fully commit to a trap as it will leave the wing shooter open.

This can be a difficult rotation as if the dribbler crosses over the split line with their dribble, the help defender (ball-side and weak-side) changes.

Take a look at the following diagrams to see the differences and the rotations…

As you can see, allowing the middle drive ends up very problematic and confusing for the defense.

So make sure it never happens!

The rotations on baseline penetration from the corner are very similar to wing penetration.

The defender playing on the wing player (x2) makes sure to deny the easy reverse pass back outside.

The player in low-I (x5) is responsible for stepping across to set a trap with x4 if the player with the basketball decides to drive baseline to the basket.

If this occurs, x3 drops down and cuts off the passing lane to the player x5 was defending.

Finally, x1 drops and now has two offensive players they must position themselves in-between. If the interception pass is there, go for it. If not and the skip pass is made, x1 is responsible for closing out on either 1 or 3.

Dribble penetration from the corner or wing, while there’s an offensive player in the low post, isn’t common but can happen.

Here are the rotations when it does occur:

Since we 1/2 front on the low side when there’s a player in the low post, it’s easier for the low post defender (x5) to take one step across and trap the dribbler on the baseline with the on-ball defender (x4).

To take away the pocket pass to the low post player, the defender in low-I (x3) must step across and guard the pass to the low post player.

The defender in high-I (x1) must then drop and they’re responsible being in position to either intercept a lob pass or closeout on either 1 or 3.

To not give 4 an easy pass out of the trap, x2 must continue complete denial of the outlet pass to 2.

When there are offensive and defensive players in the high post, the defender does not help out on the drive as they’re too far away and all it takes is a pocket pass for an open jumper.

Instead, low-I (x3) steps across as traps the dribbler with the on-ball defender (x4) just below the low block.

The defender in the high post (x5), denies the pass to the high post player and doesn’t help.

The player denying the retreat pass (x2) continues to deny the pass outside.

This leaves high-I (x1) to drop in and is now responsible for intercepting the pass or closing out on 3 or 1.

On any skip pass, the most important thing is that the player closing out on the player who receives the basketball closes out in a banana cut so that there’s no middle penetration.

Every player on the team must be committed to sprinting to their next position on the flight of the basketball.

Often it’s not the closeout player who is too slow, it’s the players who were previously on the ball-side not sprinting into help positions quick enough.

Also, depending on what level you’re playing, you might want to run the shooter off the three-point line if they’re a good shooter.

Here are a few diagrams to show you close out rotations:

In the guide above, I break down the variation allowing the pass from the top of the key to the wing because I believe it to be the most effective way to play man-to-man defense.

Since the man-to-man defense is most vulnerable from the top, why would we want to keep the ball there by denying the pass to the wing?

But there are other ways to do it…

Is it easier to simply make a denying one pass away a universal rule including from the top?

Here are a few ways why you might consider denying this pass to the wing:

1. Players can sometimes get confused when exactly they should allow the pass and when they should deny.

2. It’s another rule for players to remember.

3. Sometimes putting more pressure on the point guard is a good thing!

4. Most teams begin their offense with a top to wing pass. By denying it, you will often disrupt the opponents offense.

Since there is no right or wrong answer to choosing to deny or allow the pass, each coach must decide individually after looking at the pros and cons.

It’s up to you!

Knowing how your team is going to defend the post is crucial to a great man-to-man defense.

You must have a consistent system that’s based on the strengths and weaknesses of the post players on your team.

But before we get into any of that, here’s the main rule for defending the post…

Don’t let it get there!

Allowing the basketball to get into the post is bad news for any defense. It will often lead to part of the defense collapsing or a silly foul by a post defender.

Before we discuss the ways to defend the post, here are 3 tips to keeping the basketball out of there in the first place…

1. Beat them down the floor

By beating the opposition post player down the floor, it takes away their ability to establish strong early position that can result in a quick pass inside and an easy score.

2. Great on-ball defense

Guards pressuring the player with the basketball can go a long way to discouraging the pass inside to the post player. Every on-ball defender should be active with their hands in the passing lane and tracing the ball.

3. Push them off the block

If a post player does establish position on the block, a post defender can move them further out by keeping their arm bar locked still while pushing the offensive player out with the strength of their lower body.

There are many different ways to deny the pass into the post, but here are my preferences:

(I’m not a fan of fronting the low post)

1. Basketball above the free-throw line.

When the basketball is above the free-throw line, the post defender should 3/4 front keeping themselves on the line between the basketball and their opponent.

For the offensive team to make this entry pass, it would have to be very accurate and the post defender will still have time to establish position between them and the basket.

Also, keep in mind that there is a player in low-I who can pick off any passes made over the top.

2. Basketball below the free-throw line.

When the basketball is below the free-throw line, the post defender should 1/2 front from the baseline side.

By doing so, they’re in perfect position to help on any baseline drives.

Also, since the pass is now shorter, only half fronting the offensive player will allow the defender to still be able to establish position behind if they’re unable to get a deflection on the pass inside.

There will be times when you come up against such a dominant low post player that you have no choice but to send help and trap them in the post.

When this happens, I recommend sending trapping with the player in the low-I help position.

Here’s how it works:

When 4 receives the pass in the post, x4 must immediately establish position behind.

Immediately, x5 will sprint across and set a trap on the high side with x4.

X2 drops to defend 5 and then x1 drops and becomes the interceptor.

Their role is to pick off any passes made to 1 or 2. If none are available for steal or deflection, they’re the first to close out to whoever receives the outlet pass.

On the ball-side, x3 never allows the simple pass out and is in complete denial while the basketball is in the post.

You can never have a great man-to-man defensive team if you’re not a great transition defense team.

Educate your players on the importance of this and then get them to buy-in and commit to transitioning back quickly after each offensive possession.

The secret to being a great transition defense team is that your players must know how many people are going to the offensive boards and how many people are to immediately retreat on any shot attempt.

The worst possible thing a player can do after an offensive shot is to stand and watch. Neither transitioning back on defense or attacking the offensive glass.

Most coaches refer to this as being in ‘no man’s land’. A place a player never wants to be!

Here’s what I recommend when running the man-to-man defense:

Send three players to the offensive glass and send two players back on transition defense immediately after the shot.

As the two players transition back, the goal is to establish a top defender and a bottom defender.

The bottom defender protects the rim while the goal of the top defender is to slow down the basketball and give the players that were competing for offensive rebounds time to recover on defense.

This is the method I’ve found the most success with, but it might not necessarily be the best option for your team.

For instance, if you have a very small team that never gets offensive rebounds, you could send all 5 players back immediately after each shot in an effort to never give up any transition baskets. There are numerous NCAA teams that currently do this.

Inbounds plays often provide great scoring opportunities for the offensive team.

They have well-thought-out plays and are in the perfect position to run them.

The main goal when defending a baseline in-bounds plays is to get the opponent to throw the ball to the top and set up their main offense.

If you can do that, you’ve successfully defended the BLOB.

Defending a baseline in-bounds while playing man-to-man defense can be done in two ways:

If you’re going to stick to the man-to-man defense on baseline inbounds, there are a few things you must be prepared to do to stop the opponent from getting an easy score.

a. Position the in-bounds defender near the rim

The main goal here is to take away the easy pass and score under the rim and force the opponent to pass out to the wing.

Depending on where the in-bounds pass takes place, the in-bounds passer’s defender should position themselves along the lane line connecting to the baseline to take away the under the rim pass.

b. Switch Everything

Since the up-screens and cross-screens can be difficult to defend on BLOB plays, I often recommend that teams switch everything.

The key is for defenders to stay below the offensive players and keep themselves on the basket side of their opponents.

Depending on the level of basketball you’re coaching and the rules of your league, you might consider running a 2-3 zone on inbounds plays.

Once the play has been in-bounded to either the wing or the top, players switch straight back into their man-to-man defense.

The reasons the 2-3 zone works so well on BLOB’s is because it floods the key with defenders and doesn’t allow the easy baskets under the rim that can often occur when playing man-to-man defense.

The pick-and-roll is arguably the toughest action in basketball to defend against.

When playing man-to-man defense, there are a few ways you can choose to defend this action…

This is my recommended method of defending against the pick-and-roll.

This requires the screener’s defender ‘hedging’ out high and forcing the dribbler to take a few extra vertical steps which allows the on-ball defender to fight over the screen and recover back in front.

This can be difficult for youth players, but hedging and fighting over screens are great habits for players to get into at a young age as it will be a very important skill when they’re older.

2.

Another option a coach has at their disposal is to switch on any pick-and-roll.

As the name implies, this simply means that the defenders hold their positions and swap the offensive player they’re guarding.

This can be problematic if you end up with small player defending a big player or vice versa, but at the youth level players aren’t often smart enough to take advantage of it.

To go under the screen, the screener’s defender can take a quick step back to give the on-ball defender room to squeeze past the screen and immediately establish position in front of the dribbler.

While this is probably the easiest way to do it, I do believe players are missing out on the important skill of learning to fight over screens and how to hedge.

The 5 main man-to-man defense rules:

1. No middle penetration.
2. No ball reversals.
3. No help one pass away.
4. No face cuts.
5. Move when the ball moves.

The man-to-man defense is one of the best defenses you can run with your team no matter what level you’re coaching.

With nearly all high-level basketball teams using this defense, the skills that are learned in man-to-man defense are crucial for all players to develop from the earliest age possible.

Sure, it can be difficult to teach. But they payoff for your players will definitely be worth it in the long run.

If you’re a coach that puts developing players over winning youth basketball games, then this defense is for you!

The 7 BEST Basketball Defense Drills

Home > Coaching > Drills > Man to Man Defense

Here are seven of our best drills for improving defense from one of the best defensive experts in the world. Youre going to improve 1on1 defense, close outs, help positioning, rotations, communication, transition defense, and more.

You can also get a free PDF of the seven defense drills and four BONUS drills that are not included below. There is also SPECIAL bonus that shows you exactly how to develop your defense better and faster.

Top Defensive Expert - Jim Huber

These drills are from defensive expert Jim Huber. If you dont know Jim, hes trained some of the best youth and high school players in the world. At the high school level, hes trained NBA players such as Michael Porter Jr, Willie Cauley-Stein, Alec Burks, and Semi Ojeleye.

His team also led the Nike EYBL in defensive points per game which features the best high school players in the country! Additionally, he won the Nike Global Challenge with Team USA West.

So Jim knows a thing or two about defense.. Lets get to the drills!

In the game of basketball, there are many situations where you have to scramble and match up with players; like rotating out of help defense and in transition. This is one of the best drills to improve your ability to scramble and match up.

Your defense is at a constant disadvantage and it forces them to hustle, communicate, and rotate.

In this 4 on 3 situation, someone will always be open, but with good positioning and effort you can keep things under control. This drill can also be done as a 5 on 4 type of drill.

Set Up:

You start with three defenders and four offensive players.

The ball starts on the wing.

Instructions:

As the ball is passed, defenders have to leave their player, scramble to cover the ball or be in a good help position.

The ball can be skipped and players are allowed to dribble penetrate in their areas (but are mostly stationary early on as you learn rotation).

After you get the hang of rotating and scrambling, you go "live" and the offense looks to score.

Points of Emphasis:

• Effective Close Outs - If you are not going all out on our close outs in this drill, you will be exposed pretty quickly. You are already down in numbers, if someone isn't closing all out and under control, you are beaten before you even start.
• Sprint To Areas / Effort - Hold people accountable on effort. Make sure they are sprinting to areas.

Coaching Tips

• Progress To More Situations and Increase Difficulty - After you are satisfied with the concepts sinking in, you can allow the offense free movement, interchanges, screens etc.

This is one of the best drills at eliminating penetration into the paint! It really develops a mentality of protecting the paint and not letting anybody get in there.

If you believe that penetrating via the pass or the dribble is one of the best offensive weapons, this drill is a must!

It's also a great all around defensive drill for practicing proper defensive habits.

Set Up:

You have four offensive players.

You have four defensive players matched up with the defensive players.

A coach or manager is positioned at the top.

Instructions:

Coach starts drill with a pass from the top. The object of the game is to keep the ball from penetrating the paint (lane).

You can put tape on the floor to extend the lane.

Offense gets a point for penetrating the paint on the dribble drive or pass.

You can change possession on points scored (in the paint), turnovers, and defensive rebounds. It's just a like a regular half court game, except the only way to a point is to the in the lane.

The first team to 3 wins. Playing to a low number (like 3) makes it really competitive and keeps the intensity at the level you want.

Variations:

3-Point Shot Hits Rim - A progression would be to add that the offense can score another point by taking a three point shot that hits the rim. This forces defenders to maintain intense ball pressure.

Excessive Fouling - You want our players playing hard on defense, but playing smart. Fouling and putting people on the free throw line is unacceptable. It's not playing smart. The next progression in the drill is to begin awarding points if you are seeing excessive fouling and hand checking to stop the penetration. Make them stop the ball with their feet moving, not their hands reaching.

This drill works on your defenders' ability to scramble and pick up a different player when a game situation forces them to do so. This often happens in transition and rotating out of help defense. Communication is a must in this drill and your players will be forced to improve.

Set Up:

You start with five offensive players and five

defensive players.

They are matched up five on five.

Instructions:

You start playing five on five live.

On the whistle, the offense will set the ball down on the ground.

Someone on defense (anyone but the player who was guarding the ball), has to pick the ball up. X2 is picking it up in the diagram.

When the X2 picks the ball up X2's team is on offense.

The team that sets the ball down (in black) must scramble to guard someone. They cannot pick up the player that was guarding them. Example, 1 in black could not pick up X1.

Points of Emphasis:

• Communicate! - Players must communicate in this drill. If they don't, they will fail. Forcing players to talk and think on their feet as they scramble is making practice harder than what they will likely face in a game situation. Anytime you can do that in a drill, your team stands to benefit in the game.
• Stop the Ball - Even though players are matching up in the drill, they must be aware of the ball handler. The ultimate goal is to stop the offense from scoring, so help defense must be alert and stop the ball when necessary.

Variations:

Full Court - You can also play the game full court as a variation. You don't even have to start in a half court setting. Make sure to keep the team's baskets the same, though.

Coaching Tips:

• Variety - Make sure to vary who has possession of the ball and the location of the ball when blowing the whistle.
• Keep Coaching Defense - Keep coaching proper defensive fundamentals throughout the drill. Make sure that they close out properly, maintaining good position, rotate on help, defend screens properly, etc.

If you don't have great defensive close outs, it doesn't matter how great your help defense is when you are at a constant disadvantage, the offense is going to score a lot.

And think about this, you can have anywhere between 100 to 250 close outs per game. Multiply that over the course of a season, you might have 2,000 to 10,000 close outs per season!!

Poor close outs can destroy your defense which will lead to the offense scoring more points against you. In order to have a great defense night in and night out, you must be able to defend the basketball in a one on one setting.

This is a fast-paced drill to practice in order to get better at closing out, contest shots, and prevent dribble penetration. It forces defenders to learn how to defend in a game-like environment. There is nothing better than improving on ball defense by putting the defensive player out on an island and forcing the defender to stop the player one on one.

Setup:

• Defense, X1 and X2 start under the basket. Each player has a basketball.
  
• The two offensive players are positioned on the wings.

Instructions:

X2 starts the drill with a pass to 2 on the wing. Defender X2 follows the pass with a hard close out.

The Defender's job is keep the ball out of the house (paint area) and force a contested jump shot, then block out and hunt the rebound.

Progression 1: The offense is not allowed to go "live" until the defender closes out and gives them a "touch" of the hand. After one repetition, you can go to the next progression.

Progression 2: The offense goes "live" immediately on the catch.

Points of Emphasis:

• Sprint To Eliminate Offensive Advantage - Defensive players should sprint on the close outs. The quicker you can contest a shot and immediately get into a balanced position to eliminate dribble penetration, the less of an advantage the offense will have.
• Hands Up - Depending on your preference, either have one hand or two hands up to contest the shot and immediate entry passes from the offensive player.
• Position Appropriately - Whether you believe in getting the defender's butt to the basket or forcing the offensive player in a particular direction, be sure to position yourself appropriately. Bad positioning will create easy driving opportunities for the offense.
• Practice Good Offensive Habits - Make sure we emphasis the little things in every drill. Is the offense coming forward to catch the pass? Or are we being lazy, standing still waiting on the pass? Just because the focus of a drill is defensive, don't let little things slide with the offensive players. If you let little things slide in practice, you'll end up getting beat by little things in games.

Variations:

Loser Stays On Defense - If the offense scores, the defender must stay on defense until they get a stop. You can rotate the offensive player each repetition.

Add Passer - So the defender doesn't know when the pass is going to occur, you can have the coach, manager, or other players pass. This will improve anticipatory skills and reaction speed for the defender as it emulates what will happen during a game.

Vary The Passing Position - You can also pass from different positions on the floor to close out from different angles and positions like you would during a game. You can also have coaches, managers, or other players act as passers.

Time Clock / Limited Dribbling - You can also have dribble limits and time clocks, so the offense also has to practice good offensive habits.

Coaching Tips:

• Alternate Sides - Go side to side for efficiency. When one pair is running live, another pair should be ready to go on the other side.
• Make Drills Competitive - Make the drills competitive by having players keep score. Create accountability.

Even if you play half court or quarter court defense, this should be a staple for every coach. This is a great 1 on 1 transition drill that works on your ability to stay in front of a ball handler in the open court. You work on the shuffle, the quick turn, running, and the turn and sprint to recover.

Additionally, it's great for conditioning and building mental toughness.

It not only improves your 1v1 full court defense, it improves overall athleticism and conditioning. When you have to shuffle, sprint, change directions over and over, you're going to improve athleticism and reaction time.

Even zone defense coaches use drills like these because of the tremendous benefits that they produce.

Setup:

The ball hander (2) has the ball on the baseline.

The defender (X1) is standing in front of the offensive player ready to play defense.

Instructions:

The offensive player (2) tries to beat the defender (X1) down the floor.

The defensive player tries to stop the ball handler from advancing the ball.

After the ball handler (2) makes it to the other end, they will hand off to 4, who will be facing the same defender X1, back up the court towards player 3.

3 is the last ball handler. X1 defends for the third and final time.

X1 is now "out of the hole" and you rotate to the next defender. X1 is now the next ball handler.

Points of Emphasis:

• Stop The Ball - The number one goal is to stop the ball from advancing.
• Push Step & Sprint - The defensive player should push step (shuffle) and sprint to contain the ball handler. If the defender gets beat, they need to turn and sprint to a spot to cut off the ball handler.
• Offense Practices Good Habits - The offense also needs to focus on good habits of protecting the ball and using effective change of pace and change of direction moves.
• Go Back To Where Defender Was Beat - If the offense gets by the defender, don't let them just turn and jog to the other baseline. Have the defender and offensive player go back to where they got beat. This will ensure focus and effort to stop the ball.

Coaching Tips:

• Encourage Players - Encouragement and energy from the Coach can help keep a player going in a drill like this. Get involved and work with them!
• Split The Court - Be sure to split the court into alleys. You can set up three to four alleys on each court. This allows you to work the entire team with this drill. You can use cones or other lines on the court.

Being able to defend the ball in a one on one situation is vital. However, you need to have the capability to transition into help defense in a team setting!

This drill is about building great 1on1 full court defense habits and transitioning into a half court setting. Then you work on all other aspects of your defense. Defending cuts, screens, getting into help position, stopping dribble penetration, etc. 3v3 defensive drills are also great because it's tougher to defend the entire court with three players than with five players like during a game.

Additionally, the offense learns how to handle the ball under pressure and improve passing.

Setup:

You have the ball handler start on the baseline. You have the defender guarding them.

Two offensive players and two defensive players are set up on the opposite end of the floor.

Instructions:

The defense's goal is to get a stop. Their goal is to only allow one shot each possession. The offense's goal is to score.

The ball handler (2) advances the ball and tries to beat the defender (X2).

Once the ball is dribbled past half court, it is a "live" 3 on 3 situation.

After each possession, the defense turns to offense. Then they check the ball on the baseline and start over.

Points of Emphasis:

• Contain Ball - Your goal as a defender now is contain the ball. You do not allow straight line drives. You want to stay between your player and the basket!
• Wing Defenders Deny Pass - Defenders X3 and X4 are going to deny the pass on the wing and make it difficult to catch.
• Help And Recover - The defenders have to be ready to help and recover should the ball handler get past the initial defender.
• Help Across Not Up - If the ball handler beats the initial defender, the other defender, X3, is going to have to find a way to help slow the ball to give the recovering teammate time to get back. They should help "across" from their own player and keep the ball and their player in their line of sight. Try to stop the ball on the same level as your own player if possible. Helping "up" the court from your player in this situation will lead to the easy bucket on the lob ahead.
• Force Contested Jump Shots / No Lay Ups - Your Goal? Do not let the other team score! You do that by keeping the ball as far away from the basket as possible. Lay ups are NOT allowed! You want a contested jump shot as far from the basket as possible, with as much pressure and difficulty as possible.

Variations:

Force Turns Prior To Half Court - If you want to make the drill really challenging for the full court defender, you can reward them for the number of times that they force the ball handler to stop and change directions. Each change of direction is worth one point. Once they reach half court, it goes back to playing defense straight up.

Also, this can be a similar strategy to use against teams that lack effective ball handlers or if you have some superb 1 on 1 full court defenders.

Defense Stops - One effective tactic to get players to focus on the defensive end is to only allow them to transition to offense by getting a defensive stop. If they don't get a stop, a new group of defenders comes in to stop the ball. If you score on offense, you stay on the court.

Winner Stays - You can set up teams of three and play to a determined amount of points. The winners stay on the court.

The shell drill is a great tool for teaching your defense. From a big picture perspective, you can quickly teach your players exactly what your team defense should look like.

You can practice all of your defensive concepts in a team situation. You work on ball defense, being in a great stance, closing out, jumping to the ball, sprinting areas, and other key defensive concepts.

You can practice defending any situation. You can practice defending all types of cuts, screens, and offensive actions. You can practice defending basket cuts, backdoor cuts, flare cuts, down screens, ball screens, back screen, staggered screens, horns sets, Princeton sets, etc.

It's also great because it allows you to be efficient with your team. You can have four or five defenders practicing defense all at once.

You can also use the shell drill to work on specific defensive techniques. That way, if you're struggling with a particular offensive action, you can break it down and make sure your players understand how to defend in that situation. Also, you can get a bunch of reps in a short amount of time to solidify their learning.

The following is a beginner progression for teaching the shell drill. You can also see progressions for teaching how to defend down screens and back screens.

Set Up:

You position four or five offense players on the court.

You position a defender guarding each offensive player.

Instructions:

Progression 1 - Positioning

When you instruct, "Pass." Offense passes the ball. You look for correct help positioning, proper close outs, appropriate on-ball defense, and necessary effort.

Progression 2 - Interchange

This is the same as progression 1, except now you have the players interchange positions from corner to wing when you instruct, "Interchange."

This is a great way to get players defending more positions and situations.

Progression 3 - Baseline Drive

Now you instruct, "Pass. Skip. Beat Them. Pass Out."

"Pass" indicates that you pass to the person next to you.

"Skip" indicates you pass to the player two people away from you.

"Beat Them" means that you drive baseline to force help. At first, the on-ball defender will let the ball handler go to practice rotations.

"Pass Out or Kick Out" means that after the baseline drive, the ball handler turns and passes the ball back out to a perimeter player.

Progression 4 - Live

You take the defense through the same baseline drive routine as progression 3.

You now instruct, "Live!" This means that the offense and defense play basketball.

Rotate defense to offense after a predetermined number of "stops" by the defense.

The drill can also progress to allowing the offense to rotate and have basket cutters.

Progression 5 - Down Screens

The drill is set up with 4 offensive (black) and 4 defensive players (numbers), with a coach up top with the ball.

The coach will start the drill by passing to one of the players at the elbow.

The help side offensive players will set a predetermined screen.

The defense will jump to the ball and work to defend the screen correctly.

Once screens are consistently being defended correctly, the drill can be moved to a "live" scenario.

Progression 6 - Back Screens

The drill is set up with 4 offensive players on the outside and 4 defenders on the inside. Coach is up top with the ball.

Coach starts the drill with a pass to the elbow.

The offensive player on the weak side block will set a back screen for their teammate on the weak side elbow.

Defender X4 will hang back and become "goalie" and defend the lob, seeing cutter and the ball (yellow areas).

Once the player who was back screened gets through and recovers, the "goalie" can close out on their player.

Points of Emphasis

• Jump To The Ball - Make sure we are anticipating the pass and jumping with ball, not reacting to the pass being caught. Move with the ball like you have a magnet in your chest.
• No Layups - Seal the seams and force the ball outside the scoring area, the area that we consider our "house".
• Don't Hug Your Player - Don't hug your player when they are going to set a screen. If you hug the player, play too closely, the screener might be able to set a "double" screen and screen you and a teammate at the same time. Stay up the line, on the line from the ball and give the player being screened enough room to get through.
• Ball Side Of Down Screen - Jim teaches the defenders to go "ball side" of the screen, so we are coming up the middle in a help position. In the bottom diagram, X3 would fight to get around the screen on the ball side where the offense, 1 in black, has received the ball.
• No Lobs - Non Negotiable on Defense - We do not allow LOBS on back screens.
• Get Skinny On Screens - When your player calls out the screen, get "skinny". Turn at an angle that makes you more difficult to screen and be ready to move. If you get caught "fat and flat" by that back screen, you are going to have a difficult time recovering and getting round the screen.

Coaching Tips

• Demand Great Effort - Be sure they sprint to areas and give maximum effort. Often players think they are giving maximum effort, but they are not. Immediately correct and rep out until the player does this correctly. Playing with great effort can help you overcome a lot of mistakes.
• Master The Basics / Don't Rush - When it comes to youth and high school basketball, don't worry about progressing until you master the basics of positioning, help defense, communication, and effort. If you do these things, it can counter many things that the offense throws at you.

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An original way to beat a defender in basketball

Hello, dear visitors of basketball-training.org.ua (how long have I not written this phrase…). A few days ago, while playing basketball on one of the courts in Kharkov, I ran into a player who, when beating, used one very interesting trick that I myself like to use (but which had not yet been used against me until now).

It was then that I realized how effective this method can be, especially if it is performed by a player who is not as slow as me. Yes, I'm really far from the fastest player, so most of my "feints", if you can call them that, are based on using the opponent's speed against him (and a little physics, which you can still come in handy even on the basketball court).

So, today we're going to talk about the defender's supporting leg, the leg where the weight is transferred, and which we will use for our own purposes. Let's get started.

3 elements to beat successfully

First, you must get the ball in position from which you can attack the ring. Well, or your defender must think that you can do it. Everything is trite, but nevertheless, over and over again I come across the fact that the majority are either just too lazy to spend their energy on getting rid of guardianship and they ask for the ball a couple of meters from the three-point line, from where it is very problematic to threaten the ring. Or they just don't know how to open up.

Topic article: 3 easy ways to get the ball in basketball

So, your goal is to get the ball at least on the three-point line, as much as possible already inside the arc. This move will not work if you get the ball under the basket or on the edge of the three-second zone.

The second stage is to stagger the defender 2-3 times, simulating a pass. You just do a few lunges to the side, and at this point you need to concentrate on the legs of the defender: which of them is his weight on. Which leg becomes his support during the execution of your false display for the passage. Did you see?

The third point is the passage itself. If you know which foot the defender is on, where his weight is concentrated at the time of your deceptive movements, then you should know the following: he will not be able to step with this foot. In any case, for this the defender will have to shift the weight to the other foot - and even if he is very fast, these fractions of a second will be enough for you to beat him.

Yes, this technique will not work every time. Yes, you will not beat the defender with 100% probability. But by using this trick, you can buy time and create space. Another "trick" - step as close as possible to his supporting leg: even if he reacts very quickly, he will most likely break the rules.

How to defend yourself against such a technique?

No matter how interesting and promising the above trick looks, there is a defense against it and it is quite simple.

First method: block the attacker's strong side from the passage, positioning yourself at almost a 90 degree angle to it. Either close your weak side (let the player go to your strong side, or to the side where there is a safety net). This is a budget way. You save energy, but still give the attacking player more freedom of action.

The second way is to do hellish footwork. I won't tell you too much, it's better to look at the video, as Andre Iguudala shows in the video for Nike:

See the topic: Nike Signature Moves Part 1

where is your body weight now. Of the minuses - an unprepared player after 2-3 such defenses will “sit down” very much and become slow in defense.

The third option - get as close as possible to the player, even in the process of receiving the ball. Thus, the attacker will not have much time to think: on which leg is your weight concentrated, where to stagger you, etc.

Small conclusions

• The method described above is suitable for a measured pace of the game, even more so for a streetball match in which there are no quick breaks and the probability of an effective 1v1 beat is much greater.
• The method described above is not a panacea, but simply one of the ways to use the laws of physics and the lack of experience of the defending player.
• This method is difficult to use in its pure form if you are far from the basket (1-2 meters from the three-point line) or if the defender is very active.
• Defending against such a technique is quite simple, the main thing is to understand that the opponent is going to use it (most often, he looks at your feet).

And this concludes the article, I wish you successful training, success in both attacking and defensive actions and I look forward to seeing you on the pages of this site.

not all useful materials on basketball training are published on the site. You can find additional information about training, ask a question or share your success in our community on the social network Vkontakte: https://vk.com/uroki_basketbola

Maxim Gordienko

Defense in basketball: game tactics, tips

Playing basketball is the passion of millions of people around the world. Special results in the game to date have been achieved in the United States, it is here that the most powerful NBA league is located. It plays the best of the best. But to get there, you need to work long and hard. Today we will talk about the basics and consider the options for defense in basketball, although the entertainment of the game is the attack, it is the defense that sometimes brings titles in the game! Let's start looking into the issue.

Basketball: defense and attack

The basics of technique are laid in early childhood. It is very important to teach a child who attends the basketball section how to attack and defend in the game. Moreover, you need to do it in such a way that the player understands that basketball is a team game, and not an individual running around with the ball around the court in an attempt to attack the opponent's basket against all odds. Unfortunately, in the early stages of training, this trend is visible in more than half of the novice players.

A good coach is someone who helps a child to develop technique. Defense in basketball is an integral part of the game and should not be ignored or neglected. This is an important point. By the way, it is worth noting that defensive actions can be very spectacular and spectacular. In general, in basketball everything depends on the players, their technique and grace, and not on the tactical scheme or role.

Basketball defense tactics

There are three main defensive tactics in modern basketball. Of course, there are various combinations and variations of these tactics, but the fundamental ones are:

• zone defense in basketball;
• pressing;
• personal defensive actions (personal tutelage).

Let's take a closer look at each variant of tactics and identify the features.

Zone

Basketball defense in zone defense tactics implies the game of each defense player in his allotted zone. That is, defense players play only on their own area of ​​the site and do not leave it. Defensive actions are carried out against the opponent who enters this area of ​​the site. Leaving your zone is only possible to secure a teammate who has “failed” in defense.

Amateur teams use this defensive tactic, but not in the very early stages. Zone defense is a rather complex interaction of players even at the aforementioned amateur level of play, not to mention professional teams.

Zone defense is a way to fight against passes under the basket and provoke an opponent to shoot from a distance. Also, this type of protection significantly compensates for the reduced athletic qualities of the players. Zone defense means fewer moves for the defending side, which means more energy reserves for the rest of the game.

If we talk about the weaknesses of such a defense, then this can be attributed to the difficulty for inexperienced defenders to determine the joints of zones with a teammate. For this reason, none of the defenders may not reach the ball, that is, the opponent will make a throw without resistance.

Zone defense is an ineffective way of defending against teams with set three-point shots. Also, the opponent's coach can guess such an option when his best player will attack from the zone where the opponent's weakest defender is defending.

Personal defense (personal defense)

In this case, each defensive player plays against the opponent assigned to him, regardless of the location in the attacking actions of the latter. The defending player can switch to another attacking player if a teammate makes a mistake and the opponent goes to the pass. Personal defense is very common at the amateur level of the game, although professional teams also use this defensive tactic.

The personal defense is well proven for defending against teams that like to shoot from medium to long distances. But personal defense is not very good against teams that make a lot of passes under the basket. With the help of passes around the perimeter, the opponent can stretch the defenders around the court, which will be the preparation and release of the zone for the partner's pass. When the defenders are stretched enough, there will be a pass to a player who will make a pass and with a high probability will score the ball into the basket.

Pressing

A very aggressive tactic that requires good physical condition from defensive players. Defense in this case starts from the front line of the opponent. In other words, after a goal is scored, the players do not go to their own half of the court, but begin to actively interfere with the opponent's game right on his territory. To some extent, this defense tactic in basketball can be considered an aggressive form of personal defense.

Such protection is chosen either by sufficiently trained amateur teams, or by professional ones. This tactic can completely break the opponent's game if we are talking about amateur basketball due to its rare use and lack of experience in playing against such actions. In fact, pressing is not only a defensive tactic, but also an attacking one.

The choice of tactics

The coach is always responsible for the choice of tactics in the game, he sees what is happening on the court from the side and understands in the best way how to act in order to keep the winning score or eliminate the gap from the opponent on points.

Based on his experience, a coach can change tactical actions in defense in basketball several times not per game, but per quarter! This exhausts the opponent, gives him problems, because the opponent is also forced to change his style of play for each type of defense.

Modern tactics for professional teams are hybrids of several standard types of defense. For example, one player on the defending team may use a personal defensive tactic against the offensive leader, while the rest of the players may play a zone defense method. There are a lot of variations and modifications of defense in modern basketball, especially when it comes to the games of professional players in the world's leading leagues!

Tribute to the times

Today, when players have a very high level of training, and equipment and equipment for playing at the highest level, it becomes more and more difficult to defend, as the speed and dynamics of events on the playing floor sometimes go off scale. Defense and offense in basketball are an arms race on the playground.

Some teams prefer to play as the first number, while others play from the opponent and from defense. These are just the features of the tactics and style of playing that the team's mentor promotes. This is not to say that an aggressive attack is always a victory, or a deep defense and toughness of the game is the right path to the championship.

Everything is very complicated and individual, not only for a particular opponent, but even for a particular period of time in the same game. Basketball at the highest level is simply amazing fiction, this applies to actions both in attack and in defense.

Advice

The necessary advice for defensive actions is distributed by the coach during training. In general, training should be such that the defense technique in basketball is brought to automatism. This is achieved by training and more training! But there are some general tips to be aware of, especially in the early stages of teaching basketball defense.

Don't throw too much at a player when you're on the defensive. This can lead to a technical player passing you easily on the dribble. Throw forward to intercept only when you are absolutely sure that you can intercept the ball. Interceptions are best made by nimble and nimble point guards who defend farther from their basket.

Always try to belay your partner. Basketball is a team game, and it is impossible without mutual assistance. But you need to insure your partner wisely, because when you switch from your player (or from your defense zone) when securing, you throw your player (or your site), and this is a free zone, that is, options for technically playing the ball in attack. Insure wisely, trying to outwit your opponent. For example, advance on an opponent who was being guarded by your partner but failed, and then, if you see that the opponent with the ball is trying to play an extra player, go back to your abandoned opponent and intercept the ball. In general, all this will come with experience.

As a rule, for the very beginning basketball players, the coach does not choose pressing as a style of play in defense, because such a defensive action scheme requires very serious physical preparation and the most coordinated team actions. And at the initial level, amateur teams do not have such skills.

Well, perhaps the most correct and best advice is training. Exactly exhausting training is the key to a clear and well-coordinated work of the team, as well as verified actions in defense or attack. Training, skill and talent - this is a great combination for real champion players!

Significance of a coach

This subsection is relevant only for amateur teams, because such misunderstandings cannot occur in professional basketball. You should always listen to your coach and quickly change tactics at his direction. Strict observance of this rule can decide the outcome of the game.

Total

Defense is an integral part of any outdoor team ball game. Basketball is no exception to these rules. In many ways, defensive actions determine the outcome of the game. In fact, the defense of one team is the attack of the second team. Defense and attack are inseparable components, which is why defense in basketball should not be underestimated.

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