Defense Strategies

Your basketball team will, on average, have to defend for approximately fifty percent of the game. That in anyones book means it is a fundamental part of the game. This page is about different defensive techniques. An earlier article has already looked at ways of practising the most important defense issue of all – racing back to undertake defensive duties.

The need to defend arises either because you have scored or because you lost the ball in some way. Either way this article assumes you are in position and ready to defend.

There are two fundamental defensive strategies, one on one guarding and zonal marking. The first step to take to teach defense is at an individual level which means you should begin with man to man marking. Individual techniques include stance, sliding and movement. The man on man strategies can be organised by playing two on two and then three on three and so on, until you hit five on five.

Your defending has now been achieved at this point because five against five is a game situation. Teaching zonal defending is harder to achieve becauseyou have to organise as a team. Teaching an individual is different to coaching a group to co-ordinate.The strategies used in coaching individuals can be applied as a team for zonal strategies. The plan is to pressurize the opposition so that at any time there are one and a half men covering a player, or blocking his route.

Bigger teams tend to be effective at zone defense by standing in the paint and blocking the route to goal.

The objective however is where both strategies are incorporated. Man to man is good, but if a player holds way back deep who is guiding play and not looking like coming forward then a five man defense around the basket makes good sense. Alternatively, if you are playing zone and you find that a player is on his own then that means a different part of the court is overweighted with opposing team members. He should move from his current zone and add some support where needed.

In the zone and man to man debate it is clear that some incorporation of each idea is the best route to an effective defense. Teach the defensive strategies that are necessary in man to man marking, but then plan as a team for coordinated zonal strategies too. You will never be the strongest defense you can be if you are all one to one marking or solely zonal marking. Be capable of defending as individuals and as a teamand then you can expect your defensive qualities increase immeasurably.