Ø      Basketball Notes 2

7 Constants of Successful Defensive Teams

Great defensive teams hold their opponents to low a FG percentage by eliminating easy baskets.  Easy baskets are most often scored in transition, off dribble penetration, and off second-shot opportunities.  Therefore, the great defensive teams must limit these three situations.

My overall defensive philosophy is based on three NOs.  NO lay-ups, NO second shots, and NO Middle Penetration. That said, here are the 7 constants of successful defensive teams:

(1)  Effort

• Great defensive players, -- and teams – possess HEART and DESIRE

• Transition defense if largely effort – simply sprinting back on defense and communication with your teammates

• Great defensive teams play with a sense of urgency, and recover quickly in transition

(2)  Communication – talk EARLY, LOUD, & OFTEN

• Great defensive teams communicate

• Communication should begin as soon as the opposition gains control of the ball

• Stop the ball first…communicate to get everyone covered

• Call out screens – teammates must talk and let the on-ball defender know where the help is

• Communication is simple: ball, help, deny, shot, lob

• Players MUST talk at all times

(3)  Contested Shots

• The best way to prevent the opponent from scoring is to contest every shot

• Teams must communicate and scramble to contest all shooters

• When one player helps off his man, another must be ready to rotate to that man (help-the-helper)

• Contested shots drop a shooter’s percentage by 15%.

(4)  See Ball and Man

• Great defensive teams stress help defense and players must see the ball and their man at all times

• Players who lose sight of the ball are out of position to help if the ball handler beats his man toward the basket

• Players who lose sight of their man are susceptible to backdoor cuts or are unaware when a pass is made to their man

• The overall defensive goal should be to stop all penetration, with or without the ball, outside the paint

(5)  Active Hands

• Active hands and good anticipation can put pressure on the offense

• Active hands can help defensive players recover if they mad a mistake

• Active hands are NOT reaching hands

• Active hands try to deflect passes and take away vision and passing lanes

(6)  Ball Pressure

• Great half-court defense starts with BALL PRESSURE

• Pressure causes errors

• Ball pressure pushes the offense further away from the bucket and prevents easy passes

• Ball pressure prevents the offense from running exactly  what they want to run at the exact spots they want to run it

(7)  Positioning

• Proper positioning increases a team’s defensive effectiveness

• Players in the ball should influence sideline-to-baseline

• Players one pass away play denial position

• Players two passes away play help position

• The further the offense player is from the ball, the further the defender can be from the offensive player (on-the-line, up-the-line)

• Proper positioning and vision of the ball and man helps good team defense

• Players must be ready to sprint to position

• Team defense starts with quick transition defense and ends with tough rebounding

• Two constants are ball pressure and vision of the ball-and-man

• Teams must play hard, as defense is an attitude as much as anything else.  Play with active hands and good positioning