Basketball Defense That Actually Works

The Goal Of Defense In General

Let’s start out basic. What is the real goal in playing defense? “To stop the other team from scoring” is what most of you would say. While that is very true, good defense can not only stop your opponent from getting points, it will help you get some really easy baskets for your own team.

I know some so-called “basketball players” who say they don’t need good defense, only scoring is fun, and if you stick with zone you don’t need good defense. All of these things are far from true, and if they weren’t, the NBA (the greatest basketball league in the world) wouldn’t have a Defensive Player of the Year Award.

In truth, I love playing defense. I often think it’s just as fun, or even more fun that playing offense in basketball. Everybody seems to be under the impression that if you score on a defender, it gives you that dominant look and makes you a true competitor. Let me get straight to the point. Because I’ve studied defense a lot, I am great at blocking shots, even in players that are several inches taller than me. Whenever I block a shot, it brings more competitiveness and momentum with it than any crossover or shot I’ve ever made. A blocked shot makes a statement: “I own you. You belong to me. If I don’t want you to make a shot, It’s not going in the basket behind me.” With solid defense, soon you will actually have your opponent too intimidated by you to take many shots. A great defender is a very scary thing for a player with the ball.

Zone Defense

Just a quick touch up on zone is all you need. Zone defense is when all 5 players on defense have a imaginary spot, or “zone” that they stay in. They only guard players in that zone. The zones are typically imaginary circles, and most places on the court can be covered with them. For years zone defense was against the rules in the NBA simply because it was too good. These days, there are plays designed for breaking down zone defense, and really all you need to do is use screens right to get to the basket and put 2 players in one of the defense’s zone to score. By todays standards, it’s usually considered “lazy defense” and not as good as man-to-man.

Man-To-Man (or just man) Defense

This is the most common type of defense. Every defensive player has a player on the other team that he/she guards, and is most responsible for defending. Players are usually matched up by height (with tall defenders by the basket) and skill–with the best defenders guarding the best scorers.

Help Defense or Help Man Defense

This is what most coaches say is the best defense there is for a typical situation and a typical team. It’s a type of man-to-man defense, which is when every defender has a man (offensive) player to guard. Help man defense uses communication to work. While many players don’t say much, if anything on the basketball court, talking to each other will let you know what to do. For example, every now and then a guard gets beat on defense right? It just happens. When it does, that defender would start yelling “Help!” until another defender sees this and starts guarding the ballhandler so he won’t get an easy layup, because every player can’t always keep their eye on the ball handler.

The Best Defense

I’ve tried this defense and it works like a charm. It’s almost the same as help man defense above. Every player guards an offensive player. How this is decided is by position and play style. You don’t want to have your team’s shortest player guarding the other team’s tallest player–the poor little guard would get embarrassed. You want your team’s best defender to guard the other teams best scorer, unless there’s a pretty big position difference or it leaves another bad matchup.

Here’s what makes my defense different. Big players (forwards and centers) don’t usually have good 3-point shooting do they? They just spend so much time up close they don’t need long range. So why guard them when they are near the perimeter? If they aren’t a threat, you don’t need to guard them! I can’t tell you how much it frustrates me to see my teammates guarding a player at the half-court line! Have your post players stay by the basket to protect from any layups, and don’t follow their man more than about 10 feet from the basket (unless their man can make that shot well) so in a way, the big defenders are kind of playing half zone defense. The only time ur post players use man defense should be when there’s a post player on the other team that can shoot 3-pointers decently, but remember not to stay in the painted area (the key, even if it’s not actually painted) for more than 3 seconds, as that is a violation.

Here’s another important thing to go along with yelling “Help!” when you get beat. When a smart ballhandler wants to attack the basket, there’s usually fewer players to either your left or your right. Wherever there are less players is where he wants to go. The reason is because if he dribbles where one of his teammates is, that teammate’s defender can pretty much guard both of them and he won’t be as open as he wants. The problem is you probably don’t know which side has fewer players because you’re keeping your eyes on your man. This is where teammates come in. They should be telling you “Push him left! Push him left!” if the open side is to your right. To “push” a player to one side, like the left, you would go a little more to your right. That way, if he goes to your right, he can’t get around you, so he’ll want to go to your left, which is good for you because he won’t get very free that way. You might call this “funneling” a player.

Screens

A screen is when an offensive player stands still in a spot, hoping that a defender will run into him so that defender can’t guard another offensive player. This is a huge part of playing defense, so don’t skip out on learning how to defend screens! This includes the deadly pick & roll. This is a topic big enough that I’ll leave it for it’s own article. Go ahead and check it out after you read this one.

On-Ball Perimeter Defense

First let’s start with you guards. Your main goal in man-to-man defense will always be to stay in front of your man. There are pretty much 2 types of scores you can try to stop in man defense. First is the drive: when your man runs to the basket and tries to get a layup. The second is the jumpshot: when he just jumps (although a few players don’t jump) and just shoots from where he is. The drive is much more deadly than the jumpshot because he can get a layup from right in front of the basket, which is a lot easier for him to make than a shot from 15 feet away from the basket.

So how do you stop a player from driving on you? It took me some time to figure this out. It’s all in your footwork, the way you stand. First of all, the ballhandler has to go around you to get to the basket. It’s much harder for them to do that when you are standing 4-5 away from them, instead of right in their face. The reason for this is that you can see where they are going and move there before they get there if you give them lots of space. Try not to just move only sideways (regardless of what coaches say) or straight backwards when a player tries to go around you. Move diagonally, always staying right in front of him/her and backing up at the same time to play it safe. If you know your man is poor at shooting from 18 feet, go ahead and give him or her 5 feet of space. It might seem like bad defense, but they will never make their way around you from that far away, and they sure shouldn’t make the jumpshot. Even if a player does make a shot or two from where you thought they almost never make shots, don’t worry, they probably got lucky. Just take a step closer and forget they scored on you. Keep in mind, when you stay far away from players, they’ll learn that jumpshots are easier than drives. But if they can’t make their jumpshots well, and they keep shooting them, you’re beating them because ur doing exactly what good defense does–force bad shots. Don’t feel like you are doing bad just because your man is taking a lot of shots.

So now that we know to give Michael Jordan some space, let’s talk about your footwork. This one is extremely important. I’ve played with  defenders who walk sideways while guarding me, like they expect me to hold their hand. You can’t move quickly enough in the opposite direction when you do that. Coaches traditionally say keep your feet wider than your shoulders and take wide sidesteps to guard a player. Don’t do that unless you’re guarding a real slow poke. If you just move sideways you will be screwed when a quick guard gets around you and all you can do is watch as he gets and And 1. Not to mention you’ll get called for a blocking foul if you move sideways and bump into a player who is right next to you. You’ll also commit a blocking foul if the ballhandler runs into you after you just step right in their way.

To start off, try this right now. Imagine a ballhandler that you are guarding. Point your big left toe at him. Your right toe should be pointing directly to your right. Now move your right foot back a few feet, so that if you were to face the spot right between your feet, your man would almost be to your left (don’t stand sideways to your man, but don’t have your body facing them either) Your feet should be set just more than shoulder width apart. You want your knees slightly bent at all times. Coaches say to have your back straight, but I lean forward because you can’t balance otherwise. Notice how above i said to have your right foot back. That’s what you do if your man tries to go to your right. If they move to your left, twist your hips so that your left foot is back, and the right one is in front. This position allows for great flexiblity in letting you move in any direction: left, right, forward, backward, to stay in front of your man, and it’s surprisingly comfortable.

Give ‘Em A Little Nudge

Now that you know footwork, you need to learn that it’s okay to give your opponent a little shove with your forearm when you meet him. Instead of just moving back and sideways to stay in front of him, as you do this it’s perfectly okay to put your forarm on his body and give him a bit of a nudge. Don’t so much push with your forearm, but put your forearm out and use your bodyweight to move it into them. This doesn’t look like a foul to a referree if you are quick and subtle about it, and it isn’t if you don’t overdo it. It just helps keep them a little ways away from you. Remember, you are always allowed to put your forearm out to stop an opponent from pushing you around, but remember to keep it folded! You can’t put a straight arm out to stop a ballhandler from going around you! That would be a blocking foul every time, even if you are standing still and they run into it. So remember, 1) always do this with a folded forearm 2) use it more to stop an opponent from pushing you, than to actually push them 3) if you have a referree that calls this as a foul, go a little easier.

Guarding The Actual Layup

Ok, now that you know how to stop your man from even getting to the basket, you need to know how to stop the layup when they do get there (happens to the best of us) or if a teammate’s man is driving to the rim. A lot of it is just the ability to react quickly, and it’s tough to coach a player into guarding layups. One thing that works great with guarding any shot is to simply put your hand(s) in the shooter’s face, right in front of their eyes. A few people actually think this is a foul, but that’s only if you hit their face. Why is this such a great way to make somebody miss? A number of reasons 1) it partially blocks their vision of the basket 2) it puts a lot of pressure on them. It’s just incredibly hard to focus on a shot when you realize just how close you are to being blocked. Even professional players with thousands of games under their belt fall victim to it. It can be useful to try and hit the ball as your man rises up with it, as even if he/she doesn’t drop it, they won’t have an easy time scooping a ball in the basket if it’s slipping out of their hands. One thing to do is pay attention to how a player shoots. I once played with a guy who was a couple inches taller than me, but i noticed that every time he got to the basket, he put the ball right on top of his head and shot. Next time he drove in, I just jumped and placed my hand above his head, just before he even put the ball up there. Surely enough, he lifted the ball up to his head, and i didn’t even have to try to block it. If they don’t have a go-to move, just stick close and put your hands up

Guarding The Jumpshot

I’ve taught you all there is to know about guarding drives, now it’s time to stop jumpshots. If you think your opponent has a decent chance to make a jumpshot from where they are at, you won’t want to be too far away. The closer you are, the better you stop jumpshots, but get too close and they will go around you. Remember, stopping the drive is much more important, so 3 feet is usually a pretty safe distance.

Timing is the key. When you see them put the ball up, move in. Don’t jump until they jump, because they might just be faking. Remember to keep your knees bent so you can jump the instant they do. Also, remember that if a player has not dribbled the ball yet, he or she can put up a fake, and if you fall for it and jump, they’ll be able to dribble right to the rim. Do NOT fall for this, be especially careful of jumping when your man hasn’t dribbled yet. The old rule of hand in the face is still what you’ll be doing here, though if you are close enough, you can attempt an actual block. The mistake most players make here is sticking their hand straight at the ball, whether it’s still in the player’s hands, or just got fired. Few times will it work, and it’ll only be if you get on the shot very quickly. I recommend sticking your hand straight up towards the ceiling. It doesn’t feel like you’ll block the shot, but try it, and you’ll be surprised. If you don’t end up getting a piece of it, it’s probably because you made your man shoot extra high to go over your hand, in which case they will likely miss. In either case, it’s a win for you.

Low Post Defense (on-ball)

The most accurate field goals in basketball, aside from layups with nobody around, are shots in the post (near the basket) Defense has a totally different feel down there because of all the contact (bumping, shoving) that goes on down low. This paragraph focuses on post defense when your man has the ball, for off-ball post defense, read the next paragraph. Most players, when trying to score in the post, either put their back or side into you, and push you with their bodies so they can get closer to the basket. This is called “posting-up”. If you let them back you down, there’s a number of ways they can score on you. A typical question is “How do I stop a big player from posting up?” If the posting player has their back to you, make contact with your forearm by putting it in the small of their back and leaning into them with a firm stance, one foot back, or your chest or pelvis. You’ll only have the pelvis defense going on if they post up on you with their ass (seems sexual reading that, but in the game you’ll see it’s really not) You are forced to lean forward when leaning on them with your pelvis or chest, with feet side by side so they don’t slip past you, so my favorite is using that forearm. If they post with their side, you’ll only want to use your forearm to keep yourself in place. Remember, if they are facing your right side, keep your right foot back, or they can spin out right behind you to score (and vice-versa if they face your left) When they shoot, try to keep your hands up and in their face. If you find that somebody is just posting up on you so hard that you can’t keep them from the basket, just “pull the seat out” and step back. They might just be posting up so hard that they fall down when you move, and this is perfectly legal for you to do. After doing this just one time, they’ll post much softer if they don’t want to be embarrassed anymore.

Low Post Defense (off-ball)

What about when your man doesn’t have the ball down low? Too many players just stand and let their man catch the ball. A player can post up on you even when they don’t have the ball. They aren’t really allowed to push you here, just keep you behind them so they can catch a pass. You can try to prevent this by getting between your man and the player with the ball. From here, you can either face your man and lean on him, with a hand in the air to prevent any pass to him as you turn your head to watch the ballhandler, or you can face the ballhandler with your back into your man. In either case, the ballhandler can lob the ball, that is, to toss it high in the air so that it goes over you, but lands where your man can catch it and go straight to the basket. You can get around this by running back behind your man so that he can’t get an open lane to the basket, as lob passes stay in the air a long time.

Perimeter Defense (off-ball)

You don’t always want to just stand in front of your man by the 3-point line if he doesn’t have the ball. You can make it harder for the other team by doing a few things to prevent him from ever getting the ball. The most common is called “deny” which is simply when you stand close to your man, almost between him and the ballhandler. You need to be able to see both your man and the ballhandler when denying. Take your hand that is closest to the ballhandler, and put it between your man and the ballhandler, so it’s in the way if the player with the ball would make a pass. Point your thumb down, so your palm is facing the ball and you can knock it down and probably steal it if the pass is made. What this will do stop your man from getting the ball, but it’ll let him run past you, toward the basket, and possibly get open for a layup, which would not be good at all. For that reason, I try not to do this often, but you can react pretty quickly to it by backpedalling to never give the passer an open lane.

Steals and Blocks

Many players have a real fetish for steals. My own nephew will all out wrestle you to get the ball out of your hands. I’ve never been too big on ripping a player dry of the ball. More my style to let them have it till they shoot…..then I send the ball to another area code. We all love the big adrenaline rush of stuffing somebody like a turkey on Thanksgiving, but after you get momentum, try more efficient blocking. Remember this: “Don’t block the ball and send it in the stands. Block the ball and keep it in your hands!” It’s easier said than done, as most blocks will only get hit right back to the shooter, but a master at shot blocking can catch a shot. The problem with trying too hard to reach for the ball when trying to steal it is that you need to lean forward to actually get it. When that happens, your man can run right past you, and you can’t backpedal because you’re leaning forward. Then when a pass comes to your man, you have to decide real quick if you want to go and try to strip that pass, or just let your man catch it. I have a friend who almost always tries to jump out and catcht the pass. Half the time he gets it, and half the time he’s too late, and runs 5 feet past his man, who now has the ball and is ordering a pizza as he dribbles to the lane to score with no defense. Your best chance at playing a passing lane is to actually anticipate the pass, and decide you’re going to jump the lane before the ball is even passed, but do be careful trying this.

Questions?

If anybody has any questions at all, ask them and I’ll try my best to answer. Hopefully many people will find this guide helpful.