Basketball: How to Defend

Do you want to learn about Man to Man and Zone defenses? Have you ever dreamed of shut down defender like NBA greats Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen and Gary Payton or current players such as LeBron James, Chris Paul, Joakim Noah, Serge Ibaka, and Dwight Howard? Have you ever wondered about the defenses of NCAA teams like the Syracuse Orangemen, the Kentucky Wildcats, the Duke Blue Devils, The Ohio State Buckeyes, and the UCONN Huskies?

Good offense wins games... great defense wins championships. When offenses struggle, a good defense can keep you in the game until shots start falling. How are you going to catch up the second half if you are down 12 at the half? By playing great defense. Scoring more baskets wont do if you allow the other team to score as well. It is necessary to prevent your opponent from scoring by playing good defense, allowing your team a chance to get back into the game.

Everyone on the team has to play good defense, because a weak link will cause the entire defense to fail, and a good offense will eventually spot the weak defensive player. You need to want to play good defense. Defensive skills are fairly easy to learn, unlike some offensive skills, and everyone can learn to become a good defender. If you are a poor, non-aggressive defender, you will hurt your team.

It is important to select a basketball defense that best fits your teams personnel, size, quickness, and strengths, and your own defensive philosophy. Some coaches stick to the same defense all season and try to perfect it. Other coaches will try multiple defenses, not only throughout the season, but within a game, switching between man-to-man and zone defenses, trying to confuse the opponent, or trying to stop the offenses strengths. I have seen coaches go man-to-man anytime the point guard made the first pass to the right side, and go 2-3 zone whenever that first pass went to the left side. Some coaches will change defenses after a made free-throw, or after a time-out, or will call out defenses from the sideline. In trying to confuse the offense, you have to make sure your own players aren't the ones who become confused!


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