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 Defensive Sets |
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DEFENSIVE SETS
DEFENSIVE PRINCIPLES OF PLAY
An Overview
On defence, teammates are like a 'dragon', with the player on the ball being the 'head' and his/her teammates forming the 'body'. Because the head directs the body, the players who are guarding opponents off the ball key on their teammate who is guarding the opponent with the ball. The interaction between these two players provides cues for defenders who are off the ball.
These cues help the players on defence to know where they should be on the court in relation to the opponents they are guarding and to their teammate on the ball and to coordinate their efforts to keep opponents from executing penetrating passes and drives into the body of the dragon.
There are four principles which are related to the dragon principal, 'dropping to the ball', 'influencing', 'helping and recovering', and 'rotating'.
Dropping to the Ball
Players off the ball should deny passing lanes, that is, not allow the player with the ball to pass the ball directly to a teammate. They should also not allow opponents to ball cut, that is, to cut between them and the ball into the middle lane. In order to deny penetrating passing and cutting lanes, players off the ball drop away from their opponents toward the ball, that is, adjust their location on the court in relation to the players they are guarding and to the teammate who is on the ball.
Other factors also influence the amount of drop. For example, the quicker the defender, the farther he/she can move toward the player with the ball. Also, if the player with the ball is not a good passer, players off the ball can increase their drop.
Influencing
Influencing is the process of determining what an opponent does.
Influencing an opponent with the ball. A player can influence an opponent by taking away preferences. For example, if a player who is advancing the ball with a dribble prefers to dribble with his/her right hand, the defender should overplay the right hand, forcing that player to dribble with the left hand.
Also, a player can influence what an opponent does in a tactical situation. For example, when guarding an opponent, the defender should try to prevent that player from executing an overhead penetrating pass, particularly directly to the hoop. Consequently, the players off the ball can increase their drop, knowing the passing lane to hoop is blocked.
Influencing an opponent without the ball. To 'run' their offence, particularly patterned ones, players need to execute cuts to particular locations on the court. For example, in a two guard front, one guard, after executing a reverse pass to the other guard, is to cut to the basket. By blocking that cutting lane, the defender can effectively disrupt the pattern and the timing which is necessary for them to 'run' their offence.
Helping and Recovering
Each player off the ball must be ready to help at least one other teammate. But, in the process of helping, he/she is still responsible for guarded the opponent he/she is guarding. This technique for helping a teammate, while being able to recover is called 'freezing an opponent'. For example, a weak side opponent in a guard position, burns the player guarding him/her. The defender on the baseline must help by quickly moving to protect the basket. This quick moment is designed to attract the attention of the player who is driving, causing him/her to end the drive, hesitate, or pass to the teammate on the baseline.
Ending the drive or hesitating allows, the defender who was burned to recover. The moment the opponent passes to the teammate on the base line, the helping defender recovers.
Rotating
An effective defence makes it very difficult for teams to execute lay ups and shots a few feet from the hoop. To achieve this, the priority for defensive players who are guarding opponents who are ahead of the ball is to deny the passing lanes to them, particularly penetrating passes directly to the hoop. Also, the player on the ball must try not only to not get 'burned' that is, allow the opponent with the ball to drive past, but also to not allow penetrating passes.
To prevent an opponent who is ahead of the ball from being unguarded and to recover immediately after one does, players off the ball need to rotate, that is, move quickly to ensure that all opponents ahead of the ball are guarded. When rotating, the first priority is to guard the opponent or opponents closest to the hoop.
The two diagrams illustrate the defence rotating behind a front court front and a three-quarter court front. In the man-to-man defence behind the back court front, the player guarding the low post moves to pick up the opponent who is driving to the hoop. The player guarding the offside forward rotates to guard the low post. The two players at the top adjust their locations so that they are ready to help and to guard the three perimeter players.
In the rotation related to the zone press behind a three quarter court front, the players rotate so that they can double team the player who received the cross court pass and while their teammates re-set the body of the dragon.
DEFENSIVE SETS
An Overview
There are a number of different defensive sets - zone, man-to-man, match up and combination. There is a great deal of information about these sets in print and video form. As a result, these sets are described here only in general terms.
However, there is not much information available about how to ensure defensive balance. Teams should be ready to play defence while on offence, particularly after taking a shot. Consequently, this situation is examined in some detail.
Man-to-Man Set
In the man-to-man set, players are responsible primarily for guarding a particular opponent. As a result, the positions in a man-to-man set mirror the positions of the offensive set of the opposing team. This set is used behind all the defensive fronts.
Zone Sets
In zone sets, players are assigned to positions in a particular formation, such as a 2:1:2 zone. They are responsible for an area (zone) of the court in which their position is located. Each defensive player is responsible for any opponents in his/her area of the court. Each time the opposing players advance the ball with a pass or a dribble, the players in each of the positions adjust their location in unison in relation to the opponent with ball, the basket, and to the location of opponents without the ball. These movements or adjusments in location are called 'shifts'.
Zone sets are used behind all the defensive fronts.
Match Up Sets
Occurring normally behind the back court front, players match up with their opponents, that is, select particular players to guard, as in the man-to-man set. For example, if the team on offence were in a 1:3:1 front court set, the defensive players would mirror that formation. However, rather than playing man-to-man, they play zone.
Combination Sets
Match up sets usually occur behind the back court front. A combination set employs two of the three characteristics of the three basic sets - man-to-man, zone, or match up. For example, in a box and one, four players play zone and the fifth player guards a particular opponent (man-to-man).
Defensive Balance
Players on defence should be ready to play defence the instant they anticipate losing possession of the ball. During a sideline or baseline throw-in, players on defence have time to get organized. However, during live-ball transition, when an opposing player gets a defensive rebound, intercepts a pass, or picks up a loose ball, they have very little time to get organized, particularly against a team with fast break capability.
Consequently, when a team is playing either in its outlet or mid-court set, one player should be immediately responsible for the ball and another for protecting the hoop. The other three players should get in front of the ball as quickly as possible. Then, they can begin playing in a particular defensive set behind the appropriate front.
This tactic also applies to front court play when an opponent intercepts a pass, strips the player with the ball, or picks up a loose ball or when the team is awarded a sideline throw-in.
However, after a shot, players should provide defensive balance by quickly occupying the positions which are shown in the diagram. Which players and how they occupy positions in this transition set is explained in the Defensive Play section.
The basic set. At the moment a player shoots, two players should be in or moving to occupy the two rebound (R) positions. The other three players should be moving to occupy the long safety (LS) position, the short safety (SS) position, and the free safety (FS) position.
The two rebound (R) positions are on either side of the hoop. The long (LS) position is in the mid-court area, usually in the defensive back court side of the centre line. The short (SS) position is around the top of the restraining circle. There is no specific location for free safety (FS) position. The player in that position chooses to do whatever will most disrupt the play of the opposing team, such as rebound or move immediately to deny passing lanes to the opposing team's point guard.
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