Rabu, 12 November 2008

One-on-One “In Game” Defensive Tips

Scenario 1: Your Opponent Has the Ball

In this scenario your Opponent has the basketball in their hands and is ready to attack you off their dribble. How are you going to defend them?
Opponent Hasn’t Dribbled

If your Opponent has just received the ball from a pass but hasn’t as yet dribbled the ball, make sure to maintain an arms-length distance away from them. This will contain them effectively, while ensure that they cannot get off a quick shot, and that they will be discouraged against trying to beat you off the dribble.
Opponent Is Dribbling

If on the other hand your Opponent has already started dribbling the ball, than you must take into account the following guidelines as a defender:
Be Aware of Opponent’s Strengths & Weaknesses

Being aware of your Opponent’s strengths and weaknesses will provide you with some key insights on how you should be guarding them. You may find it helpful to ask yourself the following set of questions:

Which is their dominant dribbling hand?

Which is their weak dribbling hand?

How must I defend my Opponent in order to force them to dribble with their weak hand?

What other weaknesses or strengths have I noticed about my Opponent?

How can I take advantage of their weaknesses when defending them?

How can I minimize the impact of their strengths when defending them?
Test Opponent’s Strengths & Weaknesses

Now that you are aware of your Opponent’s strength’s and weaknesses, the opportunity is ripe to challenge your Opponent and expose their weaknesses in order to increase your chances of getting a steal or forcing a turnover.
Dictate Direction of Opponent’s Dribble

As an effective defender, you are in full control of your Opponent’s movement of the ball. You must begin by dictating which direction you would like them to dribble the ball by overplaying them on one side or the other. Essentially, you may like to force them to their weak dribbling hand, otherwise progressively guiding them into a double-team or towards the sideline or baseline can also work very well to your advantage. If for instance you would like them to dribble with their right hand, than you would overplay them towards their left side by getting into a low and solid defensive stance that blocks off their ability to dribble to their left.
Deny Dribble Penetration towards Mid Court

An Opponent who has the ball is most effective in the Open Court where they have more room and flexibility to operate and move. For this reason you must force your Opponent towards the baseline or sideline. These two lines can be utilized as additional defenders in order to prevent your Opponent from dribbling the ball freely up the court.
Chop Your Feet Making Shoes Squeak

The process of chopping or shuffling your feet quickly will confuse your Opponent and will breed uncertainty into their offensive movement strategy. As previously discussed, chopping your feet also improves your speed and agility helping you to react quickly to an Offensive player’s foot movement and change of direction.
Focus Eyes on Opponent’s Mid Section

When defending, some players focus on the movement of the basketball. Others focus on the eyes of their Opponent, or on the foot movement of the players they are guarding. Unfortunately these areas can all be used deceptively by players in order to fool the defense. On the other hand, an Opponent’s mid-section (stomach and hips) don’t lie. Wherever the hips are facing, that is where your Opponent is likely to pass or dribble the ball. Therefore keep an eye out on your Opponent’s mid-section and react accordingly.
Exaggerate Your Hand Movements

Exaggerated hand movements can at times confuse your Opponent and force them to pick up their dribble. However, be sure that when you are utilizing this strategy that you maintain good balance and control over your hands. It is after all very easy to overdo your hand movements, to lose balance, and get schooled by your Opponent.
Fake the Steal

Reaching in for the ball quickly and then pulling your hand out again while maintaining stability can effectively knock your Opponent off balance, force them to pick up their dribble or force the turnover. This is an effective strategy to use against less confident ball-handlers.
Don’t Overplay Your Opponent

If you do not have good balance and a solid stance, than overplaying your Opponent too far to one side will work against you. Your Opponent will see an opportunity to take advantage of your overplayed position, and they will make you pay for your defensive lapse and lack of concentration.
Don’t Run Beside Your Opponent

When your Opponent is running at full speed down the court, the absolutely worst strategy you could use here is to run beside them all the way up to the basket. Many inexperienced players have a habit of running beside their Opponent while reaching in to knock the ball away. This is a very dangerous tactic which will most likely lead to a defensive foul. Instead, you must sprint ahead of your Opponent as quickly as possible and gain front position before reaching in for the ball. Also keep in mind to stay low, balanced and quick in the defensive stance we discussed above.
Don’t Give Up Easy Layup

When your Opponent is dribbling the ball, the very worst possible scenario that can eventuate is that they beat you off the dribble and finish off with an easy layup. Your primary objective as a defender is to prevent this from happening at all costs. You must therefore keep your Opponent at Arm’s length at all times and move your feet quickly to ensure that you are always standing between them and the basket.
Scenario 2: Your Opponent Picks Up Dribble

In this scenario your Opponent has the basketball in their hands after already having dribbled the ball. How are you going to defend them?
Immediately Close the Gap

The moment your Opponent picks up the dribble you must immediately close the gap between you and them on the basketball court. Go body-to-body with your Opponent, straddling their pivot foot if possible in order to knock them off balance. Do NOT give them an inch of space, and crowd them as much as possible without fouling. Your Opponent might end up becoming so frustrated with your defensive pressure that you will be able to draw an offensive foul.
Trace Movement of the Ball with Your Hands

Once you have closed the gap between you and your Opponent, begin by tracing the movement of the basketball with one of your hands. This will enable you to get your hands in front of potential passing lanes that could open up suddenly.
Block Opponent’s Line of Site

Your Opponent is in a bit of trouble at the moment. They cannot dribble, they have very little space to move, and they therefore have no option left but to pass the ball to one of their Teammates. In order to minimize this possibility, block your Opponent’s “line of sight” with your other hand making sure that you do not poke your fingers into their eyes.
Angle Your Opponent Out of Bounds

Having closed the gap to your opponent, and with your arms working overtime following the movement of the ball and blocking your Opponent’s “line of sight”, the next step involves angling your Opponent’s body to an “Out of Bounds” position. This will effectively close off the passing lanes to their Teammates.
Don’t Allow a Shot or Pass

Your end goal is to get the 5 second call, a steal or force a bad pass or turnover. Under no circumstances should you allow your Opponent to get a shot off or an easy uncontested pass once they have picked up their dribble.
Scenario 3: Your Opponent Is Shooting

In this scenario your Opponent has the basketball in their hands and is in the process of shooting the ball. How are you going to defend them?
Don’t Allow Opponent to Square-Up to Basket

Your first priority is not to give your Opponent a chance to square up to the basket. Once your Opponent is squared-up it naturally raises the effectiveness and accuracy of their shooting motion. To avoid this situation, make sure to play solid and tight defense on your Opponent at all times, maintaining a good stance, movement, balance and spacing as was discussed earlier within this article post.
Raise Your Arms

Your Opponent has decided to shoot the ball over the top of your defensive stance. In this situation, immediately stand high off the ground without jumping, and raise your arms directly into the air to make yourself as tall as possible. At the same time it is important to step into your Opponent closing the gap without fouling. You will thusly change the trajectory of your Opponent’s shot forcing them into a “loopy or lollipop” shot over the top of your hands.
Box-out Using Arms & Body

In this scenario it is too late to close the gap on your Opponent to prevent them from shooting the ball. Therefore you must now “Box-Out” in order to prevent them from getting an offensive rebound and a second look at the basket. Box-Out your Opponent by getting wide and low. Turn your back to them, get your Bum into their waist and hip area and spread your arms making yourself as wide as possible. Also make sure that your stance is solid and balanced. The wider and more solid you become, the more difficult it will be for your Opponent to get by you for an offensive rebound.

Finally, make sure that you are positioning yourself in the gap between your Opponent and the direct line towards the basket.
Use Your Arm-bar to Contain Opponent

If your Opponent shoots the ball high up on the perimeter, than it may be more effective to Box them Out using an arm-bar to the chest area. This will keep your Opponent away from charging towards the basket, while at the same time providing you with enough leverage to move in for the rebound if the ball bounces in your direction.
Rebound Aggressively

Once you have Boxed-Out your Opponent, be sure to charge in for the rebound with aggression and commitment.
Scenario 4: Your Opponent Does Not Have Ball

In this scenario your Opponent does not have the basketball in their hands. How are you going to defend them?
Trap & Double Team

When your direct Opponent does not have the ball it is important to keep an eye-out for potential double-team or trapping opportunities that can pop up at a moments notice. Look for these at all times to help your Teammates defend their Opponent’s more effectively.
Protect the Gaps at all Costs

Movement on the defensive end of the floor naturally causes gaps to open up that could be taken advantage of by your Opponents. Be aware of these gap formations in your defensive team positioning strategy, and fill them up with good spacing and movement as soon as you become aware of them. If you can see them, than your Opponents are probably also conscious of these gaps.
Play the Split-line Protecting Basket & Key Area

Playing the Split-line involves the process of shifting your team defensive formation to the strong side of the key area where the ball is currently located. Hence, no player would be located on the left side of the court if the ball was being played on the right side. A diagram would probably best explain this technique. If in doubt, please ask your Coach for further explanation.
Talk on Defense

When your direct Opponent does not have the ball, it is important to talk on the defensive end to alert your Teammates who have their back to the basket what is going on behind them. Also talk when setting traps, helping out your Teammates defensively, and when your Opponent’s are cutting through the Key area.
Switch on Screens

When playing man-to-man it is useful at times to switch the Opponent you are guarding when a screen has been set. This will enable you to quickly position yourself accordingly and stay between your Opponent and the basket at all times. The mechanics of screening are discussed in another article post.
Final Thoughts

Knowing how to play effective and solid defense is a fundamental aspect of the game of basketball. However, there is a lot more to playing effective defense than simply trying to prevent your opponent from scoring a basket. The balance between defense and offense is very much like a game of chess that requires concentration, strategic thinking and skill. If you take time to master this process and develop the fundamental practices of solid footwork, stance and movement, than you will be well on your way towards becoming the “Go To” defensive stopper on your team.

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you have any further queries or questions, or would like to share your experiences about this topic, than please do so in the comments section below.


from : http://blog.iqmatrix.com/

3 komentar:

katroboys mengatakan...

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tararengqyu sanget..!.

katroboys mengatakan...

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saya teh salut ama para pmain N3.. KEREN TOP ABIZ.. jdi pengen nonton lagi basket.. ternyata basket teh seru juga nyak..?.

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katroboys mengatakan...

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malah curhat.. yo gpp tho..?.
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