Diamond on the ball to take away the drive
The way we defend the ball is based on several ideas.
- Most players can't hurt us nearly as much if we take away their strong hand.
- Three point shots give a big boost to the other team so we want to take them away.
- A good defender can take away the outside shot and the strong hand. It takes help but it's doable.
- The best case scenario for us is for the other team to pass it around the outside of the three point line.
- We don't mind it if the pass is made to the wing as long as they don't receive it going to the basket. It's more important to avoid back door cuts as these lead to easy baskets and fouls.
- Players won't play tough on the ball if they don't have help.
- Post defense is easier when there is big pressure on the ball.
The diagram shows our diamond on the ball defense The posts aren't shown for clarity (and because it's too long to draw them....).
- X1 has their head on 1's right shoulder (head on shoulder) and is told that they will be on the bench if they get beaten twice by their check's strong hand. I try to apply this rule religiously.
- X1 has the hand on the ball handler's strong hand above the defender's eyes. The tendency is to drop the hand when the ball handler fakes a drive. Wayne Hussey, the former coach at Bishop's and the Canadian women's team told me this. This is something that has to emphasized often if it's going to happen.
- X1 is the point of the diamond. We tell the ball defender they are the hard point of the diamond.The mental aspect of ball defense is harder than the physical part. Players who can't drive left have great fakes left.
- X2 and X3 are told that their role is first to support the defender on the ball and then to stop the back door.
- We consider it a win if the wing player gets the ball outside the three point line either stationary or going away from the basket.
- X2 and X3 have to close out hard to the strong hand when their check gets the ball. We keep on telling the defenders that it is a win for us when they pass the ball around the perimeter, as long as we apply pressure immediately.
We apply the same diamond principle when the ball is at the wing. The posts are hidden again.
- X2 plays up on the ball to stop the shot and the drive right.
- X1 supports X2 and concedes the pass back to the point.
- X3 has at least a foot in the key and is very active to convince 2 that the pass isn't possible
We will of course make adjustments against great players. Randy Pfund, who was an assistant with the great Laker teams 80's at the at the time he told me this, said that the Lakers had three defensive strategies. They had a standard defense, defense for a star and another defense for a star on fire. I've never gotten that far, but it's probably something to aspire to.
The most common adjustment is keeping the ball away from a great offensive player. If is a great offensive player we deny the pass hard, have help for the back door and leave the other wing wide open. We would probably pick the ball handler up a little earlier and influence away from 2.
None of this is magic. It is very hard to get players to commit to pressure on the ball and there are all kinds of problems when it doesn't happen. It has however been good for us.
- Most players can't hurt us nearly as much if we take away their strong hand.
- Three point shots give a big boost to the other team so we want to take them away.
- A good defender can take away the outside shot and the strong hand. It takes help but it's doable.
- The best case scenario for us is for the other team to pass it around the outside of the three point line.
- We don't mind it if the pass is made to the wing as long as they don't receive it going to the basket. It's more important to avoid back door cuts as these lead to easy baskets and fouls.
- Players won't play tough on the ball if they don't have help.
- Post defense is easier when there is big pressure on the ball.
The diagram shows our diamond on the ball defense The posts aren't shown for clarity (and because it's too long to draw them....).
- X1 has their head on 1's right shoulder (head on shoulder) and is told that they will be on the bench if they get beaten twice by their check's strong hand. I try to apply this rule religiously.
- X1 has the hand on the ball handler's strong hand above the defender's eyes. The tendency is to drop the hand when the ball handler fakes a drive. Wayne Hussey, the former coach at Bishop's and the Canadian women's team told me this. This is something that has to emphasized often if it's going to happen.
- X1 is the point of the diamond. We tell the ball defender they are the hard point of the diamond.The mental aspect of ball defense is harder than the physical part. Players who can't drive left have great fakes left.
- X2 and X3 are told that their role is first to support the defender on the ball and then to stop the back door.
- We consider it a win if the wing player gets the ball outside the three point line either stationary or going away from the basket.
- X2 and X3 have to close out hard to the strong hand when their check gets the ball. We keep on telling the defenders that it is a win for us when they pass the ball around the perimeter, as long as we apply pressure immediately.
We apply the same diamond principle when the ball is at the wing. The posts are hidden again.
- X2 plays up on the ball to stop the shot and the drive right.
- X1 supports X2 and concedes the pass back to the point.
- X3 has at least a foot in the key and is very active to convince 2 that the pass isn't possible
We will of course make adjustments against great players. Randy Pfund, who was an assistant with the great Laker teams 80's at the at the time he told me this, said that the Lakers had three defensive strategies. They had a standard defense, defense for a star and another defense for a star on fire. I've never gotten that far, but it's probably something to aspire to.
The most common adjustment is keeping the ball away from a great offensive player. If is a great offensive player we deny the pass hard, have help for the back door and leave the other wing wide open. We would probably pick the ball handler up a little earlier and influence away from 2.
None of this is magic. It is very hard to get players to commit to pressure on the ball and there are all kinds of problems when it doesn't happen. It has however been good for us.
Labels: basketball, defense
posted by Mike MacAdam at 9:49 PM
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