Tips on Playing Defense
Collapse
Recommended Videos
Collapse
X
-
Tips on Playing Defense
Does anyone have any tips on playing good defense in Basketball? How to play defense like the greats ; Scottie Pippen; MJ .. etc .:wink:Tags: None -
Re: Tips on Playing Defense
1. Take away the baseline (send offensive players towards your help in the middle)
2. Always stay low and bend your knees (athletic stance)
3. If you go for a steal REALLY go for the steal. make the offensive player prove he can protect the ball.
4. Do not be intimidated by elbows or size (be physical).
5. Anticipate moves but do not commit until the offensive player has commited. Over playing on defense will only make you look silly against good players. -
Re: Tips on Playing Defense
Ball-you-man, never turn your head and lose sight of the ball or your man. If you do lose sight of your man make sure you've got a hand on him or maintain contact so you know where he is (this is mostly used in the paint).
Besides that, it's the usual stuff. Stay low, on the balls of your feet try to anticipate without gambling too much and just have desire to play your hardest on D. A lot of people tend to stand straight-up and/or flatfooted on D, especially off-the-ball. You're going to be useless if you do that.
Bump cutters like crazy, don't let guys get into the paint or go where they want on the floor when they don't have the ball. Simply beat them to the spot and put a forearm in their chest. This pisses some guys off who never played at a higher level because they think you're cheap shotting them but oh well. A big problem with some defenders is they let their man catch the ball in a good scoring position without putting up any fight. There are plenty of average ball players who will score pretty easily if you let them get the ball within 10' of the hoop. Anyone who catches the ball that close to the hoop should have to put up a pretty big fight to do so.
Understanding how/when/where you're supposed to rotate is also key. The best defenders are just as good off-ball as they are on-ball.
And lastly, really pay attention to what's going on the floor in terms of tendencies. A big part of the game is mental. If you're just playing pick up then it should be real easy to figure guys out. Most guys can only go right or are straight jump shooters. Force a guy left or crowd a jump shooter. I can't tell you how many times I've played pick up and some dude will be killing out there on the court by just going right time after time and the defender will never adjust. I'll switch to him and blatantly force him left and all of a sudden he's struggling to score. Or the guy who thinks he's Allen Iverson but can't shoot to save his life. Back way off, like Rondo-style. Then he sits at the top of the key doing 10 crossovers in place without going anywhere and I'm 7' off him just chilling. Same thing with shooters, I'll pick a guy up right when he crosses half court and do a pretty good job of denying him the ball and his productivity sinks. And I'm 6'8 with no knees and a bad back - not exactly in my athletic prime anymore but I'm still usually the best defender on the floor (even when guarding perimeter guys) just by using my head a little bit.
At higher levels there really isn't much you do - you need great team/help defense to contain a great scorer. If you try to take one thing away they'll simply do the opposite and score. Guarding a complete, well-rounded scorer is a frustrating task. If facing one then you've just got to try to make things difficult. He's going to get his."You make your name in the regular season, and your fame in the postseason." - Clyde Frazier
"Beware of geeks bearing formulas." - Warren BuffetComment
-
Re: Tips on Playing Defense
yeah man. you have to have a passion for defense first. you need to get a thrill out of shutting someone down. I'm a natural football player but I also played highschool b-ball. that football in me just won't allow me to slack on defense. I love playing defense, maybe more than offense.
all the little nuances that ehh is describing are great but I don't think you can pick them up without being drilled by a good coach on an organized team. Hard to learn the value of good rotations and help defense if you're only playing pick up games.
my highschool coach was a stickler for defense. i would say in the weeks leading up to the regular season our workouts were split 80/20 defense to offense. We were a perennial playoff team.Comment
-
Re: Tips on Playing Defense
You just have to understand the person you are playing against. It's almost worth it, if you can swing it and people understand you (and won't whine), to let them go at you a couple times and play passive defense just to see what they are going to try to come with. Obviously don't give up a lay up, though.
But the single most important aspect of defense is physicality. That changes everything. You have to make them think you are gonna be there no matter what. Make them feel molested by you. lol. Like I said though that's gonna make some people mad and if you are playing on the street someone might punch you in the face.
I'm not saying put your foot under them like Bowen or hack them, but just keep your body and hands on them so that every time they make a move they are going to feel you are there. Then they will start adjusting for you being there and that's good. That's when you can start blocking them or stripping the ball.
Just don't be afraid to get up in them... but watch for elbows.
-SmakComment
Comment