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Howtoattackhalf
courtbasketballzone
defenses
InrecentarticlesIhavebeenexplaining
howtheBackdoorTrapOffensivepattern
isusedagainstmantomandefenses.I
didthisbecauseinmostmajor
conferencesthemantomanoffenseis
predominateandcoachesmustdesign
theirbasicoffensetocombatthetypeof
defensestheywillmostlikelyface.
Itisbeyondmewhysomayyouth
leaguesallowzonedefensestoprevail.
Afterall,isn'titourgoaltoteachouryoungstersthefundamentalsofthisgreatgame,called
basketball.Isuspectthereasonisbecausemostcoachesarenotknowledgeableenoughto
properlyteachthemantoman.
Ontheotherhand,everyhighschoolcoachknowsthathisteammustbepreparedtoattack
thezoneatsometimeduringtheseason.Collegecoachesarenodifferent.Thoseteamswho
shyawayfromthe3pointshotareapttorunintomorezonedefensesthanisnormal.
Whateverthereason,itbecomesnecessarythateveryteamhaveazoneattackintheir
offensivesystem.
Inthisarticle,itismyintentiontodescribehowthefeaturesoftheBackdoorTraphalfcourt
offensethatwillworksuccessfullyagainstzonedefenses.

TheoryoftheBasketballZoneDefense

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Zonedefensesareusedforseveraldifferent,yetvalid,reasons.Smallfloorsarethebiggest
reasoninhighschoolbecausedefenderscancoverboththedangerousunderthebasketarea
andthevulnerablecornerswiththeleastamountofspreadtotheside.
Also,sincethepurposeofazonedefenseistoguardanarea,ratherthananassignedplayer,
thebestrebounderscanbekeptinbetterreboundingposition.Fastbreakingteams,usinga
zone,canbecertainthattheiroutletplayersarealwaysintheproperpositiontostartafast
break.
Defenseiseasiertoplayinazonethaninamantomandefense.Movementoftheball
dictatesmovementratherthanthemovementoftheindividuallyassignedoffensiveplayer.
Freelancing,screensandfakeslosemuchoftheireffectivenessbecausetheyworkbestina
oneononesituation.Overall,thedefensiveteamexpendsmuchlessenergyinazone
defensethaninamantomantherefore,zonedefenseshavegreatappealtohighschool
coaches.Theirplayersgenerallyhavelesspreseasonpractice,lackindividualdefensive
skills,anddonotpossessthestaminarequiredtoplayanentiregameofaggressivemanto
mandefensethancollegeplayers.

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Collegeteamsdonotusezonesbecausetheyareeasiertoplay.Theyusesuchdefensesto
upsettheiropponent'sregularattack.Duringthecourseofagame,acollegeteammay
changefrommatomantozoneandbacktoamantoman,varyingdefensestobreakthe
tempooftheopposition.Thisforcestheoppositionoutoftheirmoresuccessfulpatterns,or
allowsthemtobettermatchupwithastrongerreboundingteam.

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WheneverIviewthestandardzonedefenseobjectively,Imustadmititsvalueisevidentin
manydifferentsituations.Zoneshavebeenapartofbasketballforanawfullongtimeandwill
continueasapartofbasketballforagestocome.

BasicBasketballZoneAttacks
InsettinguptheOpportunityOffenseagainstthestandardzone,I'mgeneralizingtheattack
asfollows:
1.Againstanyzonewithanoddnumberofplayersout,useanevennumberofplayers
out.
2.Againstanyzonewithanevennumberofplayersout,useanoddnumberofplayers
out.
Againstvariouszonedefenses,assignplayerstoapositionthatbestfitstheirownindividual
abilities.Trytokeepyourattackbalanced,soasitwillbeeffectiveeithertotheleftorright.
Mostofallstriveforsimplicity.Keepitsimple,stupid!Striveforsimplepatternsandminimum
passing,whilelookingforthegood,closeinhighpercentageshot.

Attackingthe23,212,131,32and122ZoneDefenses

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Diagram1Firststepinattackinga23zone.Sendaguardthrough.

1. HowtoPlayBasketball

Followingtheruleofoddagainsteven,theattackagainstthe23startsasillustratedin
Diagram1.Thepivotplayer(5)isatthehighpostandforwards(3)and(4)arewideatthe
freethrowlineextended.Guard(1)cutsthroughasshown.Thisputsoneguard(2)asthe

2. HowtoPlayBasketball

Defense

Offense

ReadtheDefense
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oddmanoutside.(2)isassumedtohavethe
ball.

3. Oneononebasketball

Thefreethrowlineextendedpositionsofthe
forwardsusuallysplitthepositionsofthetwo
defendersonthesidesofthezone,making
theseforwardstheresponsibilityofthe
outsidedeepdefendersinthezone.

4. BasketballCoach's

TeamDefenses
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7. Howtocoachandteach
thebasketballpickand
rollplay

Diagram2Attackingthe23Zone.X5and
X3mustcoverthreeoffensiveplayersonce
(1)hasmoveddeepintothezone.

8. HowtoCoachthe

Bysending(1)deeptothefreethrowlane,
wehavenowgainedtheadvantageofhaving
threeplayersinthezonescoveredbyonly
twoofouropponents.Sinceourdeepguard
(1)canmovefromonesideofthelanetothe
other,thisadvantagecanshiftfromsideto
side,eventhoughtheballstaysinthe
possessionofanoutsideguard.Thisdiagram
illustratesouradvantagetotheleft,with
defendersX5andX3responsibleforthreeof
ouroffensiveplayers(5),(3),and(1).

9. HowtoCoachthe131

Diagram3Attackingthe23Zone.
Onceouroffenseisinthe131offensive
formation,theattackconsistsofreactionsto
thedefensivemoves.Bepreparedtocounter
whateverdecisionsdefendersX5andX3
make.Theymustchoosewhomtocover,
becausethereisoneplayerfreeintheir
zones.
Thisdiagramillustratesoneoptionavailable
afterforcingX5tocoverthedeepguard(1).
Heretheoutsideguard(2)passestothe
strongsideforward(3),bringingdefenderX3
out.(3)thenpassesto(1),forcingX5to
coverhim.

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Play

BasketballZonePressure
Defenses

10. HowtoCoachandTeach
theWheelMantoMan
BasketballOffense

32Combination
212Combination
Alternating
Pressure
Concealed
Zones
1211Zone
122Zone
131Zone
32Zone
212Zone
221Zone
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AsX5commits,highpost(5)rollstothebasketandweaksideforward(4)cutstothefree
throwline.
Continuityisachievedbymovingtheweaksideforward(4)tothehighpostposition,
whereverhecanreceiveanoutletpassshould(1)or(5)failtoscore.Inthatcase,(5)swings
acrosstotheoppositesideofthefoullane,stilldeep,and(3)isingoodpositiontoeither
takeajumpshotorhit(1)or(5)whoarenowatthebaseendsofouroffensivetriangle.

Diagram4Attackingthe23Zone.
This131offensiveattackagainstthis
particularzoneisalsowhentheplayeratthe
highpost(5)getstheoriginalpassfromthe
outsideguard(2).(5)'spassoptionsare
illustratedwiththisdiagram.Inthiscase,
bothforwardsmovequicklyintoopenareas
whicharegoodpositionsforashot,andthe
deepguard(1)isstillingoodpositionfora
shot,shouldtheopportunitypresentitselffor
himtoreceiveaquickpass.

Whenever(5)getstheball,X5mustcover
himwhichopensupthebaselineforapass.
IfX3andX4collapse,bothforwards,(3)and
(4)willbeopenforshortjumpshots.

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Theonlyweaknesstothisattackisthefactwehaveaguardinside,whichseeminglyleaves
theoffensiveteamvulnerabletoafastbreakhowever,weareingreatreboundingposition
andwillgetmanyputbacks.Playthelongrebound,keeponeplayerbackassafety,andtry
topreventtheoutletpassbytyingupadefensiverebounder.
Youcanattackthe212Zoneinexactlythesamewayyouattackthe23Zone.Simply
executetheoptionsIjustdescribed.

Diagram5Attackinga131Zone.
Theguardsremainintheirnormalposition,followingourruleofoddorevenfronts.Thetwo
forwardstakepositionsonthebaselineabout10to15feetfromthebasketasshowninthis
diagramandpostplayer(5)assumesthehighpostposition.
Sendingtheforwardsdeepmayforcethedefendersintoa23Zone.Ifso,(5)caneasilybe
fedfromoutside.Thisisespeciallyeffectiveiftheopponentplaysitsownpivotplayeras
deepmaninthezone,sinceourpivotplayercantakeadvantageoftheovermatchedoneon
onesituation,eitherbygettingoffashotorfeedaguardorforwardfora10to15footjump
shot.Shouldthedefendersbeabletokeepthepivotplayer(5)fromfeedingtheforwardsin
theirdeeppositions,thenyouwillnotbeabletoforcea23alignmentanduseanothermode
ofattack.

Diagram6Attackingthe131Zone.
Thisdiagramillustrateshowtosetupan
overloadusingyourbestcornershooter
takingtheshot.Lowpost(5)actsasa
decoy,openinguptheshot,gettingintoa
reboundingposition,andplaceshimselfin
thecornerpositionshouldtheneedbeto
swingtheballbackoutsideandaroundthe
hornforapossibleshotfromtheopposite
corner.

Diagram7Attackingthe131Zone.
Althoughscreensdonotgenerallyplaya
criticalpartinzoneoffensiveattacks,hereis
away,usingascreen,thatwillgetanopen
shotalongthebaseline.
Instudyingthisdiagram,pleasenotethat(4)
and(5)canmoveintodeeppositionson
eithersideofthefreethrowlane.Assuming
thecornershotby(4)isnotavailable.Inthis
situation(4)couldpasstheballbackto(3)
thenimmediatelysetascreenonthedeep
defenderX4.Usingthisscreen,(5)curls
arounditlookingforapassfrom(3).This
oftengetsagooduncontestedshotover
teammate(4).

Asastandardpracticeagainstanyzonedefenseinwhichtwoplayersarepositionedin
tandem,inthefreethrowlane,beattackedwithatriangleattack.Thatiswithahighpost,
lettinghimfeedthedeepplayersastheyscreenforeachother.

Diagram8Attackingthe32Zone.
Thisdefenseisstrongagainsttheoutside
attach,butextremelyweakagainstastrong
insideattack.Therefore,Irecommendyou
putyourbestturnaroundshooterandpasser
inthehighpost(5)positionandtwotall
players(4)and(5)deepalongthefreethrow
lane.Keepbothguardsinnormaloutside
positionsandkeepfeeding(3)atthehigh
post.ThisforcesX5andX4intotandem
positionsandallow(3)tohiteither(4)or(5)
astheyscreenforeachother.
Ifthedefendersdonotgointotandem
positionsdescribedabove,(3)willhave
uncontestedshotsallnight.

Diagrams9&10OptionsAgainsta32Zone.
Diagrams9and10illustratescreeningandcuttingtechniquesby(4)and(5).Theseshowthe
screeningpossibilitiesshouldX5andX4assumethetandemposition.Also,notehowthe
guardscanalsohittheopencutterfromtheiroutsideposition.
Occasionallysendaguardcuttingthroughthezoneandpull(4)and(5)outwideatthefree
throwlineextended,send(3)tothelowpostposition(asshowninthe131zoneoffensive
attackinDiagram6.Thissetsupanoverloadwith(3)thenbeingthecornershooter.
A122Zonedefenseissimilartothe32,therefore,itcanbeattackedthesameway.
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