Pressure Defense and the Game of Basketball

In the last few years pressure defense has risen to become one of the most popular defenses among college and High school coaches. Its fast paced attack style of play has given coaches something that every coach wants, a defense that is designed to score.

Pressure defenses can range from a 1-2-2 full court trap to a 1-3-1 half-court trap. But they are all designed to do the same thing, disrupt the offense, and not to allow them to get into their offensive sets. Dave Hastings lists the key points for a 1-2-2 defensive set as,

1. Do not trap until the ball crosses the mid-court line.

2. Do not allow the ball-handler to go down the sideline.

3. React into the passing lane, but don’t over-react and allow the easy basket

4. Trap all areas of the court aggressively and with all-out haste. (3 Hastings)

It is imperative that each of these rules be strictly followed to successfully operate the 1-2-2. Each pressure defense has it’s own set of rules, specific to the goals that it is trying to accomplish.

Many pressure defenses are used in combination with one another, specific to each offensive set just prior. Or in other words, the defense is determined by the offense that occurred just moments ago. For instance, when Rick Pitino was at Providence he ran a combination of pressure defenses. He ran a white or 1-2-2, a black 2-1-2, and a red 1-3-1 defense. Each defensive set was determined by the shot that the players take on offense.

If the offense scores then they jump into a pressure defense. If they do not score than they fall back into a half court man to man. Now if the offense scores on a long jump shot, or a three pointer, than they may jump into a 1-2-2. Of course there are different reasons for each of these, but the point is, that the offense determines the defense.

A major point in any pressure defense is the players. Not just any player will do. So as Dave Hastings says,

The ideal personnel for this kind of trapping game are well-conditioned, athletic people with long arms and the ability to anticipate passes and beat the receiver to the spot. The long arms are of special benefit in obstructing the passer’s view of his teammates and the lane leading to them. I like to play my tallest, most athletic player on the point. Since he’s going to do a whole lot of springing and quick changes of direction, he very obviously always has to be in prime condition and ready to give 110% at all times. (3 Hastings)

You can see, that teams that trap are going to be tall and athletic. Which obviously would lead their coach to the conclusion of playing an up-tempo game that takes advantage of his player’s ability’s.

The pressure defense that is in question is one that generates an exciting basketball game. The ball is bound to change hands many times, and lay-ups, steals, and even dunks are bound to follow. It is also very easy for a good trapping team to go up by a great number of points very quickly and early in a game.

This brings me to another principle in pressure defense, “The quick pass” (Larranga 26). Whenever the ball is stolen the quickest pass up the floor is made. Also, when the ball is stolen the player closest breaks for his or her basket. This allows their teammate to advance the ball easily to them since they are ahead of the rest of either team.

The defense is always in a constant state of change or transition. Each player adapts their position to that of the ball and the player that they are defending. This principle is called “Ball-you-man” (Smith 48). Each player stays in line with the ball and their man. This prevents the offense from making an easy pass. They are forced to draw the defender away by making moves, or “Fakes”. Harkins emphasis that you must always, “Fake a pass to make a pass” (Harkins 14).

Of course we are now brought to the point of what to do in the face of these defenses? It is not as simple an answer as a question. But there are weaknesses in every defense. A major one to address is the player’s themselves. There is a certain level of patience that is required to run a successful defense. Some players do not have this patience. So the breaking of the press takes exactly that, patience and a level head. The way to break a 1-2-2 or a 2-2-1 is by using quick rotations of the ball, and quick passes up the court as the defense moves to adjust to the movement of the ball. The key to remember is that the pass is always quicker than the defender.

There are several sets that are used to break the press, but the best usually fill the holes in the defense. In other words they step to the place the defender has just vacated. Very little dribbling is used, and it is in this that we see one of the principles of basketball. “You only dribble to create a better shot or passing angle for yourself or a teammate” (Masin 27).

It is essential that the offense be patient, and methodical in its breaking of the press. The defense reads off of what the offensive player does. There are certain things that players must never do. The major things are avoiding what are called the corners in basketball. These are in the literal corners of the court, and just past mid court on either side, near the out of bounds line. These are the best places for a defense to trap a player. They are able to successfully limit the offensive players view, and literally trap him in a place where he is unable to advance the ball by dribbling.

It is true that it takes a great deal of understanding by the coach to properly use pressure defense. A bad coach can end up having his players out of position, and badly beaten by a good press break. It is essential to understand when a press can and cannot be used. It is best used when you are faster than the opposing team, and superior athletically. This is not always the case, in which it may be a good idea to switch to a half-court trapping defense. This allows the opposing time team to bring the ball across the mid court, and to begin to get into their offensive set. It is then however that the defense goes to work. The players on the defensive side of the ball allow the opposing team to advance the ball to one side of the court. The idea of the defense is to limit the offensive options of the other team by limiting where the ball can travel.

Once the ball is on the either the left or right, preferably the left since most players are right handed, it is not allowed to come back to the middle or other side of the court. This is done with intense pressure on the ball on one side, or in this case the right side. This forces the player to the left, where he is more apt to make a mistake, since it is not his strong hand that he is handling the ball with. The defense continues to allow the advance of the ball right down into what we call the corner, which is farther out than what we call the short corner. When the ball reaches this point it is trapped by two preferably tall players. Their arms are stretched high to the ceiling to prevent and easy pass over the top of them, and their feet over lap so that the offensive player is unable to drive between them to score an easy bucket. They also should have both of their outside feet on the out of bounds line. The trap should also come quickly as to scare, or startle the offensive player into picking up the ball. This is called jumping the ball. This also creates a situation, which we call a “dead ball”. The offensive player can now only make a pass, which should be hard to do in his position, or he can take a shot, which is out of the question.

During all of this the other players are covering their men in a lose man-to-man coverage, keeping all the while the ball-you-man principle in mind. When the ball is jumped, the man closest to the ball “jumps”, the three other men on the floor “pick up” the man closest to the ball that is not being guarded. They rotate in fact, leaving the man farthest from the ball unguarded. This is done because he is the smallest threat on the floor. This also allows the other defensive players to get into position to pick off any bad passes that the “trapped” player makes.

This defense is used more easily with a greater range of athletic talent, since it limits the amount of floor that the players have to cover. It takes more intelligence, and dedication than other defensive sets. It can also be run as a straight zone. And can always be dropped into, even on missed baskets. So in this pressure defense a combination of a zone with good man-to-man principles is used to accomplish the pressure that is evident in all pressure defenses. It can effectively shut down a teams ability to score, and allow your team easy steals and lay-ups in the full court.

Pressure defense is based around the assumption that players that are forced into places that they do not want to be by the defense will make bad decisions leading to turnovers, which can lead to easy baskets, and what to every coach wants, victory. (Pitino)

The possibilities for pressure defenses are endless, they can be used in a variety of settings, and can adapt to almost any situation. The hardest thing is instilling players with the instincts that can make a pressure defense into a winning defense. But with a little hard work, and a good understanding of the game, any coach can turn his team into a great trapping team.