Basketball Plays

This 4 v 4 drill works on pushing the ball up the court on offense as well as communication and rotation on defense with the disadvantage.

One of the best times to run a diamond press is out of a made free throw. This drill will help you simulate that in practice. Note: We're going to show player 4 making a free throw, but during practice if it's a missed free throw, players 1, 2 and 4 will rotate until a free throw is made.

After mastering 5-on-5 execution, challenge your defense with this 6-on-4 half-court drill. This overload situation forces defenders to perfect their rotations and communication while operating at a disadvantage. The extra offensive player creates natural stress points in your defense, revealing any weaknesses in positioning or help coverage.

The diamond press positions four defenders in a diamond shape with a fifth playing safety. This formation creates natural pressure points across the court, making it difficult for opponents to advance the ball efficiently. Here, we're going to breakdown some key points of the diamond press.

Switch defense occurs when the screener's defender takes on the ball handler while the on-ball defender covers the screener following the screen. As the name suggests, the two defenders switch assignments, each matching up with the offensive player closest to them. Since this strategy eliminates the need to fight through screens, it is theoretically the simplest defensive approach to execute.

Weak defense is almost always paired with Ice defense. While Ice is designed for side screen actions, Weak defense is used for middle screen actions. Its primary goal is to force the ball handler toward their weak, non-dominant hand—left for right-handed players and right for left-handed players. However, since identifying the non-dominant hand isn’t always straightforward, many coaches simplify the terminology by using "Weak" to mean left and "Strong" to mean right.

Blitz Defense is essentially a sudden double team on the ball handler. At higher levels, this scheme isn’t used on consecutive possessions, as it’s easily exploited. However, at lower levels, I’ve seen it work possession after possession, often shifting the momentum of the game because many ball handlers struggle to handle the pressure, and the teammate receiving the pass often fails to make the right decision.

Hedge defense pushes emphasizes immediate pressure on the ball handler to force quick passes or turnovers.

In a low drop, the screener’s defender is positioned near the nail, sometimes even deeper into the paint.

High Drop defense raises the screener's defender to make it easier to contain the ball handler compare to a low drop defense.

Ice defense, also known by many names like Blue, Down, or Push, aims to force the ball handler towards the sideline. Most teams use screens to attack the middle of the paint, creating multiple options, but Ice defense disrupts this by steering the screen action to the side.

In this drill, we are removing the chaser and focusing on the box zone principals. Teaching Point: Imagine the box is connected by rubber bands. When I point to the wing, the entire box shifts that direction while maintaining its shape. Top defenders adjust their depth, bottom defenders pinch or widen - but they move together. Common Mistakes to Watch: * Box getting too wide or narrow * Defenders moving individually instead of as unit * Weak side defenders not shifting far enough

The box and 1 is a hybrid defense that combines man-to-man principles with zone concepts to create defensive chaos and neutralize a dominant scorer.

The high post is a vulnerable position in the 1-3-1 zone defense and we try to force the ball out of there as quickly as we can.

In the tight 1-3-1 Zone Defense, all the same rules apply except the defense is not trapping AND the players are more tightly packed in during the entire defensive possession. The main goal is to prevent the ball from entering the zone, and if it does, to quickly collapse on it and force it back outside.

As the dribbler crosses the half-court line, the ball-side wing will step up and set a trap. We try to force the offense to pick up the dribble and throw a weak lob pass that we can pick off.

As the name suggest, the 1-3-1 zone defense is set up in a 1-3-1 formation. It can be used in a multitude of ways - as a base defense, a change-of-pace defense, a trapping defense, and more.

If we want to put extra pressure on the offense we can play a 1-3-1 Zone Defense where we start picking up the ball at the opposing free throw line.

When the offense passes the ball to the corner we want to trap the player with the ball and force a soft lob pass over the zone that we can pick off.

In the 2-3 Zone Defense you want to avoid the ball going to the High Post at all cost! If it happens anyways, a good passer has 4 passing options which makes it very hard to defend. Our goal is to pack the zone and prevent a high-low pass. At the same time, defenders need to be prepared to close out on shooters after a pass.

When the ball is in the corner we try to prevent passes to the high post and low post. We can sag off and pack the paint, or force the player with the ball to make a play.

When the ball is on the wing the job on the zone defense is: * To deny a pass to the high post (very dangerous) * Deny a pass to the low post We are okay with passes to the corner or back to the top of the key / ball reversal.

In the 2-3 zone defense with the ball at the top of the key our job is to: * Make sure that the point guard can't attack the paint * Deny the pass to the high post We are encouraging a pass to the wing, the forwards have to be ready to help out if necessary.

The 2-3 zone is the most popular and well-known zone defense. It can be used as a way to change pace, slow down a more aggressive team, or equal the playing field. It can also be used as a way to showcase your athleticism and length, force turnovers, and make teams uncomfortable.