Chapter - 09

Attacking The Press

Attack  the  press | Objective may vary with time remaining | Man-for-man  press  attack | Full-court man-for-man press attack | Three-quarter-court man-for-man press attack | Half-court man-for-man press attack | Zone press attack | Full and three-quarter court attack | Full-court zone press attack patterns | Half-court zone  press attack  patterns | Pressing defense attack suggestions

In the not too distant past, an attack for the full-court man-for-man press was the only press offense needed. In recent years, pressing defenses have made rapid strides. Various types of zone presses have become popular. In addition, full-court, three-quarter court, and half-court presses are used extensively. Therefore, the sound basketball team must be prepared to meet all types of pressing defenses.

It is recommended that the same basic formation be used for attacking all types of full-court pressing defenses. The team that has two entirely different formations for attacking the zone press and man-for-man press may run into considerable difficulty should they face one of the smarter teams in modern basketball who continually change from one type of press to another. Though the basic formation should be the same, the basic principles may vary. As a general rule, the dribble can be a very effective weapon against the man-for-man press whereas the zone press is best attacked by sharp passing.

Attack the Press

A common mistake that many teams make when facing the press is that they do not attack it. By this is meant that they go on the defensive. Their only objective seems to be to advance the ball downcourt. However, when it is realized that the larger area the defense has to cover, the weaker the defense should be if attacked properly, the primary objective should be to score, not just to advance the ball downcourt. If the objective is to score—and this writer concurs with many coaches that it should be the major objective—then the offense should attack the defense—pass and cut, screen and go for the basket, get the 3 on 2 situation or the better 2 on 1. In general, be a constant threat to score and the effectiveness of the press will be reduced.

Objective May Vary with Time Remaining

This objective and the resulting plan of attack may change dependent on the stage of the game and the score. If the press is faced early in the game or with a considerable amount of time remaining, it is obvious that the offense must continue to score. If the offense has an 8- or 10-point lead with 5 or 6 minutes to play, the primary objective must still be to score, for failure to do so and a few mistakes can cost the ball game. However, with a small lead and little time remaining, game strategy may dictate a freeze or stall situation. In such situations, the primary objective then may be to advance the ball downcourt.

Attack plays may be modified dependent on the situation. If the objective is to score, screens and criss-crosses on the ball can be sound moves. Though double-team opportunities are presented to the defense, the screens present situations that more often result in scoring plays. However, if the objective is to advance the ball downcourt and protect a small lead late in the game, screens and criss-crosses on the ball are unsound, for the defense must not be given the chance for the double-team situation at this stage of the game.

Man-For-Man Press Attack

Full-Court

The attack for the man-for-man full-court press can be divided into three phases:

1. The throw-in from out-of-bounds.

2. Mid-court advancement.

3. Front-court scoring moves.

The Throw-in. Most teams employing the full-court man-for-man press will attempt to force a bad pass from out-of-bounds. Consequently, it is imperative for a team to have set plans for making the throw-in successfully.

Charts 102 through 106 diagram five common methods for making the throw-in. In Chart 102, one player, quick and a good ball-handler, is positioned inbounds near the free-throw line from where he may cut in any of several directions. It is his responsibility to employ fakes and cuts to free himself for the throw-in. It is important that he be positioned in the center of the backcourt so that he will have a wide choice of cutting directions. Should he be stationed near the sideline, his choice of directions would be reduced by half.

CHART 102. The Inbounds throw-in. 2 may be positioned at the free-throw line where he may use fakes and cuts to free himself for the throw-in. He should be a fast player and a good ball-handler.

CHART 103. The Inbounds throw-in. 2 may cut to an out-of-bounds position, receive a pass along the end-line from 1, and return pass to 1 cutting down the middle.

CHART 104. The use of rear screens in making the throw-in. 2 and 4 set screens for 3 and 5 who cut toward ball for throw-in.

CHART 105. The use of the screen-and-roll in making the throw-in. 3 sets screen for 2 and rolls out toward ball as 2 cuts by. If defense switches, 3 should be open.

CHART 106. The use of a three-man alignment for the throw-in. 3 steps forward to form screen. 2 and 4 criss-cross off 3 with 2 cutting first. A variety of screens and cuts may be used off this set-up.

CHART 107. Clearing the floor to allow the good dribbler to advance the ball downcourt. As 2 receives the throw-in, 1 cuts hard downcourt to clear the back-court area and allow the dribbler to use any path he desires in advancing the ball downcourt.

In Chart 103, the player inbounds simply steps out-of-bounds, takes an out-of-bounds pass along the end-line from the initial out-of-bounds player, 1, and either return passes to 1 cutting up the middle or to a teammate cutting from the front-court.

Chart 104 illustrates the use of rear screens to free pass receivers while Chart 105 diagrams the use of the screen-and-roll maneuver for the throw-in. Chart 106 depicts a three-man alignment from which a variety of screens and cuts may be used.

It is important to the success of the throw-in that the player out-of-bounds be a good passer. A poor passer in this situation can make costly gifts of easy field goals to the opponents.

Mid-court Advancement. The simplest method of advancement to mid-court is by the use of a clever dribbler in the 1-on-l situation. The ball is passed inbounds to the dribbler and the other players clear out down-court eliminating the possibility of double-team tactics against this dribbler. This method is excellent for advancing the ball downcourt but does not present the opportunities for scoring that are presented by other techniques. Therefore, its use is more advantageous when the attack objective is simply to advance the ball downcourt.

A simple pass to a forward breaking toward the ball is often sufficient to advance the ball to the midcourt area. If such a pass is used, the passer should cut down the middle for a return pass and a possible scoring situation (Chart 108).

Chart 109 illustrates a simple method of advancing the ball to mid-court that can be very deceptive and result in scoring situations. After the throw-in to 3, 1 cuts outside for a return pass from 3. 1 drives hard down the middle of the floor. An option open to 3 is to fake the pass to 1 and dribble down the center of the floor himself.

CHART 108. Using a pass to a forward to advance the ball to the mid-court area. 3 cuts off screen set by 2, takes pass from 1, and begins advancement toward mid-court. As 4 fakes toward baseline and cuts hard back to midcourt, 3 passes to 4 and cuts down middle for possible return pass.

CHART 109. Advancing the ball to midcourt. As 1 passes to 3 coming off screen set by 2, 1 fakes inside and cuts outside 3. 3 passes to 1 who drives hard down the middle toward mid-court. This can often result in a 3 on 2 scoring situation. 3 may fake hand-off to 1 and drive down middle himself.

CHART 110. Using the screen-and-roll to advance the ball to mid-court. 1 passes to 2 and cuts as shown. 2 begins dribble downcourt and return passes to 1 cutting back to meet pass. 2 sets screen for 1 and rolls out downcourt as 1 dribbles off screen. If defense switches, 2 will often be open for a pass from 1.

The use of the screen-and-roll in advancing the ball to midcourt is shown by Chart 110. After receiving the throw-in, 2 passes to I and sets screen. 1 dribbles off screen and, if the defense switches, passes to 2 rolling out down middle. Those who were fortunate enough to see Ohio State play in recent years have seen this type of maneuver used to perfection by the Buckeyes.

The center can be employed successfully in advancing the ball to the midcourt area. Chart 111 shows center 5 cutting from downcourt to receive a pass from 2. After the pass, players 1 and 2 have several options. They may cut outside the forwards as shown by the path of the cut made by 2 or they may fake and cut downcourt for a quick return pass from 5 as shown by the path of the cut made by 1 in the chart.

Front-court Scoring Moves. After the ball has been advanced into the frontcourt, a variety of situations may arise. Because of the varied number of situations that may occur, players should be thoroughly schooled in meeting the 4-on-3, 3-on-2, and 2-on-1 situations. If the objective has been to score, maneuvers that have advanced the ball past midcourt usually will result in outnumbering the opponents thus creating the above situations. If the offense has not succeeded in outnumbering the defense, the offense may be able to go into their regular man-for-man offense. However, this may not be possible against a good pressing defense and the offense may have to resort to pass and cut maneuvers or other plays previously prepared for the half-court press.

CHART 111. Using the center in advancing the ball to mid-court. As 5 cuts hard to midcourt to receive pass from 2, forwards 3 and 4 may move into a screening position. 1 and 2 have several options open. They may cut outside the forwards as shown by the cut by 2 above or they may fake outside and cut hard inside as shown by the cut by 1 above.

Full-Court Man-for-Man Press Attacks

Charts 112, 113, and 114 combine some of the above maneuvers and suggest full-court man-for-man press attack patterns.

Three-Quarter-Court Man-for-Man Press Attack

Most of the full-court patterns illustrated above can be used against the three-quarter-court press. No challenge is made for the throw-in so no screens or special moves are necessary for this phase. After the throw-in, the pass receiver should turn to face the defense so that he can see teammates downfloor and weaknesses in the press. Again, the good drib-

CHART 112. A full-court man-for-man attack pattern. As 2 breaks to the left for a throw-in, 4 cuts hard toward the ball to present another possible pass receiver. 2 receives pass and hands off to 1 who drives hard down middle. 5 breaks to top of circle for pass from 1. 1 and 3 cut wide as 5 advances the ball to the free-throw line. 5 passes to 1 or 3 if they are open. bier may advance the ball downcourt and set up the regular man-for-man offense. Still, if the objective is to score, offensive maneuvers for this purpose should be used. Patterns similar to those shown in Charts 112-114 are effective. The use of the center around the midcourt area as shown in Chart 111 is also excellent for attacking this type of defense.

CHART 113. A full-court man-for-man attack pattern. 2 cuts off screen set by 3. When pass goes to 5 instead of 2, both 3 and 2 cut down sidelines. 4 sets screen for 3. 5 dribbles hard down middle and may pass to either 2 or 3.

CHART 114. A full-court man-for-man press attack. 2 sets rear screen for 3 who cuts back to receive pass from 1. 3 begins dribble down middle and passes to 2 who has "button-hooked" back near the midcourt line. 2 passes to 1 who has cut down the middle. 5 has set screen for 4 and 1, 2, and 4 form a three-lane front court scoring situation.

Half-Court Man-for-Man Press Attack

The half-court press attempts to keep pressure on the ball, force the dribbler into corners, cut off possible pass receivers, and prevent the offense from running their regular man-for-man pattern.

It is possible for a team to employ their regular man-for-man attack against this type of press. This is the objective of many teams. However, because of the pressure put on both the ball and all possible pass receivers, a good half-court press will force receivers out of position and upset the timing of play patterns. If this happens, the regular man-for-man offense is usually ineffective. One method that is often effective in easing defensive pressure and allow a team to initiate their regular man-for-man patterns is to interchange the guards and forwards. Chart 115 illustrates this maneuver with guard 1 passing to center 5. After the pass, guards 1 and 2 interchange positions with forwards 3 and 4 cutting in such a manner as to avoid a switch that would enable the pressing defensive guards to remain outside. In order for a team to use this technique, all players must be able to play outside positions. This is seldom the case and, consequently, other methods of attack must be used.

A variety of free-lance cutting situations involving passes to the center or forwards can be used effectively. Chart 116 shows guard 1 passing to center 5 and cutting for the basket and a return pass for the lay-up. Forward 4 is the cutter in Chart 117 while Chart 118 illustrates the use of a rear screen and roll-out.

Zone Press Attack

Full and Three-Quarter Court Attack

The Throw-in. The success of the zone press is based on the ability of the defense to force the ball-handler into double-team situations. Therefore, most full-court zone presses allow the throw-in to be made un-contested so that the double-team situation can be established. Since there is such a close relationship between the full-court zone press that allows the uncontested throw-in and the three-quarter court zone press, the same pattern of attack is successful against both defenses.

As against any type of full-court press, a good passer should take the ball out-of-bounds. If the defense is allowing the throw-in to be made unchallenged, no problem will exist. If the throw-in is being challenged, cuts toward the ball by inbounds players usually result in an open pass receiver. If the press is a 2-2-1 type, cuts similar to those shown in Chart 119 are satisfactory. If the press is a 3-1-1, passes to midcourt will result in immediate outnumbering of the defense (Chart 120). Alignment of the 1-2-2 press does not allow effective challenge of the throw-in.

CHART 115. Interchanging the guards and forwards in efforts to ease half-court defensive pressure. 1 passes to center 5. 1 and 2 cut as shown and will receive pass if open. 3 and 4 go to guard positions as 1 and 2 cut out to forward positions. 5 passes to either 3 or 4 and returns to his original position. In order to do this maneuver, the forwards must be able to play outside.

CHART 116. Half-court man-for-man press attack. 1 passes to center 5 and cuts hard toward basket. 5 return passes to 1 who drives for the shot.

CHART 117. Half-court man-for-man press attack. 1 passes to 5. 4 fakes and cuts toward basket for pass from 5.

CHART 118. Half-court man-for-man press attack. 4 sets rear screen for 2 and rolls out for basket taking pass from 2 if defense switches. 5 clears out away from ball.

CHART 119. Making the throw-in against the 2-2-1 zone press. As 2 cuts down the center of the lane to pull the two front defensive players in, 3 cuts toward ball and 4 cuts to center of floor. 5 may cut to the position originally held by 3 or 4.

CHART 120. When facing a 3-1-1 type of press, a throw-in to the midcourt area will result in immediate outnumbering of the defense. The pass by 1 must be quick and should be preceded by a fake to another player.

Inbounds players must avoid cuts into the end-line corners. Receiving the ball in the corner allows the defense to spring a corner trap maneuver, a very dangerous defensive tactic (Chart 121).

Midcourt Advancement and Front-Court Scoring. Techniques for advancing the ball to midcourt must be centered around sharp passing with a minimum of dribbling. Dribbling into the double-team situation is unsound and will result in lost balls and held-ball situations. When the pass receiver receives the ball in backcourt, he should turn and face the defense. If the defensive players do not immediately rush him, he must begin advancement of the ball downcourt. His pass to teammates should be made just before the double-team situation is established. If he waits until the double-team has been set, the harassment by the defensive players may force a bad pass. Potential pass receivers must cut to meet passes. Lob passes absolutely must be avoided. After making a pass, a cut down the middle by the passer will often result in an opening for a return pass and a front-court scoring situation.

Once the ball has been passed to teammates downcourt, the defense should be outnumbered and 4-on-3, 3-on-2, and 2-on-1  play situations will occur. Many teams will fall back into another type of defense once the ball is past midcourt. If this occurs and no scoring situation has presented itself, the appropriate half-court offense must be used. If the defense continues to zone press past midcourt, the offense must continue to use sharp passes and cuts in an effort to score. The zone press is strengthened greatly if the offense does not take advantage of defensive weaknesses for scoring plays.

CHART 121. The pass receiver should avoid cutting into the corners. The defense can effectively spring their dangerous corner-trap maneuver from this position.

CHART 122a. Full-court zone press attack pattern. 1 passes to 2 and cuts down middle. 4 cuts back for possible pass from 2. As double-team forms, 2 passes to 1 who drives hard down middle. 3 and 5 fill side lanes.

CHART 122b. 1 passes to 2 in initiating this option of the full-court zone press attack. 2 passes to 3 who drives hard to middle of court. 1, cutting hard down the middle after passing to 2, cuts behind 3 to fill the side lane.

Full-Court Zone Press Attack Patterns

Charts 122a, 122b, 122c, and 122d show very efficient zone press attack patterns and options. Notice that the basic formation is the same as that shown in Chart 112 for attacking the full-court man-for-man press. Though cutting patterns differ, no change in player alignment is necessary when meeting either defense.

CHART 122C. Full-court zone press attack. 1 passes to 2 and cuts down middle. When defense slides to prevent pass back to 1, 2 passes cross-court to 4, 1 cuts out to sideline for pass from 4 and immediately passes to 2 cutting down the middle. 3 and 5 fill side lanes.

CHART 122d. Full-court zone press attack. 1 passes to 2. 2 return passes to 1 and cuts down middle. 1 passes to 4. 4 may pass to 2 in the middle if 2 is open. If not open, 2 cuts on to sideline for pass from 4. After pass, 4 cuts down middle. 2 passes to 4 and the three-lane situation is set up with 3 and 5 filling the side lanes.

CHART  123.    1-2-2 Half-court zone press mid-attack. 2 advances ball across midcourt line. As double-team is set up, 2 passes to 1 who passes to 5 at the free-throw line. 5 drives for basket and may pass to either 3 or 4.

CHART 124. As 2 dribbles across court line, 4 breaks for possible pass. 2 passes to 4 just before double-team is set up. 1 cuts through to baseline and takes pass from 4. 4 cuts through and 5 cuts close behind 4. 1 may pass to either 4 or 5.

Half-Court Zone Press Attack Patterns

The same basic principles for attacking the full-court zone press apply when attacking the half-court zone press. Dribbling should be held to a minimum. The lob pass must be avoided and receivers must break to meet passes. Charts 123, 124, and 125 suggest attack patterns for the half-court zone press.

Pressing Defense Attack Suggestions

1. Have an organized plan of attack for both man-for-man and zone presses.

CHART 125. When meeting the 2-1-2 half-court zone press, a 1-3-1 offense similar to the regular zone attack is very satisfactory. As the double-team is set up,

1 passes to 3 who drives until he meets opposition. 3 passes to 5 on the baseline and cuts through looking for a return pass. 4 cuts close behind 3 and takes pass from 5 if he is open.

2. Practice daily against pressing defenses to develop skill and confidence.

3. Regular practice on 4-on-3, 3-on-2, and 2-on-1 front-court scoring plays is necessary.

4. The player taking the ball out-of-bounds must be a good passer.

5. The dribble must be used sparingly against the zone press.

6. Stay out of corners and away from sidelines.

7. Pass receivers must break to meet the pass.

8. Avoid lob passes.

9. Use the offensive center in the attack pattern if the opposing defensive center is slow.

10. When protecting a small lead late in the game, avoid screens on the ball that allow the defensive double-team.

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