Chapter - 16

Zone Defenses

Advantages of zone defense | Disadvantages of zone defense | Types of zone defenses | Strengths and weaknesses of each zone defense | Shifting  responsibilities | General zone principles

Zone defenses differ from man-for-man defenses in that players are assigned a particular area of the court to defense rather than a particular opponent. Foremost attention is focused on the ball and the area of the court to be defensed. All defensive players mass in assigned areas in and around the free-throw lane and shift as a coordinated unit with each movement of the ball by the offense. This team massing and shifting protects the area close to the basket and makes short shots difficult to obtain.

Advantages of Zone Defense

1. It effectively counters the set-pattern offense  involving screening and cutting.

2. It affords maximum protection  in  the area close  to  the  basket, making short shots difficult to obtain.

3. Fouls are committed less frequently. A switch to a zone defense is often wise when a key player has accumulated several fouls.

4. It conserves energy.

5. Fast-breaks are more easily obtained from zone formations.

6. Most zone defenses strengthen rebounding.

7. It is very effective on the small courts so often used by high school teams.

8. It minimizes fundamental mistakes by a poor defensive player.

9. It increases chances for pass interceptions and encourages "ball-hawking."

10. It is relatively easy both to teach and to learn.

Disadvantages of Zone Defense

1. It is weak against good outside shooting teams.

2. It is susceptible to fast-breaking teams.

3. It allows opponents to overload an area by placing two men in the area guarded by one defensive player.

CHART 173. Two-One-Two Zone. Squares indicate zone positioning with ball in possession of 2. On pass from 2 to 5, zone players shift positions as shown by the arrows.

4. Individual defensive fundamentals tend to be weakened.

5. It is often ineffective against the deliberate game or stall.

6. The offense can move the ball faster than the defense can shift.

7. The larger the court, the less effective the zone defense.

8. When a team is behind in the score late in the game, the standard zone defense must be abandoned.

Types of Zone Defenses

There are six major zone defenses used by modern basketball teams:

1. Two-One-Two Zone.

2. Two-Three Zone.

3. Three-Two Zone.

4. One-Two-Two Zone.

5. One-Three-One Zone.

6. Two-Two-One Zone.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Each Zone Defense

Each type of zone has its particular strengths and weaknesses. Since offensive strengths will vary, the zone that is effective against one opponent may be unsuccessful against another. For this reason, more than one type of zone should be learned. In addition to the following summary of the major strengths and weaknesses of the various zone defenses, reference is made to Charts 75-80 of Chapter 7 for a pictorial presentation of these weak areas:

Two-One-Two Zone. This defense is strong in the pivot area and affords good rebounding strength. It is very weak on the sides at the forward positions.

Two-Three Zone. This defense is very strong in the baseline corners and the under-basket area. Rebounding strength is good. It is very weak at the high-post area and at the forward positions.

Three-Two Zone. This defense is the strongest zone against outside shooting teams and provides excellent fast-break opportunities especially if the two inside defenders are good rebounders. It is very weak in the corners and pivot area and its use against a good pivotman is not recommended.

One-Two-Two Zone. This defense is very similar to the three-two zone. It is relatively strong against outside shooting teams and affords more protection for the pivot area than the three-two. It is primarily weak on the sides and corners.

One-Three-One Zone. This defense is exceptionally strong in the pivot area and is a very sound defense when opposing a high-scoring pivot player. It is strong at the forward positions and rebounding strength is good. It is not very strong against good shooting from the guard positions and is very weak in the corners.

Two-Two-One Zone. This defense allows the best rebounder to remain in the area under the basket. This area can be used also to protect a key player who excessively fouls. It is weak at the forward positions and in the corners and is more effective on narrow floors.

Shifting Responsibilities

Charts 174 through 184 diagram shifting responsibilities for the various types of zone defenses.

CHART 174. Two-One-Two Zone. If 5 passes to 3 on the base-line, 3 must shift to pick him up. 4 slides across lane. 2 and 1 shift to positions vacated by 3 and 4.

CHART 175. Two-One-Two Zone. If 1 passes to 4, defensive player 3 must guard 4 as defensive players 4 and 5 tighten to prevent an under-basket pass to 5.

CHART 176. Two-Three Zone Shifts. Shifting responsibilities are basically the same as for the two-one-two zone.

CHART   177.    Three-Two   Zone   shifting responsibilities.

CHART   178.      Three-Two  Zone  shifting responsibilities.

CHART 179. When 2 has the ball, defensive player 1 must sag in an attempt to prevent a pass to 3 at the free-throw line. If the pass is successful to 3, defensive player 5 must guard 3 as defensive player 3 slides back to protect the underbasket area.

CHART 180. One-Two-Two Zone shifting responsibilities. The shifts are similar to those for the three-two zone.

CHART  181.    One-Three-One Zone shifting responsibilities.

CHART 182. One-Three-One Zone shifting responsibilities. Defensive player 5 covers the baseline from corner to corner. An alternate method of covering the baseline is shown by Chart 183.

CHART 183. An alternate method of covering the baseline on the one-three-one zone. Defensive player 5 may cover one corner while defensive player 3 may have the responsibility for shifting to the other corner when the ball is moved around the horn.

CHART 184. Two-Two-One Zone shifting responsibilities. Defensive player 3 cannot come out to guard 2 or no one will be in position to defense 5 since defensive player 5 is responsible only for the underbasket area.

General Zone Principles

1. Players must get position quickly. Most offensive plans for defeating the zone include the fast-break. Therefore, zone defensive players must hustle downcourt and into proper position immediately upon giving up the ball.

2. Players must maintain good individual defensive stance. The rapid shifts necessary with offensive ball movement can be executed more quickly when proper defensive stance is maintained. In addition, correct stance is necessary to prevent offensive drives.

3. Players should keep hands up in position to deflect passes.

4. Talk is of utmost importance to be able to handle offensive movement.

5. Players must focus their attention on the ball and shift rapidly with each movement of the ball. No zone defensive player should ever turn his back on the ball.

6. When an offensive player cuts through a zone near the  ball, he should be guarded man-for-man until he is no longer in position to receive the pass. The defensive player guarding him man-for-man must then release and hustle back to his original position. (See Chart 185.)

CHART 185. Playing a cutter man-for-man until he can be picked up in another zone. 3 passes to 5 and cuts as shown. Defensive player 3 must play him man-for-man a few steps until he can be picked up by 4 or 2. Defensive player 3 must then release and quickly hustle back to his original position to pick up 1 cutting over.

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