Defending the Ball Is No Shell Game
#45- Defending the Ball is No Shell Game
The Importance of Staying Between Your Man and the Basket
The Importance of Staying Between Your Man and the Basket
by Alan Lambert
Introduction
I recent years I have seen more creative offensive moves by players attacking the basket than a hummingbird stuck in a bird feeder factory. One of the early great ball handlers Earl "The Pearl" Washington made a living off the spin dribble. Since then we have seen Tim Hardaway's Killer Crossover, Isaiah Thomas's Spit Back, Phil Ford's Gravel Move, the Reggie Miller Shake, AI's, Byron Davis, and dozens more. The primary goal of any offensive shake 'n bake move is to dislodge you defensive from your position between the man you are guarding and the basket. Every player who has ever been coached and stepped on a court has heard the shrill of their coach’s voice reminding them to "stay between your man and the basket." Just how you do that in today's smorgasbord of fancy offensive moves is the subject of today's playground pointer.
As a very young player learning the nuances of defensive technique I was taught the most basic of rules for keeping yourself between your man and the basket. Let's take a look at these as a reminder of what you should be doing. My observation is that more and more defensive players are "taking the bait" when it comes to fishing for defensive position against quick talented ball handlers. Don't be a sucker; play the man not the ball. Here are my tips for guarding the great ball handlers and staying between your man and the basket.
1. Guard the Stomach not the Ball- First and foremost amongst these rules for defending the ball is to guard the stomach, not the ball. WATCH THEIR BELLY BUTTON and ignore the rest. The ball, no matter how many times it's yanked back and forth, behind someone's back, or given the hide and go routine, will always be within arm’s length of the dribbler. Most defenders make the mistake of thinking they need to move or adjust their position every time the ball moves. If you are facing off against a great yo-yo yank and go dribbler you'll find it almost impossible to keep yourself between your man and the basket. Think of all this ball movement and fakes as eye candy, a TV commercial. You want to watch the real program (the stomach of your attacker) and forget the commercials. When the attacker's stomach moves, you move. Most of you have one time or another had the experience of playing the shell game. Remember this is where a hawker tempts you to bet guessing where the pea will end up. You try keeping your eyes on a little ball or pea as it is quickly shuffled between 3 half walnut shells or small cups. Most of the time you lose because you get hoodwinked into watching the hands and movement of the shells and lose track of the pea. This applies to your defending a great ball handler as well. Don't watch the shells (all the ball movement) watch the pea (his stomach).
2. Keep Your Feet Active But Your Defensive Position Calm-When the stomach stays in one place...stay active on your feet but keep your basic defensive positioning relatively calm and motionless. The yank and go tactics of your attacker are intentionally designed to move your body positioning to cut off the ball. You need to keep in mind that you cut off the body (stomach) not the ball. If you feet must move, keep on your toes ready to react and move in any direction at any time and at the instant you "SEE" the stomach move toward the basket, you get your "NOSE" in front of the body. This is probably the toughest part of guarding a great ball handler. You know they are quick, and you know if you don't get in front of that first step, you are beat. The problem is when you over anticipate and try to get in front of each "phantom" move or dribble and get caught in a "my body is going one direction and my opponent is going the other" situation. Think, move when his stomach moves and only when it moves.
3. Move Your Feet Before Your Head and Hands- The most common defensive mistake of young players on the ball is "THE REACH". Feeling inadequate to stop the attacker by foot movement or lacking proper defensive footwork fundamentals to step-slide and cut the dribbler, most player try to reach to tip a ball or discourage the attacker. Neither of these options works and leads to getting beaten or more commonly a reach foul. If you didn't realize your head is about 30% of your total body weight. If you have studied your physics you know it requires more force to accelerate or decelerate a larger mass. To increase your force more muscle fibers must be recruited by the brain so it takes more time to execute these actions. This is one general reason why bigger players have so much trouble getting their feet moving, or conversely getting them stopped. The point here is keep your head quiet and keep your hands from extending in such a way as to cause you to break your body balance. Remember the goal is to be able to react and move in any direction with equal quickness at any time. Think, move your feet before any other part of your body. It's your only chance to stop penetration to the basket by a quick attacker.
4. Stay Down and Keep Your Center of Gravity Motionless- One of the more difficult assignments against a quick attacker is when this great ball handler has a perimeter shot as well. If the player you are guarding hasn't demonstrated they can make the outside shot, give them a half step to increase the time you have to react to regain position between the man and the basket on a penetration step. Staying down however is a great problem when this player has great moves to the basket and a quick stop and lift for a knockdown shot, such as a player like Kobe Bryant, or Tracy McGrady. You must be thinking in these situations play the drive and stay ready to challenge once they elevate to shoot. Most important to defending this scenario is to keep your center of gravity down until your attacker’s center of gravity has begun to lift. Again this requires you to watch his mid-section of the body not his eyes, head or ball fakes. You have no chance for sure to stop penetration to the basket if your center of gravity has lifted off before your opponents. While yours is rising and landing they are by you. Better a little late lifting your center of gravity (CofG) to challenge than to lose your CofG upward where you have no chance to move it laterally to stay between your man and the basket.
Many players make the mistake as well of believing that a "high hand" challenge on a jump shot is necessary to alter a shot. In most cases, great shooters benefit from a high challenge as it force them to arc the ball higher increasing their chances of making the shot. Unless you are a long-armed, quick, tall shot blocker, you are better to stay down and alter the shot by positioning your shot challenge hand in a position to make the shooter uncomfortable in their shooting rhythm. I teach my players to challenge just outside, or slightly inside the elbow because it reduces the chances of fouling your opponent and increases the chances they will (instinctively to avoid apparent contact) slightly alter their shot mechanics which will significantly reduce their shooting percentage over the course of a game.
5. When You Must Move- Move in Quick Choppy Steps- If your opponent is so skilled ball handling wise they can quickly reserve directions on you, long slow defensive steps will simply cause you to overreact and pull yourself out of good defensive position. The best defenders are those who take quick choppy steps. When steps like this are made you have significantly fewer moments in time that you are ill prepared to "react and move in any direction at any time with equal quickness." So the key here is to move short and quick, stay prepared, try not to overreact to your attackers position. Remember you want to guard the body defensively not the fakes, or the ball.
6. Keep Your Peripheral Vision Active- Defending a great ball handler also requires you have active help communication from teammates. But realistically this happens less frequently than you would like. Having an active peripheral vision means keeping your head quiet but sensing movement in the periphery which can lead you to anticipate an oncoming screen, or where you might have help allowing you to cheat a bit in the a different direction to reduce a quick players effectiveness. The problem these days I feel is that too many players are learning or being taught to be "head turners" on defense instead of learning to constantly reposition their bodies (keeping the head relatively still-remember a moving head slows you down) to keep the best peripheral vision.
Great peripheral vision helps you avoid obstacles that might interfere with you keeping your man between yourself and the basket. Think more of where the attacker is trying to get to and beat them to this spot then trying to stop them somewhere out in the open court. The closer they get to the basket, the less choices and space the attacker has to get to the basket.
Great peripheral vision helps you avoid obstacles that might interfere with you keeping your man between yourself and the basket. Think more of where the attacker is trying to get to and beat them to this spot then trying to stop them somewhere out in the open court. The closer they get to the basket, the less choices and space the attacker has to get to the basket.
7. Keep Your Mind Alert to Your Position on the Court- Many coaches want to exert pressure as a team tactic. Pressure as a team tactic is only as effective as your team's ability to keep defenders between the ball and basket. If you pressure a great ball handler in the open court, you may be breaking this cardinal rule. A better way to handle this might be to double team as containment a great ball handler to discourage penetration until their either give the ball up or they are in an imminent position to score. A great defender also knows when the great ball handler is an effective threat to score. If the attacker is most dangerous at the top of the circle, as a shooter-penetrator, then more effort should be place into forcing this player off their pet positions, or in denying them the ball unless they are in a less strategic position. The point I am trying to make here is even if you achieve all of the above points, you may still need to adjust your pressure and positioning based upon the attacker's position on the court. Don't pressure players who are not threats, unless it is part of team tactics where there is legitimate help support behind you. Even then, it is more judicious to pressure less those who are not threats and pressure more those who are. If you have a great ball handler with a wide array of herky jerky moves who cannot shoot, and who cannot finish, make them shoot. Remember it's not just about quickness it's about percentages as well.
I know, you are saying I know all these things already. But let me ask you this. Are you still getting beat by that great yank and go ball handler? Maybe know you these things but are failing to execute them. This is where execution makes the defender effective; you can't guard Allen Iverson with your knowledge. Remember:
- Watch the pea (his stomach)
- Keep your feet active and body calm
- Move your feet first, not your head or hands
- Stay down and raise your CofG only when your opponent does
- When you must move, make your steps quick and choppy- drive the lead foot, lightly drag the back foot
- Keep your peripheral vision active
- Keep your mind alert to your position on the court
And you will do a better job of staying between your man and the basket. Don't make it a shell game.
Check back next month for another Playground Pointers courtesy of The Basketball Highway®.