Help and Recover

How can I teach my players to help and recover with the use of drills?  I have some problems with this process because when the helper comes to help, the player with the ball finds easy chances to pass to the open man.

Coach Kaya Emiroglu
Turkey

Dear Coach Emiroglu,

You may not realize it but you have to some extend answered your own question.  The first tip off for me is your use of the words “when the helper comes”.  This indicates to me that your players are not getting into “true” help position but are late in getting there.  True help position means your players are physically in a position to stop penetration without having to move to that lane spot on the floor, and may recover in the direction of the pass as the pass is initiated by the penetrator to the help defenders assignment.   This is a common problem for many teams.  Great help teams are constantly adjusting their defensive positioning with ball movement, with player movement, and as pressure on the ball changes.  This requires a great deal of practice time to teach your players the importance of being in position at all times.  

What commonly happens is that a help defender thinks they are in position, simply because they are close to the correct position.  However, let’s take for example compare the correct and incorrect positions.  

Defensive Player 1 is on the weakside and has one foot in the free throw area in a relaxed defensive stance.  Defensive player 2 (on the ball) gets beaten on penetration down the middle of the lane.  Defensive player 3 (a big man) is body to body on the low weakside post but locked up physically trying to deny a flash cut in the post.  Neither player is physically in the correct help position and both are not physically prepared to help.  D-Player 1 recognizes the need for help but must take two steps to get into a position to “stop penetration” and force the dribbler to pick up or pass the ball.  D-1 was also sleeping and late to initiate help.  D-Player 3 also recognizes the penetration but must take two steps up to get into a position to stop the ball.  In both cases, the penetrating player is taught without hesitation to pitch or dish the ball to the offensive player of the either defender committing to stop the ball as they are moving toward the penetrator.  The Laws of Science say you can’t move in two directions at the same time.  Hence they are beaten for either a lay-up or a perimeter shot because both Defender 1 and Defender 3 have no chance to recover. In addition, almost without exception, defenders who must sprint to a position to stop a penetration do so by dropping their arms down as if they were running a sprint.  This contributes to the problem because it opens up the 3 and 4 hole passing lanes by a defender’s ears.  

Now let’s look at proper defense.  Our defensive rule is when the ball is anywhere below the free throw line I want all weakside defenders with both feet in the free throw area (the paint).  Instead of your help defenders lunging to get into position, D-Player 1 and D-Player 3 must only take one short quick step to be in position to stop the ball.  Their hands are up and their weight is balanced ready to spring back and recover to their man as the penetrator dishes the pass.  Granted help position is more difficult at the higher levels because of the great perimeter shooting skills of most players and their athletic ability.  None-the-less the rules for help position and the amount of movement required to get to help do not change.

To assist in your improving your team’s help defense.  Teach the weakside help to cheat a little more and earlier as the defensive pressure on the ball increases.  More pressure, greater sag.  Secondly, practice help and recovery drills so that one or more defenders are in help position after the first penetration dribble and not still moving toward the help after the second or third dribble.  Teach them to keep their arms up and extended as they move to help.  Help defense also means getting deflections on passes.  Finally, teach your players to stay on the balls of their feet and attempt to react and move in the direction of any dump off passes as the pass is made.  In other words physical move in the direction of the pass.  If you players must step up very high on the court to stop penetration then teach your lowest weakside defender to step across to cover for a teammate and run rotations on this type of penetration breakdown.  I think some of the best help and recovery drills are 2 on 1, and 3 on 2 fast break situations and even-odd (e.g., 4 on 3) half court drills where players must essentially zone up behind the man on the ball, then recover on penetration.   

One other key point that might assist you as well is to have rules for forcing your penetrators to a spot on the court.  Some coaches teach push all penetration baseline where it can be trapped or more easily helped.  Others successfully teach forcing everything middle (especially if you have a dominant shot-blocking center in the middle).  I general I have used the “triangle principle”.  If you draw a triangular line between the far deep left corner of the offensive half court, the top of the free throw circle, and the far deep right corner of the half-court it forms a triangle.  I teach my players to force all penetration along that line in either direction.  If you can get your players on the ball to influence the dribble penetration along that line, your help defenders will gain another step in time to get more quickly into position.

Thanks for Asking the Coach