Press defenses are generally employed to force the offense out of their comfort zone: to speed them up, to create chaos, to force turnovers. As an offense having to go against a press defense, there are some fundamental tips and guidelines you can follow to help your team beat the press. Attack the press. This goes to how you choose to beat the press but it also goes to attitude. Players often become timid when pressured. Part of that is on developing skills through practice and … [Read more...]
Half Court Trap Attack Zone Offense
This half court press attack zone offense works great against those half court zone traps you will see from time to time, especially the 1-3-1 half court trap. It is a simple offense to run with a few options for attacking the trapping defense. 1) Option 1: O1 brings the ball up court and O2 stays even with O1. Prior to crossing the half court line, O1 passes to O2. (Remember, this is against a trap defense that is wanting to trap in the corners immediately once you cross the line.) After … [Read more...]
Full Court Zone Press Attack Offense
This is a simple, yet very effective offense to use when facing a full court zone press. 1) O1 takes the basketball out of bounds. O2 and O3 line up at the free throw line and will break opposite of each other. They may need to start out in a stack position and screen one another to get open. O1 passes the basketball to O2 and then sprints to the middle. If O1 is open, O2 passes him the ball. O1 will look to advance the ball up the floor with the dribble while O4 and O5 fill the lanes. O2 … [Read more...]
Triangle Press Offense
1) The idea behind the triangle zone press offense is to keep the lanes filled but to also keep three players in a 'triangle' situation. With the lanes filled and a player down near the basket, the defense will have to make a decision as to who to trap and when. The triangle formation will always ensure that someone should be open if they do attempt a trap. O4 takes the ball out of bounds and passes to O1. O3 cuts hard to the middle looking for a pass from O1. If O1 passes to O3, O3 dribbles … [Read more...]
How to Break Pressure Defenses
:: From the Hoops U. 'How-To' Series :: The purpose of this article is to help the basketball player by giving specific tips, techniques and an understanding of how to beat pressure defenses such as full court presses and half court traps. Basketball coaches will also benefit from this article by sharing these ideas with your players. For specific offensive sets to help beat pressure, check the 'Attacking the Zone Press' page. As an offensive player going against either a full court press or … [Read more...]