2–3 Zone Defense Wrinkles
If you play a 2–3 zone, it’s not unusual for an opponent to get in a flow, start recognizing rotations, and get comfortable.
When this happens, your zone defense can get stagnant and you’ll be tempted to come out of it.
But…if you have a few wrinkles in your 2–3 zone, you might be able to:
- change momentum or stop runs
- keep the offense uncomfortable and out of rhythm
- steal a possession or two
- force a quick turnover
Here are 6 wrinkles/adjustments/calls you might want to consider adding to your zone defense:
Middle Catch = Matchup
- Whenever the ball is thrown into the high post, your center takes the ball.
- Every other player finds the most logical matchup and you go man-to-man the rest of the possession.
Short Corner Trap
- Whenever the ball is thrown into the short corner, it turns into an automatic trap with the center (x5) and forward.
- The opposite wing is responsible for taking the obvious drop off pass.
- The guards make reads based on where the offense is to get a steal.
Blitz
- When the ball crosses half-court, the guards go and attack
- The forwards cheat up to steal the obvious passes to the wings
- The center cheats up to play safety (take away middle pass or anything over the top)
Tag
- If you’re playing with a team that has a stud player, you can “tag” that player wherever he is
- Basically, your players communicate this player’s location and NEVER leave him (or even deny him when he’s in their area)
- This requires defenders to extend further than normal, stay tagged on this player longer than normal, etc.
- When you do this, your zone becomes warped and distorted…almost to the point of being a “junk defense”
Top-to-Wing/Wing-to-Corner Trap
- When the ball is passed to the wing, the guard forces it to the side and the forward steps up to trap
- Everyone else rotates accordingly to try and get a steal
- You can also do this in the deep corner on a wing-to-corner pass (just have the guard follow the ball)
Switch Defense Mid Possession
- This is especially effective in late game situations (or late shot clock situations)
- At a certain point (I like to use when the ball is thrown in the high post), the entire team will switch from 2–3 into man-to-man.
- This is a great way to keep teams off balance and steal time
Whether you are using these wrinkles as curveballs out of a timeout, a way to change the momentum of the game, or as a staple part of your zone defense concepts…having a few of these in your toolbox can help improve your 2–3 defense, steal possessions, and maybe even grab a win.
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