LEVEL 1Defenseall
Sprint, Then Chop
When the ball swings to your player, you have to cover ground fast — but if you sprint all the way in, they'll drive right around you. The answer is a closeout: run hard for the first two-thirds of the distance, then chop your steps into short, quick stutters as you arrive, with a hand up toward the ball. You arrive under control, close enough to bother the shot, balanced enough to slide with the drive. Fly at shooters and you'll spend the game watching them lay it in behind you.
READ THIS
Read the catcher before you arrive: a shooter squaring up needs a high contest, while a driver is hoping you fly in so they can blow past your own momentum — stay low and square instead.
DO THIS
Sprint the first two-thirds, chop your feet the last third, and arrive with a high hand, angled to steer the drive toward your help.
COACHING LINEAGE
Mike Brown
Paint protection is priority one. Force the ball away from the rim.
Tom Thibodeau
Help defense positioning: one pass away, always. Be early, not late.
IN THE SITUATION ROTATION
You left your man in the right corner to sink into the paint and help on a drive. Now the ball gets kicked back out to them — still your responsibility even though you're nowhere near them. They are a decent shooter and they also like to attack wild closeouts. The pass is in the air now.
Appears as a Situation of the Day · all