Zone Defense

Zone Defense:
A type of basketball defensive tactic in which the defenders are assigned to guard a specific area of the court rather than an specific opposing player, and must guard any player who enters that area. Zone defense was made popular by coaches in the eastern USA during the 1950's. ( Read more > Comments )

Compare with: man-to-man defense

Comments

080208 ~ The Zone Defense in Basketball

Most zone defenses in basketball are listed by a set of numbers that correspond to the number of players on the front of the zone working its way to the back of the zone. For example, a 2-3 zone is a zone defense in which two defenders are covering areas in the top of the zone (near the top of the key) while three defenders are covering areas near the base line.

Other types of zone defense include:

• Match-up zone, a hybrid of man-to-man defense and zone defense where players apply man-to-man defense to whichever opposing player enters their area. Coach John Chaney, formerly of Temple University, is this defense's most famous proponent.
  

• Box-and-one in which four defenders are in a 2-2 zone and one defender guards a specific player on the offense. A variant of this is the triangle-and-two, in which three defenders are in a 2-1 zone and two defenders guard two specific offensive players.
  

When a team plays a zone, the defenders must keep their hands up and in passing lanes and quickly adjust their positions as the ball and the offensive players move around. Teams that successfully play zone defenses are very vocal and effectively communicate where they, the ball, and their opponents are or will be.

Teams playing a zone occasionally try to trap the ball handler, an aggressive strategy designed to double-team the player with the ball. While this tactic may cause a turnover, it leaves one or more players on the offense undefended.

Zone defenses were prohibited in the National Basketball Association prior to the 2001-2002 season. The NBA currently permits the use of zones; however, teams generally do not use them as a primary defensive strategy. Zone defenses are more common in international, college, and youth competition.
Brian Denver

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