Presses

Full-court and three-quarter-court pressure, and what it is built to force.

All families · 3 terms · 3 full, 0 partial, 0 short

1-2-1-1 press

Also: diamond press

A full-court zone press shaped like a diamond with a point on the inbounder, built to trap the first pass the moment it is caught.

Full court, with the offense inbounding under the far basket at the top of the picture. The inbounder, 1, stands out of bounds behind the far baseline, right of the basket, with the ball. The point defender, x1, stands just inside the baseline in front of him, labeled point on the inbounder. x2 and x3 stand across the far free-throw line, one on each side of the lane. x4 stands in the middle just above the half-court line, and x5 waits alone deep in the other half, labeled safety. Of the other attackers, 3 and 2 are near the far free-throw line, 3 on the left and 2 on the right, 4 is in the middle of the floor and 5 is deep on the right. A dashed inbound pass goes from 1 to 2, and x1 and x3 both run at 2, labeled trap the first catch just above and to the right of him. x4 runs toward the right sideline, labeled middle slides to the outlet, and x5 does not move.

Why it is run. A trap on the very first catch, with the inbounder still out of bounds and no dribble taken, wins the ball ninety feet from the offense’s basket if the receiver panics, and every pass out of it has to travel the whole floor.

What beats it. The press break: the immediate reversal away from the trap, the outlet to the middle before it closes, and the pass ahead into a four-on-three.

defense · Special situations · full · Taught in lecture 4.7 · See also Press, Press break

2-2-1 press

Also: 2-2-1 zone press

A three-quarter-court zone press with two defenders at the front, two behind them and one safety; it concedes the inbound and traps the first dribble against the sideline.

Full court, with the offense inbounding at the far end, drawn at the top. The inbounder, 1, stands out of bounds behind the far baseline and throws a dashed pass to 2 on the left side, inside the far three-point arc. 2 dribbles up the left side toward half court and stops a few feet from the sideline, about eight feet past the far arc. Two defenders stand at the front line, one at each side of the far lane just inside the far free-throw line, labeled front line. The left one, x1, runs down toward the end of the dribble. Two more stand back, below the far arc. The left one, x3, runs up toward the end of the dribble from the half court side, so the two arrows close on the handler from both sides, labeled trap on the sideline. 3 stands on the right side inside the far arc and 4 in the middle just below it. The safety, x5, stands alone a few feet past half court, labeled safety, and 5 is behind him, just above the other three-point arc.

Why it is run. Conceding the inbound and trapping the dribble costs the defense nothing it wanted, because the pass it allows is the one that goes nowhere; the sideline then acts as a third defender on a handler who has already used his dribble to get there.

What beats it. Attacking up the middle of the floor, which is the one place the shape leaves open, and refusing to dribble into the sideline at all.

defense · Special situations · full · Taught in lecture 4.7 · See also Press, 1-2-1-1 press, Press break

Zone press

A press whose defenders guard areas of the back court rather than men, so a trap is set wherever the ball enters an area two of them share.

Full court. The ball has been trapped against the right sideline in the back court by two defenders who converged from their own areas. The three defenders behind the trap are not matched to attackers: one has slid toward the middle of the floor to take the pass into the centre, one has dropped ahead of the ball on the right sideline, below the trap and toward the basket the offense is attacking, and the safety holds the back court alone. Two attackers on the left side of the floor stand unguarded, which is the trade a zone press makes: it covers the passes rather than the players.

Why it is run. Guarding areas means the trap is triggered by where the ball goes rather than by who has it, so no defender has to chase a man he cannot stay with, and the three behind the trap can cover passing lanes instead of bodies.

What beats it. The press break’s middle pass, which beats a lane-covering defense faster than a man-covering one because the lanes are fixed and the cutter is not.

defense · Special situations · full · Taught in lecture 4.7 · See also Press, 2-2-1 press, 1-2-1-1 press, Press break