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Six Basketball Defense Tips - Defending The Basketball
By David Huizar, Thu Dec 8th
What stands out most in the minds of fans around theworld is the flashy T-Mac drive, spin and dunk or the fiercedunk over three defenders by Shaq, but it has been said thatdefense wins games. The Detroit Pistons of recent times were aprime example of that. Although they definitely could score, itwas their swarming defense that won them the NBA title. Basketball Defense Tip #1 - Defense is a state of mind, anattitude. Your desire, hustle and level of energy are as muchimportant if not more than your skill. You should be a proactiveplayer, not a reactive player. Your main focus is always an urgent "get that ball back". Theattitude, concentration and teamwork you bring to the game arekey elements to success. The skills of defense can be taught;only you can develop the desire to win.
Basketball Defense Tip #2 - Transition play is one of theessentials of defense. You must get back to your defensiveassignment quickly. Avoid letting the offense beat you downcourt. All too often players get lazy or waste time arguing ano-call; don't let that happen to you. Hustle back down courtand get that ball back! Basketball Defense Tip #3 - Another essential is defending witha purpose. Mainly, prevent easy shots and get that ball back(heard that somewhere?) through steals or rebounds. Make theoffense earn their points. Make them score under pressure. Basketball Defense Tip #4 - Always apply pressure and stay low.Usually your head will be level with the ball-handler's chest.Keep yourself positioned between the basket and the ballhandler.Wave your hands, make noises, anything to distract youropponent. You can even fake body movements such as pretending tocharge the ball. The main thing is to stay low and applypressure. Basketball Defense Tip #5 - When guarding a player with theball, always be ready. You should have one foot forward, thefoot opposite of the ball-handler's most dominant hand. If he isright handed, your left foot will be forward along with yourleft
hand extended out, palm up. This will allow you to quicklyflick at and steal the ball. Usually you will keep that lead hand at whatever level the ballis; if the ball is low, so is your lead hand. If the ball isbeing held high, turn your palm so it facing the ball. Youshould also be waving your off hand so you can prevent thepassing lane. Basketball Defense Tip #6 - Position yourself between theball-handler and the basket at all times. Cut off his path bymaintaining your position between him and the basket by slidingover and staying in front of him. Don't cross your feet. If the ball handler gets by you, sprint to reestablish yourdefensive position between the ball-handler and the basket. Aplayer without the ball should be able to sprint faster than aplayer dribbling the ball. Keep a cushion between you and theball-handler. If he tries a spin move or reverse and you are tooclose, you could end up with an unnecessary foul. Always preventpenetration first, then pressure the ball. If he stops his dribble, attack the ball while staying in yourdefensive stance. Try to force a bad pass or you can back off alittle if the ball handler is out of shooting range, but alwaysavoid the unnecessary fouls. There are a number of different defense tips,techniques and drills. Each position has its own specialrequirements, but the one common denominator is to prevent theoffense from scoring easy or uncontested points. Always applypressure by staying low and positioning yourself between theball-handler and the basket. If you can master that you will bewell on your way to earning a nickname like "The Glove" (GaryPayton) and winning defensive player of the year!
About the author:Matt & Dave runhttp://www.basketball-plays-and-tips.com/bbdefensetips . For ourfree report, "5 Keys to Discovering the Successful Coach InsideYou", plus two additional player/coach reports, send a blankemail to basketballtip@aweber.com We give full permission for you to use this article in yournewsletter or on your site as long as you include our ResourceBox with our website address and email included.
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