Attacking a Zone Defense

Although this would seem to be common sense, a surprising number of players will realize that the defense is playing a zone and leave the situation at that. All zones, be they 2-3, 3-2, 1-2-2, 2-1-2, or whatever alignment, have weak points that are specific to that zone type. To exploit those weak points, you must identify the alignment of the zone that you are facing.

2) Beat the zone down the floor

The easiest method to defeat a zone is simply to acquire a good shot before the zone can properly set-up. This method carries the added benefit of forcing the opposing team to decide if it will "cheat" back toward defense. Doing so will allow the zone to be set-up properly, but will decrease the number of offensive rebounds. The negative side of attempting to beat the zone down the floor is that many players assume that the goal is to take a quick shot, rather than to acquire a high-percentage shot quickly.

3) Attack the baseline

All zones are weak along the baseline. Develop attacks with this weakness in mind.

4) Player spacing is critical

Zones place defenders in specific areas. Offenses can take advantage of this fact by positioning players in ways that overload the zone or force defenders to make choices. If the zone has one defender up top, for example, position two offensive players in that area, one on the extreme left of the defender's zone and one on the extreme right of the zone. Who will the defender guard? Will other defenders "cheat" from their areas in order to be closer to the offensive man who is left open after the first defender makes his choice? If so, what has opened behind the second defender? Every defensive choice opens seams and gaps that can be exploited by the offense.

5) Identify soft-spots in the zone and send cutters to those areas

Zones rotate and react to ball movement, not player movement. Thus, a player cutting to a soft spot in the zone is often not reacted to as quickly as in man-to-man. A quick cut to a soft spot, accompanied by a quick pass which allows the player to shoot almost instantly can often achieve open mid-range shots. The key is for the cutter to move to the weak spot, not to the rim as many players do. The goal is not to get the

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