From the FIBA Assist Magazine comes an article on team defense from Oktay Mahmuti two Turkish cups and four Turkish Division I league titles since 2000.Our entire defensive system can be characterized by a number of major themes. I call them "macros." At the beginning of each season, these themes (macros) are explained and discussed with the players on the roster. They include:
1. All defensive drills and exercises are to be performed with maximum intensity. This is the only way that the defensive approach of the coach can be transferred from theory to practice.
2. There are two indispensable focal points of defense: aggressivity and pressure. These act as the building blocks of our defense. Constructing a team defense is not feasible when either of these building blocks are missing.
3. there are basic attack points in a half-court offense. Our defense aims to deny the opposing players the ball. to achieve this, we apply full-court pressure on the point guard when bringing the ball down the court. Meanwhile, the other four players should be working as well. They deny the attacking points, forcing the offense to receive the ball father away from the basket. This will force the offense to seek solutions, most likely setting screens to free up the players.
4. There are certain offensive schemes almost present in every set play. These are single pick, pick and roll, staggered screens, and post-up plays. Defending these is a priority.
Teaching these themes in certain drills is equally important. We prefer to build up from basic 1-on-1 principles towards more combined drills.
1-ON-1: THE BASIS
Preparing for the worst-case scenario is a very common practice in basketball coaching. We want the defender on the ball to think that he has no help from other players. This will bring out his best defensive efforts. Similarly, the defenders off the ball should be thinking that the defender on the ball will be beaten and they should be ready to help out. However, it should also be clearly indicated that independent of the position of the handler, the defender on the ball cannot be beaten in one dribble. Being beaten in one dribble almost always guarantees a no-help situation where team defense cannot play a role.
When defending 1-on-1 on the perimeter, it is absolutely essential to establish a valid defensive stance. The body should be in a configuration designed to maintain balance at all times. Feet should remain parallel to each other with the upper body in a vertical position at all times. The common mistakes that leads to an unbalanced situation develops with improper use of the arms and hands. Players have a tendency to try to steal the ball by reaching it out. We prohibit any reaching activity that will cause forward motion of the upper body because this will most likely result in being beaten off the dribble.
In our defensive philosophy, helping the ball handler by establishing early position is a duty assigned to four players. In other words, helping a penetration is not only the job of the big man. The defender on the ball takes the time of the travel of the ball to slide towards the new location of the ball, creating a triangle.
Timing matters in the sense that as the ball reaches to the new handler, the triangle must have already been established. As the penetration starts, the defender who had jumped to the ball shows up for a split second and then recovers to his man. This is a very common pattern, especially for a defender at the top of the key who jumps to the ball in a pass to a forwarding coming off a lateral pick towards the foul line extended.
