Saturday, January 2, 2010

Great defense!


This is footage from the December 17th, Upstate Eagles game. The Augusta Eagles play good team defense and force a turnover, leading to a basket and a chance for a three point play by Nathaniel Crown.
The Upstate Eagles' post player(#42 white) has a significant height advantage over Kip Custer (#10 blue), but Custer is able to neutralize that advantage by forcing #42 to get position "up the lane" rather than closer to the basket. Then he is able to deflect the post pass that comes from above the top of the key (a bad angle to make such a pass). The ball lands in the hands of the offensive player in the corner. Good defensive pressure by Matt Miller (#14 blue) prevents the offensive player from passing the ball into the post. As is often the case, that pressure results in an opportunity for the offensive player to drive along the baseline.
This is the point where the team defense shines. Kip Custer steps away from his man to cut off the drive, and Nathaniel Crown (#24 blue), who was in the proper help position, "helps the helper" and picks up Custer's man. Brian Wilson (#4 blue), who has correctly dropped from the top of the key into the paint into the "line of the ball," provides another body to clog up the lane. The offensive player tries to pass the ball to the post player amidst all of this traffic, and the ball lands in Brian Wilson's hands.
The turnover leads, as is often the case, to a great scoring opportunity on the other end of the court. The defense gets caught out of position, with the tallest player late to get back into the lane, allowing Crown to score a layup and have a chance for a three point play.
This clip illustrates the effectiveness of team defense. If a team plays individual defense, which effectively mean that five players are each playing one on one, a defender inevitably gets beaten (which makes sense since he is the one back pedalling), and the offensive player has a clear path to an easy shot. But, playing team defense allows the Augusta Eagles, in this example to effectively play 4 against 2. Once the ball is in the corner, the only Upstate Eagles that are in scoring position are the players in the corner and the post. Once the player in the corner drives, Custer and Miller eventually seal off his path, and Crown and Wilson take care of the next pass that can result in a score. A "4 against 2 game" has a much higher chance of success than five "1 on 1" games.

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