Working on Defense

So, it’s been roughly 13 days since the last blog post about rebounding and I’ve been constantly practicing and playing ball. My friends noticed that I have been improving my rebounding skills, getting better every game. I very happy with myself, but I could still improve on the little details. For example if I’m not sure that I can get the rebound I can try to tip or tap the ball to myself or my teammate (Leboutillier 23).

Looking back at the two blogs that I’ve posted I noticed that it was about me or my team having the ball, but what if the other team has the ball? People often overlook defense, but it’s an important part of the game. Great defenders are feisty, tireless, and resourceful. Regardless of skill, most players can improve their defense through practice. So in this blog let’s talk guarding and blocking. In basketball, a block or blocked shot occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player. Guarding is when one player is between the opponent and the hoop trying to stop the opponent from scoring. 

Firstly I wanted to learn how to properly guard my opponent and not getting faked out or in another words breaking my ankles. The first key thing is getting into the correct position and moving where your opponent is going. “Get into stance with your knees bent. Extend your arms out from your sides, and keep your eyes up. Whichever way your opponent moves, shuffle in that direction” (Leboutillier 26). Keeping my hands up is very important because it stops the player from shooting over you. Also, it distracts the player from knowing where to pass, and it makes it harder for them to see what is going on. It does not have to be both hands but definitely one. This is especially important when playing a zone defense because it makes the passes for the other team harder and it allows you and your teammates to intercept passes. In addition being low helps you shuffle from side to side faster, and when you are bending your knees, your eyes are around your opponents waist, which is very important because then you will know where your player is going. Having the correct stance helped a lot when playing ball because it allowed me to make interception and block or tip passes. 

Another key thing to defense is blocking when the player is trying to lay up or dunk. Blocking is a great way to reject the opponent from scoring or stealing the ball and in some cases humiliating the opponent. Blocking a shot is one of the most exciting defensive plays in basketball. To begin you have to focus and keep eye contact on the ball and the player. Also being ready for the opponent to make a move. “To deny a shot, try to stay between the player you’re guarding and the ball. Keep an eye on both the ball and your opponent. You want to be ready to jump to block the shot or steal the ball” (Leboutillier 27). Keeping eye contact is very important, look at when the player jumps and when they jump you should too to block the shot. If you don’t look for the jump you’ll probably get faked out by the opponents fake jump shot. In most case it’ll make it easier for the opponent to score if you get faked out, so it’s good to be aware and make eye contact. Trust me before the guide I would get faked out and would feel pretty embarrassed. 

In conclusion the guide helped me realize that defense is very important to basketball, way more than I thought before. Focusing on the key details helped a lot too. Now I don’t get humiliated and I’m pretty good at blocking and stealing the ball. Talking about dunking reminds me of my favorite NBA team the Knicks and the great player who played for them, Patrick Ewing one of the greatest blockers in basketball. Who do you think is the greatest blocker in NBA history?

Citation: Leboutillier, Nate. Play Basketball Like A Pro Key Skills And Tips. N.p.: Capstone, n.d. Print. Play Like The Pros.