Defending Dribble Penetration

In this next installment of our discussion of important points when running a man to man defense we will discuss how to defend dribble penetration.  Dribble penetration is one of the most prevalent parts of many offenses in today's game.  To defend it by playing a tough man to man requires a lot of hard work and teamwork.


Before determining how to defend against the dribble drive you need to know your opposition and their tendencies.  You need to ask yourself the following:
  • Who are the players on the other team who handle the ball and do most of the dribble driving?
  • When the other team drives, is the dribbler looking to score or looking to pass/kickout?
  • How good are the other teams perimeter shooters?
  • How good are the other teams post players?
  • Which hand does the player doing the penetrating prefer to use?
  • Which side of the floor does the player penetrating prefer to pass to?
By answering these questions you get a feel for how you will want to approach defending against the dribble drive.  There are some general rules that I believe can apply against any team you play against who likes to dribble penetrate.  These rules are:
  1. Play aggressive defense on the ball.  On ball defense is critical.  Make sure your players know all of the basics including defending against the live dribble, defending against a stopped dribble, defending against on ball screens, and defending against dribble handoffs. 
  2. Be prepared to use multiple players to defend the main ball handler on the other team.  Always alternate fresh bodies on him and be prepared to make him work. 
  3. Play aggressive off the ball defense forcing players as high up the court as possible to start the offense.  Remember, by pushing them up the floor a few feet you are now changing passing angles and increasing the spacing that the other team has been accustomed to.
  4. Be prepared to deny the main dribbler the ball and force someone else to start the offense.
  5. Be prepared to double team a dribble handoff.
  6. If the defender covering the main ball handler gets beat make sure that the defense rotates to pick up the ball.  The rest of the team should then proceed to pick up open players from closest to the basket out.
  7. Force the ball to one side of the court in order to limit the options for a good ball handler.  This also allows your team to have the weak-side defenders play help-side defense.
In a nutshell, defending against a team that likes to dribble penetrate is hard work. Dribble drives are a huge part of the game today.  To defend against this type of offense you need to make sure that your defense avoids being reactionary.  The best way to defend against this type of offense is with your defense being tough enough to dictate terms.

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