In this video I'm going to help you break that horrible 1-2-2 zone defense in basketball. We'll break it down from every position and I'll take you to the virtual HoopsIQ court to show specific plays to use to make this defense look ridiculous.
The 1-2-2 defense can be so frustrating for a coach, for players, and parents. It might seem so easy from the stands, but from the court, your point guard is staring at 3 defenders and is just moments away from being trapped.
As a coach, it's extremely important to understand exactly what the 1-2-2 defense is trying to do, and then you'll understand where to move the ball to break it.
So, first let's talk about the 1-2-2 defense from each position so you understand their jobs. Once you and your players understand the job of the defenders, you can run plays to counter attack them.
First of all, the top man of the 1-2-2 is usually forcing you to a side, but not being overly aggressive on the ball, the top man is waiting for that first pass or is waiting for you to dribble into this dead area, and then they'll jump and trap you just over half court where your absolutely stuck on all sides.
As the front defender runs to trap, the next level of defenders step up to trap on ball side, and the opposite defender cuts off the pass back to opposite guard which is the first reaction of the point guard resulting in easy fast break layups.
When I first started coaching little 3rd graders, I remember a team running this against us, and it was a nightmare. You must be prepared mentally. The physical part is fairly easy.
The back 2 defenders will jump to the corner on ball side, and back side defender will usually step up a little, but will hang out in this area. Not overly aggressive.
So, normally this is what happens, the ball is inbounded, all 4 offensive players run down the floor and spread out. The Point guard doesn't recognize that it's a 1-2-2 because at this point it kind of looks like man to man, so he dribbles to a side without too much pressure, as soon as he crosses half court, the second level defenders step up and trap, passes are cut off to the corner and back to the top, which results in a turnover.
Another common one you'll see is the PG passes up to the guard on the wing, and the top man will jump and trap them on the sideline. Again, they try to pass back to the PG, but he's out of position and these passes usually tipped or cut off.
Lastly, we commonly see a coach yell to get the ball to the corner because he looks open, but the ball quickly passes to the corner and he's trapped and unable to get it out resulting the same tipped passes or cut off turnovers.
So, let me show you the first option in breaking the 1-2-2 zone.
Option 1 is to remove the top part of the zone. Usually this top defender is the most athletic player with those long arms, quick hands, and they easily tip passes and make it really hard on the point guard.
So, we'll going to take him out of the play completely.
When the ball is inbounded, this wing will run down the court, and then get behind the defender. It's important that he gets down the court first so he's not visible to the top defender, as the guard approaches at a mild speed, he'll step up and set a back screen, the guard comes around the screen strong at a 3/4 speed. As this happens the in bounder makes sure to stay spread to the wing. This puts the second level defender in a tough spot, his job is to guard the wing, so many times your PG will be free to push to the foul line, and this point, the bigs will step up, and the bounce pass for a layup will be there or a kick out to the corner. Now, even with this pass to the corner, the play doesn't have to end with a corner 3, you'll now have the 1-2-2 all out of sync, so the smart play would be to kick out to this wing and attack to kick opposite. or back to corner to your Point Guard who continues to move.
Option 2 is spread the floor with 2 wings and 2 corners like the defense wants you to do, and your corner big will flash up the high post or even higher to the 3 point line depending on how high their playing the 1-2-2. As he flashes, the defense has to make a decision. Who's going to cover this, if it's a wing player, then as the pass comes to the middle, we then hit the wing. Or we hit the wing first and then inside to the middle.
Option 3 is your point guard passes to the win, but sprints after the pass to fill the lane, this almost always open.
KEYS
1. THE BALL MUST TRAVEL TO THE MIDDLE OF THE COURT AT SOME POINT. DRIBBLED THROUGH, PASS THROUGH, ..
2. PASS QUICKLY OUT OF TRAP AREA 1, OR ATTACK QUICKLY OUT OF TRAP AREA 1
3. DON'T FEEL AS THOUGH YOU HAVE TO SCORE OFF THE FIRST PASS THAT PASSES THE 3 POINT LINE.
4. ONCE THE BALL GETS OVER HALF COURT, IT'S A 3-2 ZONE AND IT WILL BE BEAT EASILY BY GETTING THE BALL TO HIGH POST AND UTILIZING A QUICK PASS TO THE BLOCK FOR HIGH LOW OR OUT TO A CORNER FOR AN OPEN SHOT.
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