1–3–1 Defense and Offense - Zone Responsibilities

Zone Responsibilities

The goal of the 1-3-1 zone defense is to create turnovers. This defense focuses extra pressure on the ball handler and will exert more effort to force turnovers. Turnovers within this defense are created by a couple key features of this strategy. Two defensive players will try to trap the ball handler in one of the corners of the half court. In basketball the ball can only be held for five seconds before passing, shooting, or dribbling. If a player is trapped in the corner they tend to stop their dribble before making a decision to pass or shoot. This creates a problem for the offense but is exactly what the defense wants to happen. When a player is double teamed without their dribble they tend to make poor decisions. Often bad passes and shots are forced out by the player just to get the ball out of the corner. It is vital for players not guarding the ball handler to anticipate a bad pass or shot in order to make a steal or get a rebound. This will help create the most turnovers.

Each player will have their own responsibility in the zone. They each have their own area to guard on the court. Players will also shift as the ball is moved to be in better defensive position. This means moving to a better location to cut off passes and gather rebounds. Typically, the one will take the top position. They will meet the ball handler and force them in one direction while playing close defense. Based on the direction the ball handler dribbles the defender on the wing, either the two or three position, will close in on the ball handler for a double team. The intention is to force a double team quickly and drive the offensive player into a corner of the court. The double team creates a lot of free space on the court. The other three players must shift to cover this area equally during a trap. A trap can be made at any of the four corners both at the base line and at half court. The only difference is the base line is defended by the rover and they will trap with the wing instead of the one position. By forcing these double teams the offense will make long cross court passes. These passes are more likely to get stolen because they are less accurate and travel in the air longer. More space is open during a double team so the defenders not trapping must take advantage of the long passes and force any possible turnovers