Two passes away, the defender is not next to his man; he is in the lane with one foot in the paint, in the pistols position, one hand pointing at the ball and one at his man, seeing both. This play runs a whole possession to show what the help side is for and what it costs: a middle drive is stopped by the help-side wing stepping up, the kick-out to his man is a skip pass he closes out on, the ball goes to the corner and back and across, and a baseline drive is stopped by the help-side corner defender rotating to the rim. Why the help side exists: the on-ball defender will be beaten sometimes, and a man defense that has no second defender waiting concedes a layup every time he is. What the help side concedes: the skip pass to its man, which is a long pass to a shooter the defender is closing out on. Where the advantage lies: a skip pass is the slowest pass on the floor, so the help defender arrives on the catch most of the time, and a drive that meets help is a drive that ends in a pick-up. Common youth mistakes: standing next to the man two passes away (no help exists), standing in the lane with the back to the ball (sees nothing), and helping so late that the drive and the layup both happen. The help-side teaching here came from Upward Sports' help side lesson for youth players and Coach's Clipboard's off-ball positioning notes; both will take you deeper than one play can.
