Zone Offense

How to beat the 2-3, the 1-3-1, and the 3-2: the gaps, the short corner, the high post, the skip.

11 stepsZone Offense: 1-3-1 Overload vs 2-3

The base alignment for attacking a 2-3 and the first thing to install: a 1-3-1 with the point above the arc, two wings set wide so the top guards are not in the…

12 stepsZone Offense: Short Corner Lift and High-Low vs 2-3

Kermit Davis's way of using the short corner against the 2-3, from Coach's Clipboard: the point dribbles to the wing to engage the top guard, the wing drops to…

12 stepsZone Offense: High Post Flash and Hi-Lo vs 2-3

The high post is the 2-3's soft spot and the hi-lo is how to use it, from a 3-out 2-in set: on the wing pass, the ball-side post flashes from the block to the…

12 stepsZone Offense: Pin and Skip vs 2-3

Screening the back of the zone, Coach's Clipboard's "Carolina": the wing pass shifts the zone to the ball, the weak-side post slides out to the weak corner, and…

14 stepsZone Offense: Screen the Top Guard vs 2-3

Two ways to screen the top of a 2-3, from Coach's Clipboard. First "91": both posts move up to the top, the point passes to one of them, the other back-screens…

15 stepsZone Offense: Ball Screen the Zone vs 2-3

Ryan Schultz's "Shallow", with the ball screen that Breakthrough and Teach Hoops both put at the center of a modern zone attack: the point dribbles at the wing…

11 stepsZone Offense: Swing, Swing, Skip vs 2-3

The rhythm every zone offense needs before any set: pass to one side, reverse, and skip over the top before the weak-side forward can recover. From the 1-3-1…

13 stepsZone Offense: Gap Drive and Pitch Back vs 2-3

Dribble penetration into a seam, from Coach's Clipboard's "Corners 52" and Schultz's "X Counter". Why drive a zone at all: a drive into a seam draws two…

14 stepsZone Offense: Baseline Runner vs 2-3

The runner: the best shooter lives on the baseline and runs corner to corner behind the zone, so the forwards have to pass him off across three defenders. From…

12 stepsZone Offense: BLOB vs 2-3

Coach's Clipboard's "23 Stack" baseline out-of-bounds play against the 2-3, with its counter "Splitter". The stack sits on the ball-side lane line: the shooter…

15 stepsZone Offense: SLOB vs 2-3

Coach's Clipboard's "Box-2" sideline out-of-bounds play against the 2-3, with its scouted counter. The box: 2 and 1 on the ball-side elbow and block, 4 and 5…

14 stepsZone Offense: Two-Guard Front vs 1-3-1

Attack an odd front with an even one: a 2-1-2 with two guards in the slots so the chaser cannot guard either, 5 at the free-throw line in the middle's area, and…

13 stepsZone Offense: Corner-to-Corner Runner vs 1-3-1

Coach's Clipboard's "Runner" against the 1-3-1: the best shooter lives in a corner, the ball goes to him, and the warrior has to sprint to him; on every…

13 stepsZone Offense: Short Corner and Skip vs 1-3-1

The short corner against the 1-3-1, from Coach's Clipboard and HoopTactics. Why the short corner against this zone: it is covered by the baseline runner alone…

13 stepsZone Offense: High Post and Middle vs 3-2

Attacking the 3-2 (and its 1-2-2 cousin) where it is weakest: the middle. From Coach's Clipboard's 3-2 and 1-2-2 zone offenses and HoopTactics: two guards up…

15 stepsZone Offense: West, Three or Layup vs 2-3

Lindsay Gottlieb's "West" from Coach's Clipboard, a quick hitter against the 2-3 that gives the best shooter an open three or the post a layup, and reads the…

15 stepsZone Offense: Stack Lob and Its Counter vs 2-3

Bryce Drew's stack plays against the 2-3, from Coach's Clipboard, run as a pair: Stack-2, the lob, and Stack-3, the counter for when the zone overplays the…