Zone Offense play
Zone Offense: Two-Guard Front vs 1-3-1
- Court
- Half court
- Length
- 14 steps
About this play
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 3 and 4 on the blocks beneath the wings. From Coach's Clipboard's 1-3-1 zone offense and Basketball For Coaches: the point dribbles at the chaser to draw him and the ball-side wing, the ball-side post cuts from the block to the corner for the pass, and the baseline runner (the "warrior") has to sprint to him; then 5 dives from the free-throw line to the ball-side block for the pass. Why the corner: HoopTactics calls the corners the 1-3-1's weak spots, because one defender covers both. The read is the warrior committing to the corner, which leaves the block to the high middle alone. The counter is for the zone whose high middle drops to cover the dive: the corner skips to the opposite slot, the weak post pins the recovering wing, and the shooter has the catch, or the high post, now empty, is re-flashed by 5. Common mistakes: the guards standing in front of the chaser instead of in the slots, the corner cut going before the dribble draws the chaser, and 5 diving before the warrior commits. I got this from Coach's Clipboard's 1-3-1 zone offense and Basketball For Coaches' sixteen ways to beat a 1-3-1, with HoopTactics on why the corners are weak; Championship Hoops' video shows the alignment.
