Even the biggest man-to-man defense sticklers know at some point in the season their team is going to play against a team that plays zone. Why? Well the zone has many benefits. It allows a team to hide poor defenders and pack the paint against teams. Some teams use zone defense as a talent equalizer, forcing teams to take outside shots or some teams will use a zone sparingly to change the look of the offense. What has become increasingly popular over the last few years is the “matchup” zone where the defender matches up to the offensive player nearest to him.
At the 2011 Tunica Mississippi Nike Clinic Detroit Mercy Head Coach Ray McCallum spoke on attacking zone defenses. In this specific set he uses a ballscreen to attack a 2-3 zone. While many coaches use the ballscreen in their man-to-man sets few use them against the zone. Why differ from your regular attack? By utilizing the ballscreen against the zone it builds in a two on one so to speak.
In this set the 1 man has to dribble over to initiate the top defender. The 4 man then sprints to screen him. The 4 man holds his screen for a moment then pops. The 1 man comes off the screen hard in the middle of the paint, which forces the other top defender to stop his drive. While this is happening, the 3 man cuts through opposite corner, thus turning a 2 on 1 with the ballscreen into an overload side on the weakside. This allows for a built in counter. It is a simple read for the 2 man whether he is open, the duck in is open, or the corner is open.
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