What is denial defense in basketball
Denial defense, also referred to as denying the pass or denying the ball, is a basketball defensive tactic in which an off-ball defender, typically one pass away adjacent to the player with the ball, prevents the offensive player that they are currently guarding from receiving the ball.
What is a general strength of denial defense
One general strength of the denial defense is that it could used to prevent the opposing team’s best player from getting the ball. This, in turn, could disrupt the flow of the offense, which could then lead to limited scoring opportunities.
What is a general weakness of denial defense
One general weakness of the denial defense is that it is susceptible to backdoor cut action by the offensive player being denied.
This could potentially be even more of a problem if the defender that is denying the ball is typically slower than the offensive player executing the backdoor cut.
In other words, if the defender does not possess the lateral quickness to stay between the offensive player that they are denying and the player with the ball (i.e. the defender is not quick enough to execute adequate defensive slides), then that same defender will most likely get beat by the backdoor cut of the offensive player being denied the ball.
What are the general techniques to execute denial defense
Technique #1
The first technique to execute denial defense is for the defender to be in a proper defensive stance.
The defender executing the denial action should have their feet about shoulder width apart with their weight on the balls of the feet (i.e. the defender should not be standing flat footed or on their heels).
Also, the defender should have their knees bent, their hips low, their back straight, their chest up, and their eyes looking forward at the offensive action.
Technique #2
The second technique to execute denial defense is for the defender to put their foot that is opposite the ball in the middle (or center) of the denied offensive player’s body, usually between the feet of that same offensive player.
Furthermore, at the same time, the defender should put their other foot that is closest to the player with the ball slightly above the offensive player that is being denied. This allows the defender to mirror the footwork of the offensive player that they are denying.
This also helps the defender to see both the ball and the offensive player that is being denied, particularly with peripheral vision.
Therefore, regardless if the offensive player being denied cuts to the basket or tries to get open near the perimeter, the defender would be able to slide their feet and stay between the offensive player being denied and the player with the ball.
Technique #3
The third technique to execute denial defense is for the defender to have the forearm that is opposite of the player with the ball touching the chest of the offensive player that is being denied.
This allows the defender to get a general feel of where the offensive player being denied is currently located.
In other words, if the offensive player that is being denied tries to backdoor cut or get open in some other way, then the defender that is denying the ball can use their forearm to feel the presence of the offensive player while still being able to see the ball.
Additionally, if the offensive player being denied does cut to get open, then the defender can also use the forearm to gently nudge the cutting offensive player from the intended pathway.
However, it should be noted that the defender should not extend the forearm as an attempt to control the offensive player or to stop that player’s movement. If that occurs, then it could lead to an unnecessary foul.
Technique #4
The fourth technique to execute denial defense is for the defender to have their arm and hand that is closest to the ball fully extended in the passing lane between the offensive player being denied and the player with the ball.
Moreover, the defender should have the palm of their hand towards the ball. In other words, the defender should be able to see the back of their hand and not their palm.
Essentially, when the defender extends their arm and has their palm facing outward, this discourages the player with the ball from attempting to execute a pass to the player being denied.
However, if the player with the ball does attempt to pass it to the player being denied, then the defender could use the extended arm and palm to deflect the pass. If that occurs, then it could lead to a steal for the defensive team and a turnover for the offensive team.
Furthermore, when the defender extends their arm in the passing lane, the player being denied would have to move above or around the extended arm to receive the ball altogether.
When that occurs, it could possibly frustrate and irritate the denied player and at the same time, this could cause the overall offensive strategy to become stagnant, which is a benefit for the defense.
Related: Fundamentals Of Denying The Pass – YouTube
What are examples of denial defense drills
Drill 1
This is an example of a simple denial defense drill. Player 1 is the offensive player near the wing and X1 is the defensive player executing the denial action.
Also, the letter C is denoted as the coach that passes the ball to player 1 on offense. However, another player on the offensive team could be the passer as opposed to the coach.
To start, 1 executes a V-cut to get open and X1 mirrors the pathway of the cut while implementing denial defense, shown with a gray arrow.
If 1 is able to get open, particularly in three seconds or less and receive the ball from the coach, then 1 could receive a point. Otherwise, if 1 does not get open or if X1 is able to deflect the pass, then X1 could receive a point.
It is possible to split the entire team into offense and defense and tally up the points between the players at the end of the drill.
Conversely, another alternative is to simply have the players on offense switch with the players on defense after the drill, regardless if an offensive player receives the ball or a defensive player deflects the pass.
Related: 3-Second Deny Drill – YouTube
Related: The Deny Layup Drill – YouTube
Drill 2
This is another example of a simple denial defense drill with a similar setup to the previous drill. Additionally, this drill could be useful because the defenders will be able to practice their defensive sliding mechanics against the backdoor cut.
To start, 1 executes a backdoor cut to get open while X1 mirrors the pathway with denial defense, shown with the gray arrow. Furthermore, X1 could use the forearm without extending it to gently nudge 1 from the intended pathway to the basket.
If 1 is open, then 1 could receive the ball from the coach at the top and then score near the basket. However, while that happens, X1 should try to deflect the pass to prevent the scoring opportunity.
Drill 3
This is yet another example of a simple denial defense drill with a similar setup to the previous drills. To begin, 1 executes the backdoor cut to get open while X1 executes denial defense as before.
However, this time, if 1 does not get open upon reaching the basket, then 1 continues the cut to the opposite wing. While that occurs, X1 should continue to mirror the path and deny the pass to 1.
Also, to keep the drill somewhat challenging, 1 should still try to receive the ball in three seconds or less.