What is a full court press in basketball
The full court press is a basketball defense system in which players of the defensive team execute backcourt and frontcourt on-ball pressure, typically accompanied by sideline traps against players of the offensive team.
What are the types of full court press defenses
The types of full court press defenses include the full court man to man press, the run and jump defense, and the full court zone press.
Full Court Man to Man Press
The full court man to man press consists of each defender matching up with a comparable offensive player, similar to the traditional half court man to man defense.
However, unlike the half court man to man defense, in the full court man to man press, the defense extends into the backcourt as opposed to only the frontcourt.
Additionally, the full court man to man press generally uses the same principles of half court man to man defense such as on-ball pressure, denial defense, help defense, and in some instances, switching defense.
Run and Jump Defense
The run and jump defense is essentially a variation of the full court man to man press. The primary difference is that the run and jump defense features sideline traps as well as defensive switching principles.
Basically, the run and jump defense could be thought of as a hybrid between the full court man to man defense and the full court zone press.
Full Court Zone Press
The full court zone press comprises a variety of strategies in which defenders cover certain areas or zones with sideline traps in the backcourt or frontcourt to limit or prevent offensive scoring opportunities and/or to create offensive turnovers.
The 1-1-2-1 press features a backcourt defender below the dotted half circle in the lane, a backcourt defender near the top of the three-point arc, two frontcourt defenders near the sidelines, and one frontcourt defender near the high post area.
The 1-1-3 press begins with a backcourt defender below the free throw line, a backcourt defender above the arc, and three frontcourt defenders near the half court line near the circle and sidelines.
The 1-2-1-1 press starts with a backcourt defender below the dotted half circle, two backcourt defenders near the wing areas, and another backcourt defender near the half court circle. Additionally, there is a frontcourt defender near the high post area.
The 1-2-2 press consists of a backcourt defender near the top of the arc, two backcourt defenders near the half court line, and two frontcourt defenders above the three-point arc.
The 1-3-1 press comprises a backcourt defender near the top of the three-point arc, three frontcourt defenders near the half court line, and one additional frontcourt defender near the high post area.
The 2-1-2 press features two backcourt defenders near the slot areas, one backcourt defender within the half court circle, and two frontcourt defenders above the three-point arc near the slots.
The 2-2-1 press starts with two backcourt defenders near the high post elbows, two frontcourt defenders near the half court line, and one additional frontcourt defender near the high post area.
What is a general advantage of a full court press
One particular advantage of the full court press is simply its ability to disrupt the rhythm and flow of the offense.
Generally speaking, offensive teams would prefer to play at their own fast or slow pace, regardless if the basketball offense that they are executing is a type of half court set, motion, continuity, or transition offense.
However, if the defensive team implements a full court press, then this essentially forces the offensive team to play at a pace (usually a faster one) which might not be suitable for the offensive team’s strategies or personnel.
As a result, the offensive team could potentially take undesirable field goal attempts such as contested jump shots or make errors such as bad passes, which could then lead to turnovers.
What is a disadvantage of a full court zone press
One notable disadvantage of the full court zone press is that because each defender typically covers certain areas or zones of the court, this then creates gaps or holes between the defenders.
Additionally, the most noteworthy gap is usually in the middle of the full court zone press. Therefore, if an offensive team, particularly with a high basketball IQ, is able to pass the ball into the gaps of the press, especially the middle gap (which also breaks the press), then the defense could possibly become vulnerable to offensive scoring opportunities such as transition layups or open three-point jump shots.
When should a defensive team consider implementing a full court press
Is the defensive team losing the game
One of the best times to consider implementing a full court press is when the defensive team is losing the game. Essentially, if the defensive team is able to change the pace of the offense, then that could lead to low quality shot attempts or offensive turnovers.
When that occurs, this could produce extra possessions when the defense transitions into offense.
In other words, if the defense is able to influence the offense into taking bad shots or executing bad passes which lead to turnovers, especially live-ball turnovers, then the defense, who would transition into offense can use those new possessions to generate scoring opportunities of their own.
Moreover, those new scoring opportunistic, which could be near the basket, via layups/dunks, or near the perimeter such as three-pointers, could help the defensive team reduce the scoring deficient or even take the lead during a game.
Does the offensive team have below average players on the court
Another point to consider running the full court press is when the offensive team has one or more players with below average dribbling skills or less than ideal basketball IQ.
These particular players generally do not function well against pressure defense, particularly in the backcourt.
Therefore, if the defensive team implements on-ball pressure and/or sideline traps against those types of offensive players, then those same players will more than likely fold under the defensive pressure and turn the ball over.
Furthermore, even the offensive players do not necessarily turn the ball over, they will generally not be able to effectively and efficiently run their desired motion, continuity, or other types of offensive sets, simply because of the pressure.
Is the offensive team prepared for a full court press
Another opportunity to consider executing the full court press is simply when the offensive team is not prepared for a full court press or the offensive team does not necessarily expect it to see it such as after a scoring basket when the defensive team was on offense or after a timeout, or towards the end of a quarter.
As an example, if the defensive team normally plays standard half court man to man defense primarily during a quarter or even the whole game, then the offensive team would most likely become accustomed to that type of defense.
From that point, the offensive team will also attempt to run various actions that are designed to limit the effectiveness of the half court man to man defense.
However, if the defensive team implements a full court man to man press or a full court zone press at some point during the game, then the offensive team may be unprepared to deal with that type of defensive strategy, especially if the offensive team did not scout it prior to the game or even see it at some previous point during the current game by the defensive team.
If that occurs, then the offensive team might become confused and be forced to call a timeout to set up a press offense which could counter against the full court press defense.
Also, if the offensive team does call a timeout to counter the full court press, then the defensive team could switch to another type of defense instead of the full court press that the offensive team just observed. If that occurs, it would mean that the offensive team burnt a timeout for no viable reason.
Moreover, the offensive team could also potentially panic and turn the ball over upon witnessing the full court press defense.
When should a defensive team consider running a full court man to man press vs. a full court zone press
When to run a full court man to man press
Man to Man Press – Opportunity #1
A defensive team could consider running a full court man to man press when they simply want to extend the on-ball pressure into the backcourt without necessarily implementing sideline traps, which usually occurs within the full court zone press.
Man to Man Press – Opportunity #2
Moreover, a defensive team could consider a full court man to man press when they do not want to risk the offensive team breaking the full court zone press, particularly by getting the ball into the middle gap of the zone press.
That, in turn, could lead to an offensive numbers advantage and potential layups/dunks at the basket.
When to run a full court zone press
Zone Press – Opportunity #1
A defensive team could consider running a full court zone press when they want to not only extend on-ball pressure in the backcourt but they also desire to implement sideline traps, which could then lead to turnovers.
Zone Press – Opportunity #2
Another opportunity for a defensive team to consider running a full court zone press is when the offensive team has below average ball handlers and/or the offensive team has players with low basketball IQ.
As mentioned previously, offensive players with below average IQ or ball handling skills usually will not be able to handle on-ball pressure, especially in the backcourt.
Zone Press – Opportunity #3
Furthermore, a defensive team could consider a full court zone press when they are undersized, particularly at the low post positions and/or the offensive team prefers to play through their above average low post players.
Basically, when the defensive team implements the full court zone press, this effectively forces the offensive team to play through their guards or wing players, either by passing into the gaps of the zone press or dribbling around it.
Moreover, if the offensive team desires to break the press efficiently, especially in the backcourt, then they would most likely have to move either one or both of their low post players away from the basket and towards the backcourt.
From that point, those same low post players would act as additional passing options near the gaps of the zone press.
However, because those low post players are not near the basket, at least during the initial phases of the zone press, they would not be able to use their dominant low post skills, as they normally would against a standard half court man to man press.
Zone Press – Opportunity #4
The defensive team could, once again, consider executing a full court zone press when they possess average or less than average scorers on offense, particularly from three-point range. Yet at the same time, they have above average defenders.
When that occurs, the full court zone press could help the defensive team to create turnovers, which in turn, could lead to more offensive possessions and subsequent field goal attempts.
Furthermore, if the defensive team is able to create live-ball turnovers via the full court zone press, this could benefit them tremendously, especially if they are able to score layups/dunks near the rim as opposed to executing offensive actions such as half court sets.