What is the box and 1 defense
The box and 1 defense is a basketball defensive strategy and a junk defense which seeks to limit scoring opportunities, especially for the opposing team’s best perimeter player, by implementing a combination of man to man and zone defense principles.
What is the primary objective of the box and 1 defense
The primary objective of the box and 1 defense is for the defensive team to utilize their best defender to disrupt or neutralize the scoring and/or playmaking abilities of the offensive team’s best perimeter player, particularly with man to man defensive pressure.
Also, at the same time, the additional four defenders will play zone defense in the form of a box, hence the name of box and 1.
What are advantages of the box and 1 defense
One notable advantage of the box and 1 defense is that it could be beneficial against teams with below average perimeter shooting abilities, particularly from three-point range.
Additionally, it could be favorable against teams that primarily rely on one offensive player to score the vast majority of the points.
What are disadvantages of the box and 1 defense
One noteworthy disadvantage of the box and 1 defense is that there is a large gap in the middle of the zone, particularly near the high post area.
This essentially means that if the offensive team is able to get the ball into the high post, then the box and 1 defense would become vulnerable to offensive tactics such as corner skip passes or high low action near the basket.
Another disadvantage of the box and 1 defense to consider is that it is not very effective against an offensive team with more than one scoring threat and it is typically limited against offensive teams with above average low post players.
Basically, if a team has more than one scorer, then the offensive team could simply pass the ball to the secondary player for scoring opportunities.
If that is the case, then the defensive team might be better served implementing a standard man to man defense or perhaps a triangle and 2 defense.
Additionally, if the offensive team has above average low post players, then the box and 1 defense is not really necessary because the bottom zone defender on ball side would effectively play 1-on-1 defense.
If that were the case, the defensive team could probably just execute regular man to man defense or implement another zone defense which could be more useful against offensive teams with good low post players such as the 2-3 zone.
What is the chaser in the box and 1 defense
In the box and 1 defense, the chaser is the defensive team’s best defender that will use man to man defensive principles against the offensive team’s best player, which could be simply referred to as the target.
Also, it should be noted that it would be more convenient and helpful if the chaser was not the defensive team’s best scorer when they received the ball on offense.
The reason for that is because the chaser could potentially use much energy guarding the opposing team’s best player.
This, in turn, could lead to offensive fatigue, which could hamper the chaser’s ability to score effectively and efficiently.
Moreover, the point guard or shooting guard should be designated as the chaser most of the time.
However, the chaser could also be a small forward or perhaps, even a power forward if those defenders are mobile enough to move on the perimeter consistently.
It is because small forwards and power forwards usually have longer arms than point guards or shooting guards, which could possibly make it easier to contest field goal attempts taken by the target.
Furthermore, if the defensive team has two or more above average defenders, then the coaching staff could switch out chasers periodically.
If that occurs, it would potentially frustrate the target because then, the target would have to adapt to a new defender in an effort to get open.
What are the general responsibilities of the chaser within the box and 1 defense
The general responsibilities of the chaser depends on whether the target has possession of the ball or not.
If the target has the ball
If the target has the ball, then the chaser will execute on-ball pressure defense without fouling to prevent easy scoring or playmaking opportunities for the target.
Additionally, it is equally important for the chaser to not reach in to steal the ball carelessly as this could also lead to unnecessary fouls.
If the target does not have the ball
If the target does not have the ball, then the chaser will follow (or chase) the target from one area of the court to another.
It is also important to note that the chaser should not follow directly behind the target. Instead, the chaser should follow over the top (or high side) of the target, particularly if the target moves from baseline to baseline.
Moreover, the chaser should always try to implement denial defense to prevent the target from easily receiving the ball from other teammates on offense.
What are the general responsibilities of the zone defenders within the box and 1 defense
The general responsibilities of the zone defenders are to cover the perimeter areas adjacent to their respective side of the floor or implement weak side defensive principles.
To be more specific, the zone defenders at the top of the box near the elbows will cover the wings or the middle of the high post, which is also referred to as the nail area.
Furthermore, the zone defenders at the bottom of the box near the low post blocks will cover the corners or slide into the lane to protect the basket.
Additionally, the zone defenders could provide help defense whenever necessary such as if the target has possession of the ball and then tries to attack the rim via dribble drive penetration.
If that were to occur, then one of the zone defenders could slide into an adjacent gap to cut off the dribbling path of the target.
What is an example of the initial formation for the box and 1 defense
This is an example of the initial formation for the box and 1 defense. In this scenario, X2 is the chaser and therefore, guards the target, which is player 2, with man to man defense. Also, for this case, the target is on the right side wing.
X1 and X3 are the zone defenders at the top of the box and they begin adjacent to the elbows of the high post.
Similarly, X4 and X5 are the zone defenders at the bottom of the box and they start near the low post blocks.
What are examples of defensive rotations for the box and 1 defense
These examples of defensive rotations are derived from The Box-and-One Zone Defense by Homer Drew.
Example 1
This is an example of the box and 1 defense when the ball is at the top. X1 and X3 could execute on-ball defensive pressure against the player with the ball if that same player decides to dribble towards the left or right slot areas.
For this example, 1 decides to dribble towards the left slot area. When that occurs, X1 executes defensive pressure while X3 slides over to the middle of the high post near the nail.
X4 and X5 stay near the low post blocks for the time being while X2 denies the target, which is player 2, from receiving the ball.
Example 2
This is an example of the box and 1 defense when the ball is on the wing. For this scenario, 3 received the ball from 1.
When that occurs, X1 executes a quick closeout on the ball to prevent an uncontested jump shot or easy dribble drive penetration.
Also, X3 can slide towards the ball while still covering the high post area. Essentially, this prevents 1 from easily cutting into the lane to receive the ball from 3.
Furthermore, if 3 were to reverse the ball to 1, then X3 could guard 1 to prevent easy dribble drive penetration from the middle of the floor.
Additionally, X4 can execute a low post front against 4 near the block while X5 slides into the lane to protect the basket.
Also, X2 could possibly continue to heavily deny the target but for this example, X2 decides to sag off because the ball is at least two passes away from the target.
Basically, X2 sags off and covers the weak side high post elbow area, which is also a direct line from the player with the ball and the target.
Example 3
This is an example of the box and 1 defense when the ball is in the corner. For this case, 4 popped out to the corner to receive the ball from 3 while 5 also cut across the lane to fill the left side low post block.
When that occurs, X4 executes a closeout to prevent an uncontested jump shot or dribble drive penetration. Additionally, X5 executes standard low post defense against 5 while X3 continues to cover the high post area near the left side elbow.
X1 drops back inside the arc to stand in the gap between 3 and 5. This allows X1 to provide help defense if 4 were to dribble drive towards the basket on the high side away from the baseline.
Furthermore, if 3 were to receive the ball from 4, then X1 could simply closeout as before. Also, if 5 were to receive the ball in the low post, then X1 could dig at the ball or execute a double team alongside X5.
As for the chaser, X2 continues to sag off in a direct line between the ball and the target near the weak side high post elbow.
Example 4
This is an example of the box and 1 defense when the ball gets into the high post. When that occurs, the box and 1 becomes vulnerable to breaking down.
The primary method of mitigating that is to have one of the bottom zone defenders sprint up the lane to quickly cover the player with the ball. For this case, X5 covers 5 while X4 stays back to protect the basket.
In addition to that, if possible, one or both of the top zone defenders should help double team or triple team the ball to encourage the high post player to pass it to the perimeter.
For this scenario, X3 is able to provide double team help against 5. At the same time, X1 stays inside of the arc ready to closeout if 3 were to receive the ball from 5.
Also, in this case, the chaser, which is X2, shouldn’t sag off the target because the ball is in the high post. In other words, if X2 were to sag off, then 2 could easily receive the ball from 5 such as with a corner skip.
What is an example of a breakdown drill for the box and 1 defense
This is an example of a breakdown drill for the box and 1 defense. The offensive players 1, 2, and 3 are the targets while defenders X1, X2, and X3 are the chasers.
Additionally, the coach at the top, indicated by the letter C, is the passer. However, it should be noted that another player on the team could also be the passer as opposed to the coach.
The first target and chaser combination is 1 and X1 respectively. To begin, 1 takes the screens set by 4 and 5 going from baseline to baseline in an attempt to get open.
X1 cuts across the high side of 1 with denial defense while also attempting to deflect or steal the pass from the coach at the same time.
From that point, if 1 receives the ball and/or scores on the defender, then a point could be given to that player or the offensive team as a whole.
On the other hand, if X1 is able to get a deflection or steal the pass from the coach, then a point could be given to that defender or the defensive team as a whole.
After that, the next target/chaser combination, which is 2 and X2, participates in the drill.
At the end of the drill, the coaching staff could tally up the points and determine the winners by individual targets/chasers or as the entire offensive/defensive team.