Defending Inbounds Basketball Plays
Dick Vitale made a comment during a recent basketball game between Duke and Purdue which lead me to write this article. Vitale was breaking down two of Duke's inbounds plays versus Purdue’s man to man defense. Vitale said "many coaches switch to a zone defense when defending against inbounds plays". Vitals comments were sparked by Dukes basketball team using back screens to get easy lay-ups while running their out of bounds plays. You can watch the video of the Duke inbounds plays and hear Dick Vitals comments but first I want to expand on the topic of defending against out of bounds plays.
Whenever two evenly matched football teams play you'll often hear the experts say the game will come down to turnovers and special teams. In basketball, I like to think of out of bounds situations as special teams play. Just as a football team practice kickoffs, punt coverage and field goals basketball teams must practice not only running inbounds plays but also defending against them.
One of the most popular methods for defending inbounds plays is to switch to a zone defense if your team normally plays man to man in the half court game.
A couple reasons coaches like to play zone against out of bounds plays is because man to man defense is susceptible to back screens and it's difficult to see both the ball and your man, which is a fundamental principle in playing good man to man defense.
I'm not implying teams should never use man to man defense to defend inbounds plays. Certainly there are times when man defense is more effective than a zone. There will also be games where switching to a zone is a far superior option. The concept of switching to a zone defense during out of bounds plays adds another aspect to your game plan.
This brings us to the following question. When should we as basketball coaches switch up our defense during inbounds plays?
We must examine our opponents to formulate an answer to the above question.
What's the basketball IQ of our opponent’s team? Will we be playing a well coached team who runs set out of bounds plays or a team who simply tries to inbound the basketball without really trying to score with a set play?
If our opponent runs various out of bounds plays and sets solid screens then we must consider switching up our defense during inbounds plays.
As mentioned above, man to man defense is susceptible to screens and this is magnified during inbounds plays. The reason screens, especially back screens work so well during out of bounds plays is because it's often necessary for our players to face guard our opponents and many times this will put our players backs to the basketball. Unlike normal half court defense, it's not always possible to see both your man and the ball during out of bounds situations. To understand this, picture your opponent inbounding the ball from under their own basket. If your player turns to see the inbounder he will lose sight of his man. Likewise if your player turns to be face to face with his assigned man he will lose sight of the basketball.
In taking this concept one step further when your player's back is turned to the basketball it's also turned to any opponents who set up below him on the court. Therefore, these unseen opponents can come up and set a back screen on your player while his man runs off the screen going to the basket for an easy lay-up. You'll see a couple good examples of this in the video of Duke's basketball team.
Against well coached teams who run set inbounds plays switching to a zone defense is almost always the best option. Zone defenses allow your players to guard an area of the floor not an individual opponent. This will help your players keep an eye on the basketball and their area without leaving them open to back screens.
Against other teams who just try to get open and inbound the basketball without setting screens or using a great deal of motion man to man defense can be a better option. If your players don't have to worry about getting hit with a solid back screen they can face guard and deny the inbounds pass. This will create steals and five second violations.
Remember just as special teams play decides many football games, inbounds plays can certainly affect the outcome of basketball games. Don't overlook this aspect of the game. If your team is primarily a man to man defensive team, take some time to implement some zone defenses, even if you only use them during these "special situations".
Watch the Video of the Duke Inbounds Play
