The Syracuse 2-3 Zone: What Works And What Doesn't 

In Virginia’s case, Syracuse knew the Cavaliers were more than willing to take jump shots being that they rely on making them to compliment their pace. What also helped, was Richardson’s play understanding that you have to be able to play at both speeds.

+jayy Walker UNC sure did. 83 points.

+Joe Nathan too bad they couldn't win it all

+jayy Walker yeah, too bad Paige's shot was only worth 3 points :(

Despite having some really good teams in the 80's and 90's, there's a reason they only have one championship in 50 years though. Zones allow teams with inferior talent to hang around for 40 minutes. they rely on missed shots, and if a team with inferior talent move the ball well they'll stay in the game.

+Robert Ito yes, great points!

go middle then pivet and pass opposite

@@kegstandman4206 pivet. lol

+Saxon Bromley most casual fans don't care about this shit just W and Ls

+Michael Jackson true

+Saxon Bromley thanks! #ImIn

+Haos CallOfLRevengeance youre right

+The Healthiest Skeptic awesome. That said, I don't mind zone, just not 100% of the time.

+Tim C haha, you are right. Hmm, I can try.

+MyCoal Gemini Yep takes a lot of composure and team work to break down zones. Something as you might imagine, school teams lack in.

Would have been great to have him in the NBA without injuries. Amazing centre! Would have given those elite 90s centres a run for their money!

Time flies

Actually, Draymond, Ezeli and Bogut are probably low post threats, and I heard they can pass to the open men, especially Dray.

Manu Perez I know lol. I said it in almost an ironic fashion. Guess I didn't sell well. Trying it occasionally would put you in a place to force the Warriors to play Ezeli or Bogut which would help when the lineup of Death is in play. Dray would have to baseline handle or be in the post which would slow that lineup down in my opinion.

+Stanley Terrell Anderson II Some NBA teams will use zones for a few possessions to throw offenses off. Rick Carlisle loves to do it. It's not consistent though because if you look at NBA level shooters the kind of space they need is very minimal and the swing passes available will give them that shot.

+Panzeh yea I don't think anything will work long term against one opponent. just that staying down in man to man isn't working. friend of mine suggested that 2-3 match may disrupt a few possessions.

3-2 zone two big man down low might help against the death little line up the warriors use you wouldn't give up many offensive rebounds the two big man down low should grab boards due to size advantage and the three guards up top can prevent threes from the wing and key the two big man can probably cheat a step too the corner as there is little post threat unless they play boget and even still it would only be a one on one situation.

+Phantim3dx I don't see how my bias towards 100% zone had any bearing on this video

Don't forget who coached their matchup zone defense. Rick Carlisle is one of the top underrated NBA coach, who knows how to mask the weaker and slower defensive players on his team

+LMFAndrewO Just because they play great help defense and can afford to cheat and half-double against Miami Heat's perimeter shooters, it doesn't mean they're playing zone defense. The basic fundamentals of man-to-man was the foundation of their defense, they had to put a body between the basket and the Heat's athletes at all times. They played great help defense against a rather predictable and stagnant offensive team by double-teaming only when necessary and recovering quickly to the open man and great weak-side help defense to account for two offensive players when needed by having good spacial awareness to contest the passing lanes and still be able to recover quickly to the man. The Mavericks also have a rim protector in a mold that is close to what you would call a tradition big man, in Chandler, and that gives help defenders on that team less responsibility when it comes to defending the paint hence they do not have to over-play and force their hand on defense and can afford to cheat, help and recover on defense and to their credit they do it responsibly and very well but the Heat did make it easier for them as they rarely did anything to force the defense to over-play their hand.

+LMFAndrewO They played defense with great man-to-man defense as their foundation with great help defense & P&R defense. The Heat made their job easier by being predictable more often than not and their offense was pretty stagnant overall. But to the Maverick's credit, they had great team-work, awareness, positioning as a unit when it comes to double-teaming, trapping and recovering on defense and adapt on the fly. They can afford to cheat, half-double to a certain extend as long as they do it responsibly without overplaying and leaving the weak-side open. The key to their defense is that they always have a body between the basket and any offensive player, even if they are forced to move away slightly and have to cheat on the weak-side, they know how to do it without over-playing and giving up the options that the offense would gladly take, they defend the passing lanes to offensive players on the weak-side and still have the awareness, positioning and work ethic to recover and contest as much as possible and keep everyone accountable. They played great defense that goes beyond zone defense and man-to-man but the foundation is still man-to-man because they always try to put a body between the basket and any Heat player and from there they read and react and try not to over-play and give the offense the obvious options and letting LeBron James or Dwayne Wade try to go 'hero-ball' which is predictable and ineffective for the most part and definitely was not good enough to out-score the Mavericks shooting streak, which is a whole different story.

+LMFAndrewO no, but they didn't play it 100% of the time.

+LMFAndrewO Mavs played primarily man to man in the finals series against the Heat 2011. You revisionists who don't even watch games are the worst.

do?... like it?

Probably 23 because he wasn't defending anyone. Coach also said "seal in the post" meaning someone in the paint, either the center or the cutter. Number 21 was between the post player and his man, so he probably wasn't out of position

+Manu Perez yeah but isn't number 21 "the left forward"? Plus number 21 should have been a lot lower anyways since number 0 was two feet from his man on the perimeter.

+Manu Perez coach if you see this can you clarify for us?

Justin Callan I'm pretty sure "left side of the court" is seen in the offense's POV, meaning the side on top of the screen is the left. That's what I guess anyway. And #0 was way farther than 2 feet away from (Gonzaga's) #23. That gap seems more like 15-20 feet. Syracuse's #21 is already covering 2 feet with his legs.

Justin Calla

The Scatman I agree plus it will slow the game down I agree

It's not that hard lol man to man isn't complicated this isn't gonna hurt the players

MrTripleAEnt so playing man to man in the nba is easy?

+A.R. Smith but if the player is good enough is doesn't matter they will know how to play man

+A.R. Smith the nba is a pick n roll league, so being able to switch, double, close out and guard multiple positions is important, you get all of that playing a zone so its fine, and they don't just forget how to defend man to man

Objectionable im not sayin they'll forget im sayin man in the nba is way different than in college, that's the kind of defense they should be playing in college, but that's just my opinion

+Antoine Dodson young players are rattled by it more than nba players. you play to win in the ncaa

+Antoine Dodson college bball is to win games. if you are an nba player you are an nba player whether you played zone or not

AlphaDwg what im saying is that they should only play man and work hard on that type of defense to better prepare the players.

+Antoine Dodson College teams top priorities is never to prepare their players to play in the NBA. They prepare their players to win their school games. If one of their players happens to make the league, great, but college coaches don't focus on preparing for the league.

+Antoine Dodson You're wrong. Only a small fraction of the players in college will make the NBA. The point of playing zone is to make it difficult for the other team to score. Thus winning games. College basketball is a BUSINESS. The more games you win and the farther in the March Madness tournament you go is just a bigger piece of the pie for the NCAA and the school. Its all about $$$$

I love his podcast

+It's Nick so do you play zone defense in pick up? or you a syracuse fan?

+It's Nick what makes him such an annoying loser? just curious?

Woah dude you're smart

That's why it was illegal for a while.

Its a trapping defense. It is effective when your team is outsized and to prevent drive to the basket. That is strategy, a team defense

+Archangel Dant it would be ok if the defending big man wasn't allowed to stand in the zone all day

The Ol' Reliable it does

angelo cardoso I meant from the NBA/NCAA

They would probably just bring him in as a consultant if they needed help.

+Master Mo Pretty hard to argue with the tournament results especially since they were lucky to even get in

Jackson Barrett it rattles college kids but eventually gets beaten unless you have carmelo

Actually you need really good defenders who are dicipline, have a high basketball IQ and are willing to play as a team to play an effective zone

+Robert Geiger Although you're right, I hate the zone defense.. Most of the time it's because I play aiganst an older team with older guys who don't really run anymore. But it's a tactic that works. Nothing illegal about gaurding a spot on the floor and making sure there won't be a shot from that spot on the floor. Anyway what I wanted to say, yes you're right, but same goes for man to man defense. If you want proper defense you just need an high basketball IQ and you need to be willing to play as a team. for example if you get screened when they play pick and roll you have to play team basketball.

Mo Overall Fitness Hacks Zone defense is great defense plus it slows the pace down