How To Beat a 2-3 Zone in Basketball
In this video I show you exactly how to beat a 2-3 zone in basketball. I’ll show you specific plays, film breakdowns, and whiteboard drawings with the best ways to attack a 2-3 defense without settling for long 3’s.
When I first started coaching 10 years ago, I looked up how to beat a 2-3 defense and I couldn’t find anything to help me out. Over the years I’ve created my own strategies and figured out the best ways to attack a 2-3 through studying the game and learning from the best coaches in the country.
I decided to share my strategies to help other coaches who are in the same position. It can be very frustrating, so I’ve put this video together to help you beat those annoying zones.
In order for us to beat a 2-3 zone defense in basketball. We first have to understand what a zone defense is used for?
A zone is put in place to do a few things. First, it keeps your offense outside on the perimeter, forces you to take deep shots, and drive into multiple defenders. A 2-3 zone also keeps the bigs from rebounding. If you a smaller line up in the game, you may go 2-3 zone to make sure there's always 2 or 3 players inside to help rebound, and 3 and most important, a 2-3 zone takes away the ability to go 1 on 1 and makes your offense work as a team.
If an offense has 1 or 2 star players, and the others don't do much, a zone may be the perfect solution to make those stars move the ball around and if they don't, they'll be going into 2 or 3 defenders and taking bad shots.
So, now that we know that the purpose of the zone is keep us the offense outside and on the perimeter, and as an offense, if we don't play extremely smart with a high basketball IQ, then a 2-3 could easily dismantle a high powered offense.
No, the answer to a zone is not to just jack 3's. That's probably why they play zone against you in the first place. At younger ages, you'll see that teams play zone because younger kids can't shoot consistently from deep.
The first key is to beating a 2-3 zone is excellent ball movement along with excellent player movement.
Great ball movement is always needed to beat a 2-3 zone defense. The ball must move quickly from player to player in order to get the defense to move.
Remember, each defender has an assigned area, and our job is to move the ball and our players quick enough to get those defenders out of their assigned areas.
[BALL MOVEMENT AND PLAYER MOVEMENT]
When beating a zone, ball movement is the number one key.
Do not waste any dribbles. Many players love to catch and dribble twice before passing, and this just allows the defense to adjust into position. The faster the ball moves, the more difficult it is on a 2-3 zone.
The key to quick ball movement is to get the defense to move. The more we get the defense to move out of there assigned area, the more openings we'll have to take advantage of.
[ATTACKING THE GAPS]
Basketball is a game of angles, and those angles are extremely important when beating a 2-3 zone defense. If you wait patiently for those gaps to open up and use the appropriate angles, you'll have easy scores all day long.
[HIGH POST]
When beating a 2-3 zone, you must have a player flash into the high post. If you're all standing on the perimeter, you're in trouble!
Once you get a flash to the high post, you can now become a threat to pass,
high low pass opposite pass, or square up to the basket and become a threat to score.
[BASELINE RUNNER]
the baseline runner is essential to beating a 2-3, this player is extremely important because he is the only player on the court that can see everyone, but not everyone can see him or her. You're watching and reading the defense from the defenses perspective which gives you the ultimate advantage.
Utilizing a player that's a great passer in this position can create easy layups or wide open shots.
You must be able to fake a pass and make a pass. Unfortunately most players are working on their euro step and therefore, they never learn how to make a great pass. This is a key to beating a zone.
In this video, I've covered how to move the ball quickly against a zone while not wasting any dribbles. We covered how to move the ball to the high post and get some high low action. Along with the flash to the high post, you can also step out and set that back screen on the top defenders. Don't forget to use your baseline runner in order to utilize the corners and short corner area.
Thank you for watching HOOPSIQ with Coach Novak.
#BEATZONE #HOOPSIQ
Пікірлер: 312
Celtics need to watch this
@kashiefhenry830
3 жыл бұрын
Lol. Im watching this to understand how lakers can exploit that if they make it to the finals against miami.
@HoopsIQ
3 жыл бұрын
Lol
@kendallboultsjr
3 жыл бұрын
Miami can actually beat a zone shooting 3’s if they wanted to because they have enough shooters to pull it off😂🤷🏾♂️ EDIT: Their shooters are GOOD ENOUGH shooters to pull it off😂🤷🏾♂️
@douss8150
3 жыл бұрын
@@kendallboultsjr but now it's 2-0 eh! lol😂
@kendallboultsjr
3 жыл бұрын
Sang Yeah you’re right. My last comment didn’t age well AT ALL😂😂🤦🏽♂️😂
Very well spoken, it's amazing how many people who really enjoy the game do not know any of these core principles.
@HoopsIQ
4 жыл бұрын
G C thank you!
@niggawithswagga7964
2 жыл бұрын
@@HoopsIQ Hello there coach, why have you not uploaded any videos after this one? I would love to watch many more.
So the weakness to the 2-3 zone is that if attacked correctly, it forces the defense to help which results in a man being open.
@onlyfacts3178
Жыл бұрын
Basically 2-3 zone only works against DUMB players who dont have any basketball IQ..
This was a nice breakdown on how to attack the 2-3 zone. Well done!
This is a great video! I like how you've combined your clear explanations with the whiteboard and then actual vids. I appreciate the reminder that it's not just ball movement that matters, but those subtle player movements too. A simple dribble wide towards the corner flattens the bottom three and may draw that top defender a step too low, opening up short corner, mid/post, or a skip pass. It's only 1-2 simple dribbles but can easily render a zone ineffective!
Thank you for this video. Great work. We'll be using this for our practices and playoffs coming soon. Thank you for your explanations and time!
Excellent video!!! I really appreciate how you use actual college footage from games to show what they were not doing correctly, where they should have moved to attack the zone, then what they actually did that caused a turnover or forced shot, etc. I had all of my players (12-13 years old) watch this video and I changed from doing a 1-3-1 against the 2-3 to this 3-2, teaching my 2 tall post players to do the X movement you describe. We went over it practice today spending over an hour on the concepts in the video, adding different layers of things to do, and the X worked especially well with multiple times the high post dumping it down low after receiving the ball and facing the basket! That's real basketball they are learning and we have a game tomorrow night we will run this offense and ball movement in. Thanks again, I'm excited to see it work tomorrow night and beyond!
Very well spoken, that was a amazing breakdown how to beat 2-3 zone defense
Very impressive video. It helped my coaching strategies. Please give us more. Thank you.
best video on 2-3 zones i have seen so far. Thank you.
Excellent analysis. Keep up the great work.
Good stuff. I like teaching the READ and REACT that Rick Torbett coaches. Pass cut fill. Great video!
Good strategy!!! Fine solutions. That's fundamental.
Nice work Dave! Really enjoyed the video
Loved it. Great examples explaining what you are talking about from real life video footage. It brings a great level of understanding.
@HoopsIQ
4 жыл бұрын
jamarhlee I appreciate it
Excellent video from a retired ball coach! Love it
awesome explanation. thanks!
Great teaching, thanks for the valuable lesson
AMAZING LESSON , KEEP MAKING SUCH VIDEOS. I AM VERY EXCITED TO WATCH MORE FROM YOU. MAKE MORE ON FUNDAMENTALS OFFENCE. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
@HoopsIQ
4 жыл бұрын
Thank you, I’ll get to work on it!
Much agreed with everyone else....great way to articulate the process of breaking down offense vs. 2-3 defense. Was looking for simple ways to teach this to elementary school kids; think I found it. Thank you
@HoopsIQ
3 жыл бұрын
Great, thank you!
Excellent content 👌🏾
Great video coach , i really needed that !!!
@HoopsIQ
3 жыл бұрын
Awesome, thanks!
Thank you for this video and explanation. Very helpful for someone like me trying to pick up the game better.
@HoopsIQ
7 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching
To be simple, get that cutter into high post. If the ball gets in there, the defense is in trouble. You can hit high-lows, easy kick-outs, or they have to concede a one on one inside. Also, when you make a pass, especially inside, relocate. Especially for guards, it's easy for the defense to help the inside if they know you're staying in one spot. If you relocate, they either have to move with you or most often, they turn their head to look inside and lose sight of you. Most teams use two bigs, alternating between the short corner and the high post. It helps keep your offense dynamic instead of static.
@grindhard4312
4 жыл бұрын
Exactly how we played it in highschool!!
@Kevinschart
4 жыл бұрын
i always thought this stuff was just common knowledge.
Superb Analysis of the game of basketball. Nice one Coach.
@HoopsIQ
Жыл бұрын
Thanks AJ
So beautifully explained....love it..gonna try this one✌
@HoopsIQ
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the support!
Thanks coach. I'll implement it.
@HoopsIQ
Жыл бұрын
Nice!
This taught me a lot
Great analysis and presentation! Thank you!
@HoopsIQ
Жыл бұрын
Thank you!
Excellent video. Thanks.
@HoopsIQ
Жыл бұрын
Glad you liked it!
Very good Breakdown
This is one of the most best illustrated video... It made a sense.. Thanks alot..
@HoopsIQ
9 ай бұрын
Thank you so much! 🙏
Thank you Coach. Valuable basketball science.🏀
@HoopsIQ
Жыл бұрын
Yessir!
Awesome video!!!!
Thanks a lot for such amazing feedback Coach ... we starting with a prep school group tomorrow this will definetly be part of the process ... open spaces and screens against the zone D ... love it!
@HoopsIQ
Жыл бұрын
Where are you located?
Spot on Coach! 💯💯
@HoopsIQ
3 жыл бұрын
I appreciate it!
Wow I just love about zone defense and how to beat this. Thanks ! Coach Greeting from philippines🙂
@HoopsIQ
3 жыл бұрын
Wow! Thank you
Could you do a video on how to beat a 3-2 zone defense?
Good job breaking this down! Really like the 131 and X approaches to getting into the middle. Most guards DO stay up too high, and they pass around without looking inside orto the corners. This makes it too easy for the zone D to rest and wait for the drive or 3 pointer.
@HoopsIQ
3 жыл бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
Upload more videos please this helped me so much
I would definitively recommend this video to every hooper... great video
@HoopsIQ
3 жыл бұрын
I appreciate that!
Great video sir Can u please post one video on how to run 2 3 defense effectively against this videos setplays
Watched this thursday had a game today. Had 26…. Appreciate you 💪🏾
@HoopsIQ
Жыл бұрын
Nice work!
I like the entire segment thank you.
@HoopsIQ
9 ай бұрын
I appreciate it
I really wish I had found this video about a week ago. We just lost because of a 2-3 zone and this would have been super helpful.
@byrons4
4 жыл бұрын
Haha, I'm in the same boat! But at least we'll hopefully use these principles in our rematch next week.
@niellysontiongzon9292
4 жыл бұрын
Same lmao
@polop7361
3 жыл бұрын
@@byrons4 you win?
Excellent summary.
@HoopsIQ
9 ай бұрын
Thank yiu
awesome video !
@HoopsIQ
10 ай бұрын
Thanks!
I'm currently a junior in highschool trying to improve my basketball IQ to help improve my game and hopefully get some scouts for me to continue playing, and I wanted to say thank u cause I never knew there were so many ways to break a 2-3 zone until I saw this video so thank you for that
@jaloopaz
4 жыл бұрын
I’m a freshman and our seasons cancelled and I can’t improve my physical game because of quarantine but I can improve my iq. I’ve struggled breaking a 2-3 and this video helped a lot for me as well.
The end ties it together beautifully - "players that are highly aware" - we got stymied yesterday by a 2-3 zone because we stopped reading the defence and just continued driving into 2-3 solid defenders. Tonights practice will be all about moving with and without the ball and finding the gaps and angles. Thanks a lot, its inspiring!
@HoopsIQ
2 жыл бұрын
Oh dang!! I hope it’s a great practice tonight!
@johansahlberg8039
2 жыл бұрын
@@HoopsIQ just back, excellent focus tonight, moving and passing distinctly and with lots of creativity. Thanks again! #swedenbasketball
Awesome explanation 😤
@HoopsIQ
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks!
Against this Syracuse zone I suggest keeping the ball up top while having two offensive players baseline near the basket. One of them sets a back pick on the defender closest to the basket and the other offensive player on baseline will have an alleyoop.
@HoopsIQ
9 ай бұрын
Sounds like a good plan!
Thank you coach igor
@HoopsIQ
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you
Excellent quality
@HoopsIQ
Жыл бұрын
Thanks TJ
I just found this video. Fantastically explained. I will definitely implement this in my team practice. Greetings from Germany
@HoopsIQ
5 ай бұрын
Thank you!
@HoopsIQ
5 ай бұрын
🙏
Hi Coach Novak! That's a great video! Can you do a video to explain how zone defense works? Thank you for your amazing job!
@HoopsIQ
8 ай бұрын
Thanks, I appreciate it
Great video. Been playing basketball for 25 years and coaching for 15. We learned all this, so long ago. We basically use X most, to get the high post open. Like a can opener. Personally I dont like the height of the 3 defenders. Way too much space behind them for easy backdoor cuts. Again, great vid and explaination.
@HoopsIQ
4 жыл бұрын
Thanks Brian, where do you coach?
@brianmaphar9685
4 жыл бұрын
@@HoopsIQ i coached youth in The Netherlands, from 1994-2009. Different ages, mostly U12-U16. Liked it a lot. Now, living in Canada, i try to help coach our HS team
dang putting ville on blast like that. crazy good video though!!
@HoopsIQ
9 ай бұрын
I appreciate it!! Thx
great vid
Yes sir coach Morgan I watched
It's all about experience or talent to have the big A!
great video!
@HoopsIQ
4 жыл бұрын
I appreciate it
Very well done video! Principals will work from youth to College. Personally my fav way to beat a zone is utilizing that short corner. If your guards can see the open spots around the perimeter its hard to stop.
@Kevinschart
4 жыл бұрын
i learned all this stuff in middle school. i never understood why college teams struggle with these basic fundamentals
Stephen Curry has murdered and destroyed a 2-3 forever with his off the ball movement tendency and crazy shooting ability,you just can't keep him outta the game. He's changed basketball forever
Well done.
@HoopsIQ
17 күн бұрын
Thanks!
Great video! Are you going to be making more videos in the future?
@HoopsIQ
4 жыл бұрын
New video coming out today!
Great instruction
@HoopsIQ
10 ай бұрын
Thx
When are you going to come out with more videos? Your How to beat a 2-3 Zone is EXCELLENT!
@HoopsIQ
4 жыл бұрын
New video coming out today!
thanks coach
@HoopsIQ
Жыл бұрын
Your welcome!
Baseline cutter is my favorite way to do it !
@HoopsIQ
Жыл бұрын
Excellent
Zone actually is the easiest defense to beat! Ball fakes and bounce passes! We ran a play in highschool called "short corner" where we just worked the high and low post. We flashed the high post which was always our 1st score option. Quent make a couple of those turn around 15footers the defense usually would start to over commit. After that it was whatever we wanted to do. They over commit the high post, Quent or Gee would back door for the dunk! It was easy. If they shrink inward trying to stop the "high-low" pass then Silk or I was open for the 3ball. It's similar to what your calling "X" here! R.I.P. Gee!! 36-4 '97 STATE CHAMPS
Love what you are doing and it's very insightful can you speak about attacking the extended zone defenses where they trap you at half or just passed half
@HoopsIQ
4 жыл бұрын
Thank you. Do you mean, how to attack against a 3-2 half court trap?
@torontomatrix3284
4 жыл бұрын
HoopsIQ 2-3 extended 3-2 extended half court trap. 1-3-1 half court trap or 1-3-1 zone and etc
my coach before used to have the biggest guy who can shoot a jump shot make a hard cut on the freethrow line. he can either shoot if the defense didnt commit to him or drop pass to the cutter from the baseline if he absorbed the defense. that high post is i think the best way to beat this zone defense
@rakhunuhepptaylor2135
3 жыл бұрын
Reminds me of the Triangle Offense.
Enjoyed the video. Defensively in the 2-1-2 my high school has added some defensive slides to attempt to cover some of these offensive techniques. When the ball is in the wing we've dropped the weak side top defender into the high lane under the foul line to take away the flasher to the high post. We've put the middle defender over the the strong block rather than in the mid lane to allow him to close on the corner shooter when the ball side baseline defender gets pulled high. We rotate weak side defenders toward the strong block to cover what the middle defender closing out to the corner leaves open behind him. Wing ball defenders push ball handler toward baseline corner on dribble penetration. Corner ball defenders push ball handler toward a strong side dropped wing defender on dribble penetration. We sit on top of off ball screens. Defending on ball screens is a little complicated to explain here. All defenders close on ball flight to bent-arm touch on the perimeter ball handler. With our slides no defender is ever more than 12 to 15 feet away away from his close out responsibility, unless the receiver is 2 or 3 steps behind the 3 point line. When shooter is there, we emphasize that the slide is just one step farther from bent-arm on ball defensive position than usual. We attempt to take away everything with our slides and defensive anticipation. We have generally been able to hold 70 to 80 pt per game teams to 35 points on a good defensive night to 50 points on a poor defensive night. We have to do this as our offensive abilities are compromised. People don't like playing us.
@rakhunuhepptaylor2135
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for this. That would make an excellent video as well.
Great video
@HoopsIQ
9 ай бұрын
Thank you
I love using 5-out and having the wings drive hard. I coach youth though and it’s much more simple for them to understand and to operate
@HoopsIQ
9 ай бұрын
That’s interesting
Please upload more stuff, it's really very much helpful
@HoopsIQ
4 жыл бұрын
I added a new workout in the Training Program for you. I’ll get some new videos on here ASAP. They take time to produce
@unstoppablemd7102
4 жыл бұрын
@@HoopsIQ ok thanks
@unstoppablemd7102
4 жыл бұрын
I wanted to speak to you personally, if it could happen than I would be greatfull to me
@HoopsIQ
4 жыл бұрын
unstoppable MD you can email me at coachnovak1@gmail.com and I’ll get right back to you!
Great videos...
@HoopsIQ
4 жыл бұрын
Thank you
hi coach am new to coaching. am learning through your video. from the philippines. coach cecil caceres
@HoopsIQ
Жыл бұрын
Excellent, thank you! You'll love coaching!
This exactly what i teach my boys Love it !!
@HoopsIQ
4 жыл бұрын
Great! Thank you!
I'ma gamer and my crew play pro am etc I find these videos very helpful for us to create and execute and thankful for these.
@HoopsIQ
Жыл бұрын
That's awesome! I didn't know it could help with 2k
@Smoke1Kas
Жыл бұрын
@@HoopsIQ oh most definitely, we try to run defensive plays etc
Can you do 1) on how to beat Texas Tech's defense 2) on how to run the Texas Tech's defense 3)on how to defend the triangle offense on it's variable entries 4) on how to run the triangle offense with it's variable entries 5) how to run the Triangle offense to generate three pointers consistently.
@HoopsIQ
3 жыл бұрын
I love the suggestions. Thank you!
@rakhunuhepptaylor2135
3 жыл бұрын
@@HoopsIQ You are welcome. Looking forward to seeing those videos.
brilliant
@HoopsIQ
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you
Could you share some drills you run to practice the strategies. Thanks
@HoopsIQ
4 жыл бұрын
Yeah, great idea. I’ll get on it
Good stuff
@HoopsIQ
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you
Thanks
@HoopsIQ
17 күн бұрын
Yessir!
I knew ball and player movement was how you beat a zone. I didn't know that high screens on/off ball could be effective at creating space. I always figured screens were pretty useless against a zone as there's no switching going on.
@HoopsIQ
Жыл бұрын
Yeah, screens can be very effective if done in the correct areas
Love it!
Thank you
@HoopsIQ
4 жыл бұрын
My pleasure. What else would you like to see in the next video?
@noblesbasketball
4 жыл бұрын
@@HoopsIQ How to overcome full court press
@HoopsIQ
4 жыл бұрын
NOBLES.BASKETBALL Here’s my latest video on how to break a full court press: kzread.info/dash/bejne/c2dp0cSOlszKe6Q.html
Can you do a video on beating the 1-3-1 zone?
@HoopsIQ
3 жыл бұрын
Yep, will work on that asap
Fake a pass to make a pass very seldom used against zone defense. Great way to break zone
@grindhard4312
4 жыл бұрын
Exactly!! We ran a play in highschool similar to what he's calling "X" here! Ours was called "short corner"!!
I was hoping to see more videos from you, wassup?
@HoopsIQ
Жыл бұрын
Yo! I'm workin on it!
Hello Coach, any chance for analogous video for 3-2 zone?
@le-hu
3 жыл бұрын
and details between 2-3 and 3-2 offence in particular, thank you in advance - great quality video so far!
Can you break down how to beat 1-2-2 and 3-2 zone
@curry-hk9zm
3 жыл бұрын
Yes please @HoopsIQ
Hello could you tell me if a swing pass is the same thing as a skip pass for a offensive zone?
@HoopsIQ
4 жыл бұрын
A swing pass is when the ball moves from the wing to the top and then “swings” quickly to the opposite wing. A skip pass would be passing directly from wing to wing.
@patriotz6127
4 жыл бұрын
HoopsIQ I have 10 minutes to teach my rec team
Please make more videoss
Zone is best When you have 2 6’8-6’9 long armed athletes 1 6’11 smart shot blocker 2 6’3-6’5” active guards who can defend 1 on 1 and can get deflections Also, adjustments to the offense and their attack.. Goal is to have 35-42gf percentage from oppenent
@HoopsIQ
9 ай бұрын
Yeah, good points
Nice
@HoopsIQ
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you
@BlackMamba-tf5hy
3 жыл бұрын
@@HoopsIQ welcome
Break down 1 on 1 defense and 1-2-2 defense please
@HoopsIQ
4 жыл бұрын
New video for 1-2-2 coming out today!
On my team we run double and on my other team we just play
@HoopsIQ
9 ай бұрын
What is double?
great video coach my 2-3 zone would lock you up
@northofmainstreet7281
4 жыл бұрын
Brandon Phelps lol...
@smhmyhead7564
4 жыл бұрын
Brandon Phelps shutup bitch
@imminse1796
4 жыл бұрын
big daddy gab! You shut up bitch