What is a 1-3-1 Half-Court No Trapping Defense?
A 1-3-1 No Trapping Zone Defense is a zone defense setup in a 1-3-1 formation that uses positioning to try and stop an offense. The 1-3-1 no trapping defense does not trap the ball like its name indicates. This defense tries to play passing lanes to get deflections and steals. It is a passive defense in that it is not a defense built on ball pressure. The 1-3-1 no trap defense wants to force players to pick up their dribble and not be able to pass the ball to a teammate. This defense tries to force the offense to not be able to make any passes and make mistakes because of it.
The 1-3-1 no trapping defense goes against what a typical 1-3-1 trapping defense tries to do. By playing against the trends of a traditional 1-3-1 trap, the 1-3-1 no trapping defense tries to counter how an offense typically attacks a 1-3-1. The 1-3-1 no trap will leave the ball alone at times. The players will look to stay in passing lanes to prevent the ball from being passed around the court. This keeps the ball in one player’s hands thus preventing the offense from being able to properly execute an offense.
What is a Triangle-2 Defense?
A Triangle-2 Defense is a combination defense using both man-to-man defense as well as zone defense. Two defensive players are going to be playing man-to-man defense while the other 3 defensive players will be playing in a zone defense usually in a triangle or inverted triangle formation.
Two defensive players will be guarding the opponent’s best two offensive players while the other 3 play in a zone formation. This formation is usually one defender at the high post and the other 2 players on the blocks. This can be inverted with a player on each elbow and one player at the front of the rim but the inverted look is rare.
The triangle-2 defense is a specialty defense in that it is not used very often by most teams if at all. A triangle-2 defense is normally used with a lesser talented team is playing a team with two very good offensive players and 3 below average offensive players. The triangle-2 gives the defense the ability to focus their attention on the 2 main players of the offense while maintaining some rim protection with the other 3 defenders. This makes it harder for the opponent to drive straight into the basket for easy layups.
Best Team Personnel for a 1-3-1 Half-Court No Trapping Defense
The best team personnel of a 1-3-1 no trapping defense is a very tall team. The 1-3-1 is based on playing passing lanes rather than guarding a player or the ball. A defense needs to be able to take away the ability for the offense to pass the ball. The taller and longer a defense is, the harder it is going to make it on the offense to be able to see around them and to make passes.
The one exception to this is the bottom player in the 1-3-1. The bottom player needs to be fast. This player has to cover corner to corner so the team needs a player fast enough to run sideline to sideline.
When scouting and preparing for an opponent, the 1-3-1 no trapping defense would only be considered if the point and wings of the 1-3-1 are all significantly taller than the opponents guards. Without this size advantage the offense might not struggle as much with the defense playing in the passing lanes. The 1-3-1 no trapping defense takes the size advantage of the defense and increases it even more.
Best Team Personnel for a Triangle-2
The best team personnel for a triangle-2 defense is having two really good defensive players. These two players are going to be denying and chasing the other team’s best players all game trying to stop them from scoring. If the defenders can not stop them from scoring with the help of the 3 zone players, then the triangle-2 defense will not work.
The two players guarding man should be in great shape due to the amount of effort needed to deny an offensive player the ball. They should be quick to help stay in a denial position as the offensive players are going to be working to get open. And finally, they should be great on the ball defenders. If the offensive player can catch the ball, then the defender needs to make it very hard for the player to still score the ball.
The reason for denying the two offensive players is two-fold. First the offensive player may wear themselves out by having to work hard to get the ball. Once they get the ball, they still have to put even more effort into scoring the ball. Over the course of a full game this may tire them out so they are not as good late in the game as they normally would be.
Secondly, the other 3 offensive players might struggle passing the two best players the ball forcing the other 3 players to have to dribble more and possible shoot more. If a defense is able to get the worse offensive players more involved, then the defense has a better chance of reducing the offenses ability to score points which gives the defense a better chance of winning the game.
When to Use 1-3-1 Half-Court No Trapping Defense
There are two instances in which the 1-3-1 no trapping defense would be the best time to use it. The first is like I stated above and that is when the defense has a significant height advantage over the offense. The height advantage of the defense added to the positioning of playing passing lanes could make it very difficult for the offense to score the ball. The offense would need to rely on a single player creating and making their own shot and at a height disadvantage. This is very hard to do.
The second instance is when the opponent has a dynamic point guard or driver of the basketball. If an opponent has a player that can drive the ball and score at a very high rate, then the defense has to do something to counter this one player. The 1-3-1 no trap would disguise what it is doing. And in turn invite the drive only to collapse around them when they do drive. The defense can use the 1-3-1 no trapping defense to help corral the guard to limit their scoring.
The 1-3-1 no trapping defense is going to play the passing lanes. So, if a player on offense has the ball out front, the point man of the defense is going to be playing the reversal pass and the wing on ball side is going to be in the passing lane to keep the ball out of the corner. This means the middleman of the 1-3-1 is actually guarding the ball in the traditional sense.
This is inviting the scorer to drive the ball at the middleman. Once the drive starts and gets close to the middleman, the point and wing can collapse down effectively triple teaming that scorer. The 1-3-1 no trap invites the drive only to surround the drive as the ball gets close to the lane. The offensive player can get too deep into the zone and panic. This panic leads to turnovers. It is basically corralling the scorer into an area and then overwhelming them with defensive players. This can help limit the ability of the scorer to score.
When to Use Triangle-2 Defense
The Triangle-2 Defense is best when the opposing team has two good offensive players and 3 mediocre to bad offensive players. This gives the defense the ability to focus and help on those two players. This makes sure the two best players are always being guarded. And the 3 zone players are always going to be in a position to help or trap those two players.
This defense is something that a team has to have scouted their opponent beforehand and work on in practice leading up to the game. This is not a defense that can be used without working on it in practice beforehand. The 3 zone players must be able to communicate with each to know who is going to guard the ball when it is not in one the best player’s hands. Rotations in a triangle-2 defense are not complicated but it does take some time for players to understand how the 3-man zone moves together.
Advantages of 1-3-1 Half-Court No Trap Defense Over Triangle-2 Defense
1. Ability to Extend the Floor
The 1-3-1 Half-Court No Trapping Defense is a passive defense. It does not try to pressure the ball but hopes the offense will make mistakes in trying to pass around the defense. This is very similar to the Triangle-2 defense that is also a very passive defense outside of the two defenders playing man defense. So, what can change about the 1-3-1 No Trapping Defense to make it different than the Triangle-2 Defense?
The first thing is the ability of the 1-3-1 to extend up the floor making the 1-3-1 No Trapping Half-Court defense into more of a 1-3-1 press. The 1-3-1 can push farther up the floor to give the offense a new look rather than just staying in the half-court setting. This little adjustment can make the offense change just enough to give the defense an advantage.
An offense that gets into a good rhythm is hard to stop. So, the defense being able to extend can do just enough to keep the offense out of balance. The offense will start farther away from the basket. Passing and cutting lanes are in different spots with the extension. All these little things can add up to a big problem for the offense.
2. Does not need quality man to man defenders
The 1-3-1 No Trapping Defense is centered around not guarding offensive players 1 on 1. The 1-3-1 is trying to prevent the offense from passing the ball rather then putting pressure on the ball handler. The defensive players are going to try and position themselves in ways to keep the ball from being passed.
This philosophy is more about understanding positioning and anticipating where the next offensive player is going to be. It is only when the ball handler starts to drive to the basket when the defense starts guarding the ball. And then it is about funneling the dribbler into a location where the defense can collapse around the ball and likely get a steal.
A team that is not good at guarding on the ball can use the 1-3-1 No Trapping Defense to help minimize their inability to defend. The Triangle-2 must have at least 2 players who are good on the ball defenders. These two defenders are going to match up against the two best offensive players. The success of the triangle-2 defense depends on the ability of the two defenders to stop the two best offensive players.
The 1-3-1 No Trapping Defense takes a perceived disadvantage in a lack of quality man to man defenders and potential turns it into an advantage by greatly reducing the amount of on the ball defense that is necessary. The triangle-2 depends on good man to man defense whereas the 1-3-1 No Trapping Defense does not need good man to man defense to succeed.
3. Ability to change the style of defense each possession
One of the biggest advantages of the 1-3-1 is the ability to change the type of defense a team is using with the 1-3-1. A team can extend the 1-3-1 into a press. It can keep the half-court defense as a non-trapping zone. Or it can get aggressive in the half-court by trapping the offense.
A team has the ability to keep the look of 1 defense while actually using 3 different defenses. The ability to constantly change the type of defense can keep the offense off-balance and confused. If an offense is unsure about how the defense is playing, then it can cause confusion and players to go to the wrong spots on the floor.
The 1-3-1 defense has 3 different variations that help to elevate the defense from other zone defenses. Normally when a team switch defenses the players have different defensive rotations for the defense to work. The 1-3-1 has the same rotations no matter if it is pressing, trapping or not trapping. This helps to simplify thinking for players and makes it easier for players to learn how to properly play defense.
Advantages of Triangle-2 Defense over 1-3-1 Half-Court No Trapping Defense
1. Focus on Best Offensive Players
A triangle-2 defense is going to have all of its focus on the 2 main offensive players of the opponent. If a defense is able to limit the 2 best offensive players of an opponent than that usually means they have a good chance of winning the game.
To counter a triangle-2, the offense needs their 3rd or 4th or 5th best scorers to get points. If a team does not have a good 3rd scoring option, then a triangle-2 can help to force the opponent to use that 3rd scoring option more often.
The triangle-2 can also help to make the 2 best players on the other to use more energy to score which can wear them down. The more tired a player becomes, the more they are going to struggle late in games. When the game is on the line, tired legs can cause shots to come up short making it harder for a team to score.
2. Force Weaker Offensive Players to Do More
The idea behind a combination defense like the triangle-2 is to force players of the opponent to do more than they normally would. If a team has their offense centered around 2 players, then a triangle-2 could force the opponent to do things offensively that are different than their normal offense.
The 3rd, 4th and 5th offensive threats for a team would need to step up and make shots against a triangle-2. These shots should be easier than normal because they are not being guarded man-to-man. If these lower scoring players make shots, then the triangle-2 will not work.
This is the game within the game for a triangle-2. The defense is forcing somebody other than the top two scorers to score. The success of the defense is completely dependent on whether those players score. The defense focuses on stopping the top two scorers and if somebody else scores, then the defensive team is going to have to change or they will lose the game.
3. Post Players can be Positioned Close to the Basket
A team that has multiple post players can struggle defensively with creating matchups against opponents with a more guard orientated team. This can cause post players to try and defend on the perimeter against guards. A Triangle-2 Defense is able to put 2 post players on the blocks during defense. The Triangle-2 Defense will also help to keep post players more stationary and not running around the perimeter chasing their man on defense.
A 1-3-1 Defense is normally going to have a post player in the middle and quite frequently as the point man of the defense. This is putting the post players the farthest away from the basket and guards closer to the basket. This can hurt a team’s ability to rebound missed shots.
A Triangle-2 Defense can keep the opponent’s best players from scoring while keeping your team’s post players or rim protectors close to the basket. This can help make the Triangle-2 Defense as advantageous of a defense as possible.
Which is Better? 1-3-1 Half-Court No Trapping Defense or Triangle-2 Defense
The Triangle-2 has a purpose and can be successful when given the exact opponent it can work against. However, anything outside of a perfect opponent, the Triangle-2 is not going to be as effective.
The 1-3-1 No Trapping Defense can work against any opponent. It does not require an opponent to fit into a certain criterion. This is reason alone to make the 1-3-1 Half-Court No Trapping Defense as the better defense between the two. A Triangle-2 Defense may not have any use for a team for an entire season. The limited usage of the Triangle-2 keeps it from being considered a more useful defense.
Then the 1-3-1 can go from a press, to a trapping defense, to a non-trapping defense without changing the defense. This versatility is not seen in any other defensive zones. The 1-3-1 can help to increase tempo with being aggressive and pressing as well as slow down tempo by using the half-court no trapping version.
The 1-3-1 is simply better than the Triangle-2 because it can be used more often and has the ability to change with the other 2 versions of the 1-3-1. Even on its own, the 1-3-1 No Trapping Zone is the better choice. However, the Triangle-2 has a very limited usage. If a defense is in that limited usage, then it could be better then the 1-3-1. But that usage is so very small that it is not going to come up very often.
