What is a 2-2-1 Box Press?
A 2-2-1 Box Press is a 3/4 Press with two players starting on the elbows, two starting at half-court and 1 playing back. The four players up front in the press form a box so it is called a 2-2-1 Box Press.
The front two players are trying to force the ball to sideline in order to get a trap on the sideline. The ballside players are working together to try and get the trap. The backside players are rotating back to either the middle of the court or as the rim protector.
The 2-2-1 Box Press can either be an aggressive press that is really working to get traps and steals. It can also be a press that is more passive that is trying to slow down the offense and not give up quick shots. The ability of the 2-2-1 Box Press to be both aggressive and passive gives it an advantage over other presses.
What is a 2-1-2 Press?
A 2-1-2 Press has two players up putting pressure on the ball. There is a single middle defender who will roam in the middle of the press and decide where and when to go trap the ball. The final two players are back. The 2-1-2 press is normally a 3/4 court press. This puts the front two defenders between the 3-point line and half-court, the middle defender right at half-court and the two back players around the 3-point line.
The 2-1-2 press is a more passive press. The trapping is going to come only from the middle defender. If the middle defender does not see a good spot to trap, then they will not trap. However, if the middle defender does leave the middle to trap, then the other 3 defenders rotate towards the ball to try and get a steal. A trap might only occur in half the possessions in a 2-1-2 trap because it can be difficult to get a trap in this press.
Best Team Personnel for a 2-2-1 Box Press
In my opinion the middle two defenders are the most important players for a 2-2-1 Box Press. These two players must be smart and able to anticipate. They are going to determine when and where the trap is going to take place. They can not just rush into the trap but wait until just the right moment of when to trap. This timing is key which is why I am always wanting smart players in these two spots.
The front two players must be able to guard the ball well. They are going to force the ball up the sideline. They cannot let the ball be dribbled around them and back into the middle of the court. Their job is to get the offensive player worried about them, so they do not see the trap coming from the middle players. They do not have to read the play at all. They just need to put as much pressure on the ball handler as they can while forcing them up the sideline.
The back player is also going to be involved in the press. Some presses have positions where a player can be hidden within the press. The 2-2-1 Box Press uses all 5 players in the execution of the press. The back player is staying in a vertical line with the ball and does not allow a sideline pass when the middle player rushes the ball for the trap. The back player must be fast enough to get to the sideline pass on the trap.
Best Team Personnel for a 2-1-2 Press
The key to running a good 2-1-2 Press is the middle defender. This player must have a high basketball IQ, anticipate well, and be fast. All three of these skills are necessary from the middle defender in order for the 2-1-2 Press to work. No other press relies on a single defender as much as the 2-1-2 press relies on the middle defender.
The middle defender must have a high basketball IQ. They need to understand and know where every player is on the court and why they are there. They have to know where the offense is trying to take the ball and the passes coming out of those areas.
A bad rush by the middle defender leaves the defense down 2 players. If the offense sees the trap before it gets there, then the offense has easy passes out of the trap and the offense is able to attack the back two players with numbers.
The middle defender must know exactly when and how to rush the ball to get the trap. Not many players have a high enough basketball IQ to understand and read what everybody is doing and to know the exact moment to rush.
The middle defender must be able to anticipate well. The ability for them to get an extra step or two before anybody else can be the difference between a trap and almost a trap. By reading the game well, the middle defender can anticipate and start to move where the trap is going to be rather than where the ball currently is at. Those 1 or 2 steps can make all the difference for the defense.
Finally, the middle defender must be fast enough to get to the trap when they decide to rush. A slow defender will not cover the distance quick enough to catch the offense unaware. The middle defender must be at the trap faster than the offense is able to see them coming. Basketball is a fast-paced game so having the speed to be at the trap the moment before the ball handler sees it coming is an absolute must.
The middle defender is the key to the 2-1-2 press. They have to be a special kind of player. And simple put, there are not too many high school basketball players that possess all the necessary traits to make this press work. The handful of players that are able to execute in the middle defender’s spot are going to be the best players on the court more often than not.
When to Use the 2-2-1 Box Press?
The 2-2-1 Box Press can be used in two different ways. It can be aggressive and trying to get steals. Or it can be passive in just trying to slow an opponent down to prevent transition opportunities.
The 2-2-1 Box Press can be used when behind to try and speed up the game and work to get steals. The middle players in the Box Press will be aggressive in trapping to give the defense more chances to get steals and easy baskets. It gives the defense the ability to guard the offense 3/4 court giving the players more space to get steals. This can help the defense get back into a game.
The 2-2-1 Box Press can also be a more passive press where the defense is not necessarily trying to trap the ball. It shows like it is going to be up and trapping but the middle players are never going to rush the ball to trap. They are going to retreat back into the half-court as the ball moves up the floor. This type of pressing forces the offense to slow down and not rush into a trap. Against a team that likes to score in transition, this can force them to slow down and play a more half-court game.
When to Use the 2-1-2 Press?
The first thing to have when running the 2-1-2 Press is the middle defender as I stated earlier. After that the 2-1-2 Press can be used at any point in time during a game.
The 2-1-2 press is a more passive press in that it should be used to control tempo rather than trying to get steals and turnovers. It is going to make the offense slow down to break the press. It is going to take the transition game away from the offense. This will turn the game into a half-court game rather than a full-court game.
The middle defender can trap when the time is right but they do not have to ever trap the ball. They can stay in the middle and the defense can do a slow retreat out of the press. The 2-1-2 press can be shown and slowly retreated to make the offense stop their transition and get into a press offense.
Then the defense can retreat back to a half-court defense and force the offense into a half-court game. This is when the 2-1-2 press is being used to its fullest advantage. And with this strategy the middle defender can be anybody because they are not leaving to trap the ball.
Advantages of the 2-2-1 Box Press Over the 2-1-2 Press
1) Better Chance for Traps
The 2-2-1 Box Press is designed to get the ball to the sidelines and trap. It is an aggressive press because the goal of the press is to get a trap on the ball. The trap can be high up the court early in the possession. Or it can be around half court late in the possession. But the trap is the goal of the press.
As long as the ball does not stay in the middle of the court, the 2-2-1 Box Press should get a trap each offensive possession. The offense can reduce the opportunities the Box Press is going to trap but as soon as the ball gets to the sideline then the press can get the trap.
The 2-1-2 Press is a passive press that relies on the middle defender to decide if and when to trap. If the offense keeps the ball moving then the middle defender will never have enough time to rush the ball and trap. Also, the middle defender may not see the chance to trap each possession. These possessions will leave the press without a trap.
In a 2-1-2 Press, a defense may only get a good trap every 2nd or 3rd possession. And when the defense gets a trap the middle defender must rush the ball without being seen to get a good trap set. The 2-1-2 Press can be a difficult press to get continually effective traps to create turnovers.
2) Not Reliant on One Player
The 2-2-1 Box Press is a total team press. All 5 players must do their job every possession or breakdowns will occur giving the offense chances to attack. Each player has a job and that job changes with each pass and cut. All 5 defenders must be engaged and moving together to make the press successful.
The 2-1-2 Press has 4 players working on their job while the 5th player is making all the decisions. The 4 defenders then must react to the 5th defender in order for the press to be the most effective. So, 4 players are moving and waiting while the last defender decides on what to do and when to do it.
The middle defender makes or breaks the press. The whole team and press is dependent on the middle defender making good, quick, decisive decisions. The success of the 2-1-2 Press is totally on the shoulders of the middle defender. A good middle defender makes this a great press while a bad middle defender will put the defense in poor situations.
The difference between a good 2-1-2 Press and a bad 2-1-2 Press is the ability of the middle defender to make the right decisions on when to trap and where to trap. This reliance on one player makes the press difficult for most teams to run because they do not have a player to play in the middle position.
3) More Versatile
The 2-2-1 Box Press can be adjusted to move way up the court in a full court press. It can be moved back where the pressure will not occur until the half-court line. The ability of the 2-2-1 Box Press to change the trapping point can keep the offense uncertain and unstable.
The 2-2-1 Box Press can also trap with multiple people. The change in who is trapping can confuse the offense. The press can trap using the two sideline defenders. It can also trap using the two top players.
The 2-2-1 Box Press has a few different options on how to press the offense without changing the press. These subtle changes can confuse the offense and not let the offense ever get into a comfortable position. As soon as the offense starts to figure out how to attack the press, the defense can change the trapping without changing the overall rotation of the defense. This gives the 2-2-1 Box Press the ability to be 1 press while having the appearance of around 4 different presses.
The 2-1-2 Press can be changed only if the entire press changes with it. It is a passive press so it is waiting for the offense to make a mistake. If the 2-1-2 Press becomes more aggressive then the players are going to have to extend into spots the press is not designed to do.
The middle defender of the 2-1-2 Press has the freedom to move which can change the appearance without changing the press as well. But the 2-1-2 Press is focused on the middle defender making all of the reads and decisions. Any change in appearance is only due to the freedom the middle defender has in moving within the press without restriction.
Even with the middle defender changing and adjusting, the 2-1-2 Press can not alter itself. As soon as players start to get moving, the 2-1-2 Press will change to a completely separate press.
Advantages of the 2-1-2 Press Over the 2-2-1 Box Press
1) Less Likely to Give Up a Layup
The 2-1-2 Press has a much lower risk factor than the 2-2-1 Box Press. The 2 back players in the 2-1-2 Press keeps a rim protector back at all times. So, even when an offense is able to break the press, they are not going to have a free layup. They are going to have to beat the last defender at the basket to score.
The 2-1-2 Press is a press that does not commit a lot of defenders forward in the press. The 2-1-2 Press keeps the 2 players back leaving 3 defenders up front trying to trap and put pressure on the ball. By not committing more than 3 defenders forward, offenses are never going to get the ball behind the entire defense. The 2-1-2 Press is always going to have a safety defender in front of the ball.
The 2-2-1 Box Press on the other hand commits 4 defenders forward and has a very active back defender. Any pass that goes over the top has the chance to get the offense a layup. A single pass can immediately beat 4 defenders leaving the last defender alone trying to defend 2 or 3 offensive players at times. An attack and dump pass will usually lead to an easy layup for the offense.
The other problem with the 2-2-1 Box Press is the back defender is active in the press. Any over rotation by the back player can leave the basket wide open. An aggressive back defender creates more open spaces behind the entire defense.
Along with the back defender the middle defenders of the 2-2-1 Box Press have to rotate back when they are on the backside. Any under rotation by the middle defenders will leave the basket and back area of the press wide open.
2) More Confusing for an Offense
The 2-1-2 Press can confuse an offense in 2 very distinct ways. Both issues can cause problems for an opposing offense. They are the lack of familiarity with the 2-1-2 Press and the ability of the press to trap all over the court at any point in time. These two things can combine to never give an offense a pattern of how to attack and beat the press.
The 2-1-2 Press is not a press used very often. The limited use makes it so the offense does not have a set way of breaking the press. It is new to most teams who play against it. This also means the offense has had limited to no practice reps in beating the press. All of this newness can confuse the offense to the point of not knowing what to do to break the press.
The other factor of a 2-1-2 Press is the ability of the middle defender to leave and trap at any point and any place on the court. The middle defender has the freedom to leave and trap at any point they feel they are able to get a trap. If the offense gets lazy and has a lack of focus then the defense can take advantage of it and get a good trap.
The 2-1-2 Press can give the offense a sense of security if they are not able to trap for multiple possessions and then trap for the next several possessions. The constant changing of trapping and non-trapping possessions makes it difficult for the offense to gain any sense of rhythm.
3) Better Middle of the Floor Coverage
One of the areas of the court any offensive team uses to beat the press is the middle of the floor. The team that can control the middle of the court is usually the team that wins the battle each possession. If the offense can get the ball into the middle of floor, then they will normally beat the press. If the defense can keep the ball out of the middle of the floor, then they can cause problems for the offense in those possessions.
A 2-1-2 Press by having the middle defender stay in the middle of the court, can keep the offense out of the middle more easily. This will cause the offense to change the point of attack from the middle of the court to the sideline. The sideline restricts the offensive movement in one direction which can make it harder for the offense to beat the press.
The 2-2-1 Box Press leaves the middle of the court open and relies on rotations to put a defender into the middle. This opening gives the offense the chance to get a player into the middle of the court and open for a pass. The 2-2-1 Box Press is always one bad rotation or slow rotation away from giving the offense the chance to get the ball into the middle and breaking through the press. The ability of the 2-2-1 Box Press to keep a defender in the middle of the court will determine the success of the press.
Which is Better? The 2-2-1 Box Press or the 2-1-2 Press
The 2-1-2 Press is a good press but having a good player to put in the middle is an asset most teams do not have. The speed and anticipation and basketball IQ is a rare combination for most high school players. The lack of good middle defenders in a 2-1-2 Press keeps it from being a press used more frequently.
The 2-2-1 Box Press does not rely on one player to execute the press at a high level. But it does take all 5 players moving together to be successful. A slow defender makes the 2-2-1 Box Press much harder to execute at a high level. And the lack of a defender in the middle of the court can make the 2-2-1 Box Press harder to execute at times.
Both presses have their flaws so to me it comes down to which press has the bigger flaw. And the lack of available defenders in a 2-1-2 Press is the biggest flaw for both presses. Very few players can play the middle defender in a 2-1-2 Press at a high level. This prevents most teams from running the 2-1-2 Press.
The 2-2-1 Box Press is not perfect and has its drawbacks but the flaws of the 2-2-1 Box Press are not as big as the 2-1-2 Press. And when the 2-2-1 Box Press is executed at a high level then it can be very difficult for an offense to break the press. While the 2-2-1 Box Press does have a higher risk than a 2-1-2 Press, the reward of a well run 2-2-1 Box Press is so much farther ahead of the reward of a 2-1-2 Press.
So, with all things considered I have to give the advantage to the 2-2-1 Box Press. It is more easily used by teams and does not rely on one player to make the press effective. And it gets all 5 defenders working in the press making it harder for the offense because they will need all 5 offensive players to break the press constantly. The 2-1-2 Press is the safer option but the 2-2-1 Box Press is the better option.
