What is Man-to-Man Defense?
Man-to-Man or just Man Defense is when every player on defense is guarding a player on offense. Each player has an offensive player they are responsible for guarding and defending.
Man defense can be aggressive in trying to get out into passing lanes and make it hard for the offense to pass the ball. It can also be passive where each defender is playing off their man and standing in driving lanes. It is very versatile in how it can be played. It is the most used defense at the college and professional levels.
Man defense has 3 different concepts to learn to effectively run a man defense. These are
- On the Ball
- Denial-One Pass Away
- Help Side
Each player must learn all three positions for man defense to work.
What is “I”-3 Defense?
The “I’-3 defense is a combination defense similar to the Box-1 or Triangle-2. The I-3 defense has 3 defenders guarding man-to-man while the other 2 defenders are guarding in a vertical zone formation. The 3 man defenders are each guarding a particular offensive player while the 2 zone defenders are in a stack formation to guard the other 2 offensive players and be in a better position to help the 3 man defenders.
The 2 zone defenders are stacked with 1 defender at the free throw line and the other at the front of the rim. They are there to help with the man defenders if and when necessary. They are also in a zone formation to guard the 2 offensive players not being guarded man.
In using the I-3 defense, the defense has decided to essentially leave 2 offensive players open thinking they are not going to score many points anyway. This gives those 2 zone defenders a better chance to help or double team the other 3 offensive players. By having more focus on those 3 offensive players, the I-3 defense is trying to reduce the 3 main offensive players scoring to give the defense a better chance to win the game.
Best Team Personnel for Man-to-Man Defense
I am a bit of a stubborn coach. My players know that we are going to play man to man defense most of the time. I do not think there is certain personnel a team needs to have in order to play man-to-man defense. As long as the defense can match up and guard the offense then a team can run man-to-man defense.
For me, this means sometimes my center was guarding the other team’s point guard. The point guard was not going to score so it did not matter how well the center could guard the point guard. I will be creative in my matchups to give our defense the best possible chance of defending the offense.
In a perfect world, the defensive players will be the same height or taller than the offensive players. The defensive players will have a speed and quickness advantage over the offense. And the one trait that can separate a good defensive player from a great player is quick hands. A defender with quick hands will get steals or deflections at a much higher rate than a defender with slow hands.
The last two things a good man-to-man defense will have is good positioning which can be taught and good instincts which cannot be taught. Good positioning is the players being in the right spots at the right time. Good positioning can be drilled in practice, so the players know exactly where to be at all times on defense.
Good instincts are when a player knows where and when to take an extra step so they can get a deflection or steal. This cannot be taught. Players will either have good instincts or they won’t. And if they don’t then they will never get them. Good instincts are just something each player naturally has.
Best Team Personnel for “I”-3 Defense
The best team personnel for the I-3 defense is to have 3 really good man-to-man defensive players. These 3 defenders will be matched up to guard the 3 best offensive players.
The other 2 defenders can be anybody. These two are going to stay close to the free throw line and rim. These 2 defenders are there to help the 3 man defenders. And if the offense passes the ball to the 2 non guarded offensive players, then the 2 zone defenders will closeout to them when they are close. Or they will shift so those 2 non guarded offensive players cannot just shoot a layup.
While the 2 zone players can be anybody, the taller these 2 players are the better. The height gives them the ability to contest more shots and rebound better in their zone formation. The height of the 2 zone players would be a plus but it is not required.
When to Use Man-to-Man Defense?
Man-to-man Defense can be used at any and all times. I have gone an entire season coaching having used nothing but man-to-man except for 1 possession. That 1 possession of zone ended with the opponent making a 3-pointer. That was the end of zone defense for that season. Man defense can be passive or aggressive. It can help guard against dribble drives by being passive. It can try and make passing for the offense hard by being aggressive in the passing lanes. Defenses can decide how they want to guard ball screens. So, there are no situations where man defense is unable to be used.
However, it is more about when not to use man-to-man defense rather than knowing when to use it. If the five defenders are unable to guard the 5 offensive players, then man defense might not be the best defense to use. Knowing when to change is really about determining if each defender can guard their matchup one on one. If the defense cannot guard the offense one-on-one, then the defense will constantly be rotating to help. If the defense is rotating to help, then the offense can attack and pass and get wide open shots on offense. When this happens, the defense needs to change matchups or switch to a zone defense.
When to Use “I”-3 Defense?
The I-3 defense is not a defense to use very often. It is a defense that can be used on a very rare basis to cause confusion and uncertainty on the offense. I have only seen it used in a game twice. In both instances the offense struggled for a significant period of time trying to figure out what to do. Ultimately one of the unguarded offensive players was able to make a couple of open shots to give the offense a win.
In both instances the team running the I-3 defense was severely overmatched. A win by the team running the I-3 defense would have been considered a major upset. And in both cases the I-3 gave the severe underdog a chance at winning the game. I can honestly say I was shocked the score was as close as it was when the game ended. And I fully believe the reason the games were so close is because of the I-3 defense.
The I-3 defense can be used to help control and limit an opponent who has 3 main offensive players with 2 roll players. One of the games this defense was used was against a team who had 3 players averaging over 15 points a game and the other 2 were averaging under 5 points a game.
The defense focused all their attention on the 3 main offensive players by overplaying and gambled the other 2 players averaging less than 5 would still not score even though they were not being guarded. It worked and the game was one to two possession leads through the whole game. It stayed this way until late in the 4th quarter when one of the players scoring less than 5 points a game made a couple of shots in multiple consecutive possessions to stretch the lead out to 10 where it stayed for the last couple of minutes of the game.
This is a defense to be used as a last resort. An underdog team who has very little to no shot of winning the game if they played straight up. The I-3 defense can confuse an offense and keep help in great positions no matter what the offense is doing.
Advantages of Man-to-Man Defense Over “I”-3 Defense
1) No Offensive Players are Left Open
The risk that most coaches do not want to make in running the I-3 defense is leaving 2 offensive players completely unguarded. This philosophy is different than any type of defensive principles possible. Two offensive players are going to be free to run around the offensive end without a defensive player guarding them.
If the two unguarded offensive players are able to make shots, then the I-3 defense will not work. In the couple of times, I have seen the I-3 defense used this is what happened. One of the unguarded players was able to make shots making the defense ineffective.
One of the games a player was left unguarded at the elbow. This player finally shot the ball from the elbow after not shooting the ball for 2 ½ quarters. The player was able to make 3 elbow jumpers in 3 straight possessions and the I-3 defense was defeated.
Man-to-man defense is set in a way that no offensive player should have the ability to get wide open shots. A defender should be in close proximity to every offensive player. This means a defender should be able to closeout to the offensive player on the catch. The closeout should be done in such a way that the offense does not get any open shots.
2) Can be Used Against All Opponents
The I-3 defense is only able to be played against certain teams that have 3 scoring players and 2 non-scoring players. Any opponent without this type of team makes the I-3 defense unusable. The number of times that opponents have only 3 scorers are very few.
Man Defense on the other hand can be used no matter the type of players on the other team. Man-to-man defense can be adjusted game to game to take away an opponent’s best scoring options. The overall defense is the same with just a few adjustments each game. This could be not helping off a player or doubling the post among others.
The versatility of man defense gives the team the ability to work on one defense and have it used in every game. The I-3 defense must be practiced and may not be a good defense for any game through the season. At some point a coach has to make decisions on what is the best use of practice time and the I-3 defense might not be the best use of practice time.
3) Rebounding
Man defense has each defender matched up with an offensive player. So, when an offensive rebound happens it is easy to see which defender allowed their player to get the rebound. Each defender should box out their man and if done correctly the offense is unable to get rebounds.
In an I-3 defense 2 offensive players are left alone. Those two players are hard to box out when the ball is shot. The 2 unguarded offensive players can get a running start. They can get good rebounding position. The two unguarded players can get a lot of offensive rebounds because they are being left alone.
Man-to-Man defense should not have any free runners to the basket when the ball is shot. Each defender should make contact with their guarded player in a box out. This contact helps to prevent any offensive rebounds from happening.
In an I-3 defense this contact may not occur with 2 of the offensive players making rebounding harder to do well in the I-3. An offense that is able to get offensive rebounds are able to get more shots which could lead to more points. And the game of basketball is determined by most points scored.
Advantage of “I”-3 Defense Over Man-to-Man Defense
1) Defense Puts All Focus on Stopping 3 Best Offensive Players
The I-3 defense can work against the right opponent because the entire focus on the defense is to stop the best 3 scorers. The thought is if the top 3 scorers on the opponent all score less than their normal averages, then the defense has a good chance to win the game. So, all of the focus of the defense is on these 3 players.
The downside is no focus is put on the other 2 offensive players. These two players are left completely alone. The risk-reward of the I-3 defense is very high. The risk is leaving 2 players open that could score a bunch of points. The reward is keeping the top 3 scorers from scoring their average. Usually when a team does not get their top 3 scorers scoring their yearly average, then that team is going to lose.
Man-to-Man defense can focus on certain offensive players but do not do it to the extreme that the I-3 defense does. Man defense can focus its attention in a much more conservative approach whereas the I-3 is going to the extreme.
2) Can Confuse an Offense
I-3 defense is not something that is used very often and therefore most people have not seen it run. A fellow coach sitting next to me was not able to identify what the defense was one of the few times I had seen it used. This coach was a spectator and could not figure out what was happening.
A team and coach who can not figure out what the defense is doing will not know how to attack the defense. If the I-3 defense is being used and the offense is unsure of what to do, then they are going to take a bunch of time figuring out what the defense is and how to attack it. This can lead to bad offensive possessions. Those bad possessions can give the defense just enough possessions to get a lead and possibly win the game.
The unfamiliarity of the I-3 defense can be the advantage the defense needs to get stops and make an offense struggle to score. An offense also has to decide whether the 4th and 5th offensive players are going to shoot the ball. Some teams do not allow their non-scorers to shoot. So, does this rule stay in place when those players are not being guarded?
The offense might have to go against their own offensive philosophies. The offensive coach has to decide whether their scorers shooting against pressure is a better choice than their non-scorers shooting wide open shots. All of these unknown decisions can cause the offense to struggle. And if the coach picks an option and it’s not working, then how soon do they switch to the other option? The I-3 tries to make an offensive indecisive.
3) Help Side is Always in Position
The reason why the I-3 defense makes sense is because it leaves 2 players in a continually helping position for the man defenders. The 3 top scorers are probably going to have the ball in their hands the majority of the time and will be taking the majority of the shots. So, having 2 players in position to help at any point during a defensive possession can help reduce the quality of shots those 3 players are getting.
One of the problems with man-to-man defense is that backside rotations are sometimes not there or are slow getting to the ball. The no rotations or slow rotations can lead to easy shots for the offense. The I-3 defense removes these problems by keeping those 2 zone defenders in spots to always be able to help. The I-3 defense positioning removes a potential problem by stacking the lane with 2 defenders.
Which is Better? Man-to-Man Defense or “I”-3 Defense
I would use the I-3 defense in one case and only one case. This case has to have both factors before being used.
1) The opponent must have 3 good offensive players only. The other 2 players on the floor must struggle offensively.
2) The game is a tournament game, and the opponent is clearly the better team. I would not use the I-3 defense as the underdog. And I would only run the I-3 in a tournament scenario.
These are the 2 requirements I have before using the I-3 defense. The first case is having to do with the offensive ability of the opponent. The second case is the situation in which the game is being played. I would only run the I-3 in a tournament game where the season ends with a loss. Any other time of the season, I would not want to use practice time to install the I-3 defense.
In a situation where there will not be another practice with a loss, then it is time to do anything necessary to win. I would also only use the I-3 defense when my team is overmatched in talent. As a severe underdog, the lesser talented team must do something to make up for that talent gap. The I-3 is just out of the ordinary enough to lessen the talent gap between the two teams.
In every other case man-to-man defense is the superior defense. It can be used against any team no matter the circumstances. A good man-to-man defense is the best defense to use in basketball. There is a reason that almost every single college team plays man-to-man defense.
Man-to-man defense can be the most effective defense. It can be used against any opponent. And it can be the hardest defense to score against when run properly. A well taught and well executed man-to-man defense is the best defense to use in a half-court setting.
