A zone offense is a little different then a man offense. In a man offense you are trying to attack the defenders. In a zone you are trying to attack the space of the defense. In a zone offense I am trying to get each defender to be stuck in between two offensive players. This makes the defender pick which one to guard. Depending on who he guards you should be able to get an open shot or a pass to an open player. If everything and everybody is positioned correctly then the offense is always creating a 2 against 1 scenario. I have two keys for any of my zone offenses.
Key #1
Use a different numbered front from the zone defense. If the defense is playing an even front, for instance a 2-3 or 2-2-1, then I will play a zone offense with just one player up high. If the defense is playing an odd front, for instance a 1-2-2 or 1-3-1, then I will play an even front with two guys up top. This is immediately starting to get us into a possible 2 on 1 situation. We are forcing the front zone defenders to move in order to guard. You want the defense to have to guard outside their area. By putting a different front to start, you are forcing the defense to adjust and hopefully open areas behind the front man.
Key #2
Attack the four areas of the floor that give the defense the most trouble. These four areas are the two elbow spots and the two short corners. The two elbow spots collapses the defense and gives wide open kick outs.
The short corners in most zones are not designed to be guarded by any one player so this area can create the most confusion. Normally a ball in the short corner will give an open space for a cutter going to the basket or a kick out to the same side or top. There are three ways to go about getting the ball into these spots.
First Way
The first way is to just plant a guy there and not have them move. This ensures those spots are always filled by a player. You are always one pass away from getting into the attacking area. However, the defense knows a player is there and can adjust slightly to make sure to always guard them. If the offensive player is active in trying to get the ball and is a good passer after getting the ball then this will usually destroy a zone defense without much effort.
Second Way
You can leave the spots open and send a cutter into the spots. If the cutter doesn’t get the ball then they leave the spot and somebody else cuts to the area. You can send a cutter to the elbow, swing the ball, have the cutter leave out of the elbow and have somebody else cut into the elbow. If the new cutter does not get the ball then the ball reverses again the cutter leaves and a new cutter is sent. Normally after 3 or 4 swings the defense gets moving back and forth and they will leave with the first cutter and that is when the new cutter is able to find the open spot to get the ball in the inside of the defense. By changing the cutters and where they are cutting from, the defense can have trouble passing the players as they are cutting and leaving.
Third Way
The third way is to use the dribble to get the ball into those spots. By using the dribble you force your players into the mindset of attacking the defense. However, it is a zone so there are more hands and players around during the drive. These hands and bodies will create turnovers if the offensive dribbler is not careful with the ball.
The key with using the dribble is patience. The players must be able to read when to attack and when not to attack the defense. You are sending the dribble into a trappable area on purpose. This goes against most offensive philosophies. However, I have used a 5 out offense with the middle wide open. This created a situation where the defense had to expand out and left the elbow open for the dribble. By cutting behind the drive we were able to get the defense completely out of space and left one on one drives with our guards against their middle zone defender. We were able to attack him and get open layups.
While this is not something I use very often it is something to try if the first two options are not working. It is the most risk-reward of the 3. It can backfire quickly but if it works then the zone defense has a bunch of time adjusting to it because it is not something most teams plan for in a zone defense.
The best offense for a zone is to have two or three above average 3-point shooters. If you have players who are great 3 point shooters then get them on the floor and spotted up. After a couple of 3’s the zone defense will have to change. However, not everybody has the shooters to do this. If you do great. If you do not then try attacking the elbows or short corner and hopefully you will break down the zone and get easy baskets or at least wide open shots.
