Split Defence

Question
Hi,

our team has been playing a split defence which is basically like a zone  but everyone is on one half of the court. Theres ball (man on ball) help( man one pass away) or split (two passes away). what do you think and is there a better defence.

Thanks

Answer
Dear Ben,

What you call split defense and think of as a kind of zone is nothing more than man to man defense with focus on the "helps". It's the best version of a man-to-man defense. This is what the elite teams in Euroleague play when on defense and a lot of coaches prefer this when dealing with teams that have A class players that can drive in to the basket with a simple crossover dribble, but can also "kill" you with a 3-pointer.
I personally prefer this defense too, as long as the opponents have good shooters. This is the only man-to-man defense existing for me. Yes, i think it's the best possible form of man-to-man defense.

However,when dealing with a team that doesn't attempt many 3-pointers and it's asset is tall players that try post-ups or guards driving to the basket, the best possible defense is then zone defense and the most popular one is 2-1-2 zone defense.

Hope this helps,
Yours,
Coach B.Anagnostou