Three defenders play a zone in a triangle — one at the free-throw line and two on the blocks — while the other two guard your two best scorers man-to-man and follow them everywhere. Like a box-and-1, it is a junk defense, pulled out for one opponent rather than played all season.
Why coaches use it
When two players are producing almost all of a team’s points, taking both of them away leaves three attackers against a three-man zone that is sitting in the paint. It is a bet that the other three cannot shoot, and against a lot of teams it is a good bet.
How to attack it
- Make the three shots you are given. The defense concedes the corners and the top of the key. If your third, fourth and fifth options will not take an open three, the defense works no matter what you draw.
- Screen the two man defenders. They are chasing, the three behind them are in a zone, and nobody is responsible for calling the screen out. This is where the open shot comes from.
- Make the scorers screeners. Their defenders cannot leave, so every screen they set drags a man out of the play.
- Flash the middle. The triangle covers the free-throw line or the rim, not both, and a cutter into the gap between them is uncovered.
- Attack before it is set. Junk defenses need a dead ball to organize. Push it.
SlongeHoops’ simulated defense does not hold a triangle-and-2; the zones it plays are 2-3, 3-2, 1-3-1, 1-2-2 and box-and-1. You can still place and move five defenders by hand to draw what you want your team to see.