How to Defend Bigger Basketball Players in a Pickup Game

So two guys walk up to you and a friend while you're shooting around at the gym. "Wanna play two on two," they ask. From twenty feet away, they don't look so tough, but upon closer review, you realize that each of the men you're about to play look like their uncles could have been California Redwoods. You can do one of two things. Let them score at will, or try and defend them and give yourselves a chance to win. Here's how:

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A teammate
• A basketball, court
• An opposing team
• A sense of humor

1. Don't talk trash. The only thing worse than playing basketball against somebody bigger than you is playing against an angry somebody who's bigger than you. Keep the game friendly.

2. Play a simple zone. The tallest of you should take the low post, and the shortest should take the low. This way, the player at the high position will be able to rotate down to the low post for frequent double teams. This is much harder to do when one of their players has run you over to East Schenectady, and you've left your buddy down in the low blocks, ready to get mauled by the freight train coming his way.

3. Keep hands in their faces. They're bigger than you, so unless they have knee problems, they'll probably be able to easily elevate over you for the jumper. When this happens, try and obscure their view of the basket by keeping a hand in their faces.

4. Stay close, but not too close. If you're playing zone, the idea is to keep the offense contained. If you suddenly play them as if you're playing man-to-man defense, this will increase the likelihood that they'll be able to use their size and strength against you, either by beating you off the dribble, or by forcing you under the basket in the low post.

5. Defend the passing lanes. Basketball is all about ball distribution, so if you keep an eye on where and how their passing the ball, you might be able to grab a couple of steals and thus, some easy buckets. Make it less easy for them to distribute the ball, and they'll have a tougher time beating you.

6. Stay aggressive. If you can beat them to the loose balls, you have a much better chance of winning than not. You can't change the fact that they're bigger, but you can want it more than they do.

7. Know when to give the shot. Has one of them been throwing up bricks from behind the arc? The other have trouble sinking the mid-range jumpers? Know the areas of the court from where they shoot poorly, and you can know what shots to give. Just be ready for the loose balls.

Tips & Warnings

• You will probably get some funny looks for playing a zone. Then, once you're still hanging in at the end of the game, they will get angry and say things like "This d
• zone!", and so forth. Try not to be outwardly smug about it.

[CoachKerry]

on 11/9/2007 It was great reading this article. I like the way you laid out a solid strategy...a good strategy executed well always has a chance for victory. I would love to see some more articles like this.