Basketball Drills: Help Side Defense Drills

Richard Hamilton and Kenny Smith demonstrate this basketball drill and explain why an aggressive defense leads to easy baskets. Help side defense is important for keeping teammates on the same chain and helping each other out. This drill shows how players get from the lead position to the help side, and emphasizes communication, timing, and positioning as the key elements to a successful defense on the basketball court. www.MagicFundamentals.com.

Transcription:

Coach Smith: Now Rip, you played on some great defensive teams, championship defensive teams. Now how important was help side defense and being able to help your teammates?

Rip: Oh, man, it was very important because it's like you got to be on the chain. You know, everybody got to have each other's back. I think that's the one thing we was committed to all year. You know, we figured our defense would lead to easy baskets. We always on the same page, and that's very important.

Coach Smith: We gonna get Coach Jason to come out with a couple of modern day guys and show us about how to be on that chain, how to be together, and how to help because nobody -- I'm gonna tell you now -- no one can go on a great offensive play by themselves. No one else, so you have to have that. 

Coach Jason: Absolutely. What we're gonna do now is we're gonna show you a drill. The guys are gonna make you lead, a forward lead, make a pass; and the weak side guy is gonna get to help side and just gonna pass it back and forth. We're gonna show you how to get from being guarding the ball and getting to the help side position. 

Okay, right now...Kenny...Or I could pass the ball right here...

Coach Smith: I'll be the point guard, I'll be the point guard.

Coach Jason: Coach Smith is gonna be the point guard. These guys are getting in denial position. We're denying the ball on the pass back out. Okay, so the coach is gonna slap the ball. You guy get your forward lead. Here we go. Go ahead help out. Get the lead, okay. Get the help side. Good. Home. Get the help. Ball. Okay, good. Hold it. 

One of the most important about defense is...one of the most important things, I should say, is moving when the ball is in moving in the air. And these guys did a good job of moving while the ball was in the air. Positioning themselves, ball you man according to where the offensive player is and the ball is. That's very important. 

Coach Smith: The most important thing I saw is -- and Rick, you can attest to this -- talk. 

Rip: Yeah, absolutely.

Coach Smith: And if you listen, if you're a good defensive team or good defensive player, you're going to talk because you're going to tell the people where they are and they're not. So that was the first thing I saw was great. And the second thing that I really saw and that you have to pay attention to is the fact that when you are help side, when you got to help somebody out, you cannot be too far over because your man will be able to cut. You can't be too close because you won't be able to get...you have to be on what we call one pass away and be able to be able to straddle the line and straddle the basket where you can be on both and be able to help, and at the same time, if the ball comes to your man, being close enough to recover it.

Coach Jason: Correct.

Coach Smith And that was what they did well. 

Coach Jason: Correct. Very good.