WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF PLAYING A 2-3 ZONE?. Single line text.

The 2-3 zone defense is by far the most common zone in basketball and is more than likely the specific formation that will come to a coaches mind when they hear the term ‘zone’ relating to basketball.

The 2-3 zone defense involves two players across the top of the zone near each high post; these players are referred to as the ‘guards’ (1 and 2), two players a step outside of each block; known as the ‘forwards’ (3 and 4), and a player in the middle of the key referred to as the ‘center’ (5).

2-3 zone areas

The areas of a 2-3 zone defense.

The biggest difference between a man-to-man and a zone defense is that instead of being responsible for a certain offensive player, all defensive players are instead responsible for an area of the court. The image shows the main areas each position is responsible for but keep in mind that they definitely do overlap at times depending on where the ball is on the court.

Make no mistake, a 2-3 zone defense doesn’t allow your team to rest on defense. A great 2-3 zone defense requires just as much effort as a great man-to-man defense.

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