Box and 1 Offense Basketball Animation

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The "box and 1" defense is a commonly used "junk defense", or combination defense. The defense sets up in a four-man box zone formation, with one defender playing your best player man-to-man (see Junk Defenses). It is more commonly used when the star player is a perimeter player, as there are other ways to double-team a star post player.

Like attacking any zone defense, look for the gaps in the zone and penetrate those areas. Get the zone out of position with good quick passing, keeping the wings wide, using skip passes and dribble penetration. See Zone Offense to review the principles of zone offense. Your other four players have to step up and look for their shot.

You don't have to do anything fancy. Just setting good screens (e.g. flare-screens and dribble hand-off screens) for your star player is effective. This is simple and can create confusion on the part of the defense. The defender guarding your star player when screened calls for help or a switch, and his teammate (who is playing zone) may be confused on whether to go with the man, or stay in his zone.

And the defender playing man-to-man on the star, may get confused and not take the correct spot in the zone. So simple screens can confuse the defense, and maintains your star player as a vital part of the offense.

Another effective tactic is for your star player to screen and then seal the screened defender and roll to the hoop or pop to an open spot for the pass (see Setting and Using Screens).

Another strategy is to put your star player in either corner, running the baseline, always on the ball-side. This forces the defense to play what looks like a 2-3 zone. Now just use your usual 2-3 zone offense (see Attacking the 2-3 Zone).

Also see the "Big-Blocker" Offense for attacking junk defenses, including not only the "box-and-1", but also the "triangle-and-2", the "1-3 and a chaser", and the "diamond-and-1" defenses.

There are a number of ways of attacking the box and 1, depending on whether your star player is a guard or post player. Let's look at a few simple actions.

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