In two previous posts we’ve talked about defense during basketball. In the first post we covered the need to deny the red zone to the offense. In the second post we talked about how to aggressively guard the dribble. In this post we’re going to continue focusing on the dribbler by learning to jam the dribbler.
If we are doing our job on defense, then we are pushing the ball handler towards one of the corners or to one of the sidelines. If we keep moving our feet, move our hands, and maintain a “nose to chest” position with the ball handler, we can frustrate them to the point where they have to pick up the dribble. This is exactly what we want!
If an offensive players picks up the dribble, then they are unable to dribble again without turning over the ball. This means that one of their three weapons (dribbling, passing, and shooting) is taken away from them. Because they can’t continue dribbling now, we can “jam” the defender.
When an offensive player picks up the dribble, we want to deny their ability to pass and shoot. We do that by taking a step towards them and getting as close as we can without touching the player. We want our defensive player to remain between the ball handler and the basket at all times.
As we are jamming the defender, one hand traces the ball and is ready to deflect a shot or pass. The other either blocks the ball handler’s line of sight or is in the passing/shooting lane to disrupt passes or shots.
Our next post will talk about what the other players are doing while we’re guarding the defender.
