Category: Defense tools

The 5/4 advantage

Basketball is a game of strategy, split-second decisions, and maximizing opportunities. One often-overlooked moment of opportunity is what I like to call the 5/4 advantage. This occurs when your team has five players on defense, while at least one offensive player is either unable to move (because they’ve picked up their dribble) or is temporarily out of play (because they’re taking the ball out of bounds).

If you can recognize and capitalize on these moments, the defensive team holds a distinct advantage and has a real opportunity to generate a turnover or even steal the ball outright. Let’s explore how to leverage this advantage, break down the defensive strategies that work best, and discuss how to train your team to execute these situations flawlessly.

Why the 5/4 Advantage is Powerful

Imagine this scenario: It’s the end of the game. Your team is down by one (or two… or even three). There are only seconds left on the clock, and your opponent is inbounding the ball. How many times have you seen a game where the defense, in this exact situation, steals the inbound pass, races downcourt, and takes the winning shot?

Now think about this: If your team can do it in the final seconds of a game, why can’t you do it during any other point? Why wait for desperation at the buzzer when you could apply pressure on the inbounds pass—or capitalize on a trapped player—at any moment?

Here’s the truth: In the early parts of the game, your opponent isn’t expecting you to apply intense pressure. They assume those moments are routine. This is your opportunity to catch them off-guard and make them uncomfortable. When executed correctly, the 5/4 advantage can turn momentum in your favor at any point in the game.

Leveraging the 5/4 Advantage

The 5/4 advantage can occur in two main situations:

  1. When an offensive player picks up their dribble.
  2. When the ball is being inbounded.

Let’s break down how to defend in each situation and use the advantage to create turnovers.

Situation 1: Picked-Up Dribble

When an offensive player picks up their dribble, they immediately lose mobility. This is the moment to attack as a defense.

The Ball Defender’s Role:

The defender guarding the ball should:

  • Close the gap quickly: Get as close as possible to the offensive player without fouling. The goal is to make it difficult for them to see their teammates or find an open passing lane.
  • Mirror the ball: Keep your hands up and move them to mirror the ball’s movements. This makes it harder for the offensive player to make a clean pass. Avoid reaching, as this can lead to unnecessary fouls.
  • Communicate aggressively: Many teams shout something like “BALL” or “STEAL” to create confusion and increase pressure on the offensive player.

The Rest of the Defense:

  • Tighten your coverage: Defenders guarding off-ball players should step closer to their assignments and anticipate passes. Focus on jumping into passing lanes and forcing risky decisions.
  • Force a 5-second violation: Remember, the offensive player only has 5 seconds to make a pass. If you can prevent them from finding an open teammate, you’ll force a turnover. Learn more here… Understanding Basketball Rules: Five-Second Violation – Explanation of key rules like the five-second violation and how they can be used strategically.

Key Reminder:

You and your team can do anything for 5 seconds. Stay disciplined, apply pressure, and force the offense to crack under the weight of your defense.

Situation 2: Inbounds Pass

The inbounds pass is one of the most critical moments where the 5/4 advantage comes into play. Because the inbounder cannot move and is removed from the immediate play, your team effectively has a numbers advantage on the court.

Defensive Strategies for Inbounds Plays:

  1. Double-Team the Inbounder:
    Place your two tallest and most active defenders (usually your 4 and 5) on the inbounder. Their job is to:
    • Use their size and wingspan to block passing lanes.
    • Mirror the inbounder’s eyes and body language to anticipate the pass.
    • Force the inbounder to throw a lob or a rushed pass, creating an opportunity for a steal or deflection.
  2. Deny the Primary Receiver:
    The point guard (1) should focus on denying the primary ball handler, who is likely trying to get open near half-court. Stay close, face guard, and use active hands to disrupt the pass.
  3. Jump the Passing Lanes:
    Assign one player—often your small forward (3)—to act as a free safety. This player reads the inbounder’s eyes and body language to anticipate the pass and jump into the passing lane for a potential steal.
  4. Protect Against Over-the-Top Passes:
    The center (5) should maintain awareness of the paint, ready to recover quickly if the inbounder attempts a long, over-the-top pass. This prevents easy layups or fast-break opportunities.

Training the 5/4 Advantage

To make the 5/4 advantage a reliable weapon, you need to prepare your team to execute under pressure. Here’s how:

  1. Practice Situational Defense:
    Incorporate drills that simulate both picked-up dribble situations and inbounds plays. Teach players to communicate, close gaps, and anticipate passes.
  2. Condition for Intensity:
    Defending for 5 seconds may sound easy, but it requires maximum effort and focus. Use short, high-intensity defensive drills to build your team’s stamina and discipline.
  3. Film Study:
    Watch game footage to identify tendencies in opponents’ inbound plays and passing patterns. This will help your team anticipate and disrupt these plays during games.
  4. Emphasize Communication:
    Teach your players to communicate loudly and effectively during 5/4 situations. Phrases like “deny,” “trap,” or “steal” can heighten the intensity and coordination of your defense.

Why It Works

The 5/4 advantage forces the offense into high-pressure situations where mistakes are more likely. When the ball handler or inbounder is under duress, they’re more likely to:

  • Throw a bad pass.
  • Commit a turnover.
  • Hesitate and incur a 5-second violation.

Your team can capitalize on these mistakes to create momentum-shifting plays and generate easy scoring opportunities.

One last parting word on the 5/4 Advantage…

The 5/4 advantage is one of the most underutilized strategies in basketball. Whether it’s a trapped ball handler or an inbounds pass, recognizing and exploiting these moments can swing the game in your favor.

The beauty of this approach is that it works at any time, not just in the closing seconds of a game. By preparing your team to execute the 5/4 advantage effectively, you’ll create a defense that opponents dread facing—one that disrupts their rhythm and seizes opportunities at every turn.

So, the next time you see an opponent pick up their dribble or prepare to inbound the ball, remember this: You’ve got the advantage.

Now go take the ball.

— Coach Wheeler

Defensive Tools – M2M

Coach WheelerI am always surprised by how few players understand the tools that they have available to them as defensive players on a basketball court. Too often players rest on defense and don’t focus on what will help their team take the ball away from the opposition or make it more difficult for them to score. If a player applies the skills described below, they can go from reacting to the offense to taking control of their opposition’s offense and dictating what they do.

The top defensive skills that every player should use on defense are Position (distance, charge,steering), Jab Step, Face Guarding (the right way) and Weak Side Steals.

Position. This is the most basic form of defense and it us where most players stop. Why? Because it may be “good enough” to be considered “defense” but I would challenge you to go beyond just “good enough” and take your defense to a higher level.

Within “position defense” there are many aspects that players can apply. In particular, there are a number of ways to guard a post player (front, side or behind) and it depends on your relative size as well as the help that you can expect from your team mates on defense.

Relative distance from the dribbler. In terms of position, I often see players back away from their man when they think that they are not quick enough to stay with them. They hope that the added buffer will give them more time to react and prevent their player from scoring. What usually happens though is that they allow the offensive player to build up momentum and drive by them even faster. As Homer Simpson says… D’OH !

What’s the solution? This is going to sound counterintuitive but pay close attention. Instead of backing off, the answer is … Get closer. Much closer. It is almost like wrestling because the offensive player can’t dribble in front of themselves (because the defensive player is there and can steal the ball) and any move around the defensive player will require more effort than it would if the offensive player is given room to move.

Will you get beat when you are playing up-close, in-your-face defense? Probably, but you will make the offensive player work for it. You might even pick up a charge if the offensive player gets too physical. The key is how you (and your team mates) react on defense when you get beat…

What happens when you get beat? Two things. First you stop shuffling, turn your hips and RUN to catch up and, hopefully, pass the offensive player so you can stop them or at least control where they can move. Secondly, it is critically important to stay in contact with your offensive player and, ideally, steer them in a direction where your team mates (or a sideline) can provide help defense. This means that if they drive by you on the right side, you don’t let them come back to the left side. It is a common mistake for defensive players to give up once they are “beaten” by the offensive player and basically let the offensive player continue toward the basket.

Why do I have to stay with the ball handler? Aside from preventing them from returning to their strong hand, you want to be ready to trap them when your team mate comes over to help. This is a great time to steal the ball since the offensive player’s options are limited and it should be easy to anticipate what they will do.

Take the Charge. This is related to playing position and can be done by either the primary defender or someone helping stop a drive. If the primary defender is doing their job and “steering” the ball handler, the help defender can often set up and take a charge. The key for a help defender in this situation is to remain active and ready to prevent a pass to your man.

Jab step. By making a move at the offensive player, you are seeing how they will react. Most players have a preferred hand that they like to dribble with and once you know which one it is, you can anticipate where they might like to go and either get in the way (play position) or fake like you are going to get in their way (using a jab step) to force the offensive player to react. This is an important way for a defensive player to take control of the offensive player and limit their effectiveness.

Face Guarding. This is a defensive skill that relies on using your eyes as well as the eyes of the offensive player. In short, most offensive player’s eyes follow the ball when it is being passed to them. This can give a defensive player an insight into where the ball is coming.

Why would someone pass the ball when you are there as a defender? Because when you are face-guarding, you have your back to the ball and they think that you can’t see it… but you can see where it will go based on the eyes of the offensive player.

Can the offensive player beat someone who is face guarding? Sure, but it requires an offensive player to recognize what you are doing (which they might do after a steal or two) and then they would have to consciously look somewhere else while following the ball with their peripheral vision. It can be done… but in many cases, in the heat of competition, face-guarding is not recognized and the defense has the advantage.

Weak side defense – set up the steal. This is another area of Man-to-man defense that is often overlooked. The weak side is the side of the court AWAY from the ball handler and most coaches teach players that they should split the court and “build a wall” so that the ball can’t come over to their side. This is good in theory but too many players forget that a long pass is one that should be intercepted. The longer the pass, the more time you have to get to the ball.

Why aren’t more long passes intercepted? Because weak side defenders lose sight of what the ball handler is doing and they don’t see the pass until it is well on it’s way. How can this be changed? By knowing 1) when you expect the ball handler to pass and 2) seeing the clues that they are going to pass in your direction. If a ball handler is about to dribble into a trap and they are a good offensive player, they will be looking for someone to pass to BEFORE they get to the trap. If the ball handler looks toward your man, it is likely they will pass to them.  If it is a long pass, the throwing motion will be bigger than a short pass (depending on the strength of the ball handler) and if you are watching the ball handler, you should be able to see it start so you can get a jump on the pass and intercept it. This same approach can be used on the strong side even when the pass might be shorter. By anticipating the pass, you gain a huge advantage over the offense and can force more turnovers.

Conclusions re: M2M Defensive Tools:

Coach Wheeler on M2M Defense…

“Defense should never be passive and reactive. It should challenge the offense and make it difficult for them to do what they want to do. If someone can call a play, your defense is not working hard enough. A successful defensive team drives the offense more than a little crazy and pushes them out of their comfort zone.”

Will you get beat? Probably, especially if the other team is very good. But you will get beat more often if your defense is passive and reactive. As a player, won’t you get beat by your man? Certainly. This is one thing that many coaches don’t want to address. They tell players to “work harder” and get in front of their man. This is great if you are faster/quicker than the offense, but what happens when a player can’t stay in front of their man? Shouldn’t there be a plan for this situation? Especially since there is almost always a mismatch somewhere on the floor and a good offense will figure out how to exploit it. That is where TEAM Man-to-man defense comes in along with the skills mentioned above.

What do you think? Are there other M2M defensive tools that you find are highly successful with your teams? I would love to hear your ideas and opinions. Would you like to see a video showing how Coach Wheeler implements / teaches these ideas with a team? Please leave a comment below.