2–3 zone defense

2-3 Zone Defense

The 2-3 Zone Defense is a defensive strategy used in basketball as an alternative to man-to-man defense. It is referred to as the 2-3 because of its formation on the court, which consists of two players at the front of the defense (and closer to half court) and three players behind (and closer to the opposing team's basket).

thumb|The basic formation of the 2-3 zone.

How to Play a 2-3 Zone Defense

The widespread use of the 2-3 zone is likely due to its somewhat intuitive operation. The two players on the top of the zone are usually a team's guards, and they guard the zones closest to them on the perimeter and three-point arc. In the same way, a team's forwards guard the sides of the zone and its center guards the lane and center of the defense. As the opposing team moves with the basketball around the court, the zone as a whole shifts accordingly.

For example, if a player with the ball stood on the right wing (beyond the three point arc), defensive players 1 and 2 would shift towards that direction. To effectively operate the 2-3 zone, a defense must move as a whole. In this case, that would mean the every defensive player shifting around 5-6 feet in the direction of the right wing and the player with the ball. Similarly, if that player moved to the right corner, the 4 player would move to guard him and the rest of the defense would shift towards that direction. So much so, in fact, that ideally no defensive players should be on the left side of the court at all, because it would require several passes or a long pass through the defense to get the ball to the left side.

3. Strengths and Weaknesses

4. Influence

5. Recent Developments/Examples

6. External Links