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It should be obvious how important defense in basketball is. Like offense, it is one word associated with the game that is a topic all its own. It is so crucial that fans scream it all the time when their team doesn’t have ball possession. Despite the enduring presence of this word, not all novice players and coaches focus on it.

One possible reason why the concept is being downplayed is the overwhelming obsession over scoring more points. Fame and maybe fortune await the player who can shoot the most. Shallow play analysis further stress who has made the most points. This is when people forget that in most cases, guarding the team with the ball is just as important.

It is through defensive basketball strategies that a team gets to limit the points of an opposing team. This means, a team doesn’t need to score more than a hundred points to win, they just need to make sure the other team doesn’t score at all. Here are three tips that can help put teams on top of the game.

#1- Stance and balance are everything.

You need to adopt the right form and position to prevent an opponent from scoring and to maintain balance. Moreover, the right stance also puts you in the best position to steal the ball when you can. The basic stance in proper basketball defense is to bend the knees in such a way as to put the player’s head level to the offensive player’s chest. Feet should be planted shoulder’s width apart. By choosing this position, a player is least likely to lose balance even when pushed. Feet and hand facing the dominant hand of the other player should be placed a little forward to prepare for action when there is an opportunity to steal.

#2- Guard the ones without the ball.

When nearly everyone’s eyes are on the ball handler, it’s easy to forget all other players on the court. This can be one of the worst mistakes any team can make. Defensive basketball goes beyond focusing on the person who has it. The responsibility stretches over every other player. Once the ball gets passed around, less guarded teammates can take a good shot.

#3- Put pressure on the opponent.

As a game stretches, it gets tempting to grow lax. This may reflect on player facial expression and loosened stance. A defending team shouldn’t make the mistake of appearing tired of lazy in front of an offensive team. From start to finish, the focus should be on putting pressure on the opponents. Pressure can be exhibited in a variety of ways ranging from adopting intimidating facial expressions to adopting a strong forward hand and foot position to limit an opponent’s ability to move, pass the ball or shoot.

These are only some of the basic tips for great defense in basketball. These however should be more than enough to stress the importance of this one element. Just as beginners need to hone their shooting skills, they should also be pushed to defend better.

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By Matt Dimock

Andrew Tyler Hansbrough was born in November of 1985 and began going by his middle name of Tyler rather than his first name of Andrew at a young age. As a youth growing up in Poplar Bluff, Missouri (population 17,000) in the southeastern portion of the state near the Arkansas border Tyler showed tremendous basketball potential.

Long before Tyler was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in the first round (number 13 overall pick) of the 2009 NBA Draft and even before he set basketball records with the storied University of North Carolina (UNC) Tar Heels basketball program he honed his game in his small southern Missouri hometown where he was born and raised. As a star basketball player for the Poplar Bluff High School Mules Tyler led his team to back to back state championships.

Despite the relatively small size of the city of Poplar Bluff, Missouri the basketball program competes in the largest classifications in the state. This is largely because in spite of the small size of the city of Poplar Bluff with only one high school and students being drawn from the surrounding area there is still a sizable student body. As a junior and senior in high school Tyler led his school to back to back state championships in Class 5 in Missouri.

The championships for the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 seasons were played and won in the Hearnes Center in 2004 and Mizzou Arena in 2005 on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO. The Hearnes Center opened in 1972 and served as the home court for the University of Missouri Tigers basketball teams until its closure in 2004. The brand new Mizzou arena replaced the Hearnes Center and opened in November of 2004. High school state championship basketball games in Missouri were played for years at the Hearnes Center and are now played at Mizzou Arena.

The state championship that Tyler won in March of 2005 was particularly noteworthy because he led his underdog team to a victory in the championship game against Vashon High School. Vashon High School is a dominant basketball school from St. Louis, Missouri that has won 11 boys basketball state championships. When the Poplar Bluff Mules, led by Tyler Hansbrough, squared off against the Vashon High School Wolverines in early 2005 for the state championship Vashon entered the game undefeated and as the number one ranked team in the nation.

For his efforts in high school basketball which included averaging over 28 points per game and more than 13 rebounds per contest as a senior Tyler was twice recognized as a first team All-State basketball player. The high school success that Hansbrough enjoyed provided him the opportunity to choose to play for any college basketball program that he wanted. The young man sorted through scholarship offers from storied programs like the University of Kentucky, University of Kansas, and Duke before ultimately deciding to play for Coach Roy Williams at the University of North Carolina (UNC) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Jeff, the author of this article, enjoys watching the determination and hustle that Tyler brings to the sport of basketball. Jeff hopes that when Tyler plays other sports like golf that he brings a more relaxed demeanor to the course. If Tyler plays golf he surely has a University of North Carolina golf bag. A famous alum like Tyler would surely be embarrassed to be seen with anything other than a Tar Heel blue UNC golf bag.

The NBA Playoffs are about to start and quite naturally the biggest question bothering fans from around the world is who will win the title? Kobe or Lebron? Perhaps the Orlando Magic or Phoenix Suns can get into the mix?

We have to admit the fact that there is a lot class about the Lakers. The other teams in the NBA simply don’t have their shine, brilliance and style. There is something about the air in Hollywood that’s probably making the LA Lakers as classy as their are. Everyone loves watching Kobe play. Of course a lot of people hate him too, but what do they know about basketball?

No other team in the NBA can win as graciously as the Lakers can, they are fun to watch and when their game goes smoothly, they can get unstoppable. But the reality is that we haven’t seen much of that in the current 2009-2010 season. Yes they still managed to have the best record in the West but they went through some really bad losses this year, especially in the last month with Andre Bynum out. They got totally smacked up by the young OKC Thunder side and these teams will actually meet in the first round of the Playoffs this year. At some points of this game the Lakers were down by as many as 30 points! The Lakers also lost at home to a wounded Blazers side playing without their leading scorer Brandon Roy and without their starting center, and that happened right at the end of the season.

Now i know a lot of people would say that the LAL are just holding their breath for the important games in the Playoffs and Bynum is out, but by looking at how Kobe has been playing, Laker fans have every right to be worried about their side.

Kobe is lacking the energy that he used to have and he is no longer able to dominate games like in his twenties. He is still a clutch player and the final seconds of each game are again “Kobe-Time” but the energy is not there. And for the Lakers to be able to go through this year’s extremely competitive Western Conference and then have the power and energy levels to beat Lebron and Co, they would need a GREAT Kobe. The problem is that Kobe’s greatness looks like a thing of the past now…