When should I help, and when should I stay with my man?

Two things decide it: whether the drive has reached the lane, and whether your man is in the corner. Once it is in the lane somebody has to step up; before that, do not move early. If your man is a corner shooter, leave the help to whoever is closer.

How tight should I play one pass away?

It depends where that pass would go. Deny it hard, with a hand in the lane, when the pass leads to the rim; when it is only a swing between two perimeter players, drop half a step to where you can see the ball and your man at once. Denying every pass on the floor means giving up every help position on it.

Our matchups are a mess after a rotation. Now what?

Guard the ball first and sort the matchups out at the next dead ball or change of possession. Everyone holding a different man after a rotation is normal; scrambling to swap back is what opens the rim for the two seconds it takes.

防守 · 站位与协防Defence · Position and help

防守站位：球不在你人手上时，站哪儿Where to stand when the ball is not on your man

被过掉的回合里，有一半在球到你面前之前就已经输了：站错了地方。这一页把球、我、人这条线拆成 6 个位置，每个写清身体站哪儿、眼睛看哪儿、以及那一个把它做废的习惯。Half the possessions you lose were lost before the ball ever reached you: you were standing in the wrong place. This page takes the ball-you-man line apart into 6 positions, each with where the body goes, what the eyes are on, and the one habit that undoes it.

整页只有一条线：球、我、人One line runs through the page: ball, you, man

你的身体永远落在球和你负责的人之间的那条连线上。离球越远，你就沿着这条线越往篮筐那一端靠。同一个原则，在三种距离上长成三个样子。下面这张图画的就是同一个回合里的这三种距离。Your body stays on the line between the ball and the man you are guarding, and the further the ball is from him, the further along that line you sit toward the rim. One principle, growing into three different shapes at three distances. The figure shows all three inside a single possession.

这两张图和场上速查用的是同一张，颜色词汇也一样：红色是进攻方，蓝色是防守方。Both drawings are the cheat sheet’s own, in its colour vocabulary: red is the offence, blue is the defence.

同一个回合里三种防守距离：贴防持球人、卡住传球线、退到禁区边协防Three defensive distances in one possession: pressure the ball, deny the pass, sink towards the lane

这张图上还有Also on this diagram

防持球人：一臂到一臂半On the ball: one arm to one and a half arms away
一传之遥：身体侧对，一只手伸进传球线One pass away: body side-on, one hand in the passing lane
两传之遥：撤到禁区边，球和人同时在视野里Two passes away: sink to the lane, ball and man both in view
灰色虚线是球到人的连线，防守人就站在这条线上The grey dashes are the ball-to-man line, and the defender stands on it

On the ball

一臂到一臂半，身体略偏向你要逼他去的那一侧：通常是边线或底线，别让他从中路直接杀进禁区。他能投就再近半步，他运球猛就退半步。An arm to an arm and a half away, with the body angled to the side you want him to go: usually the sideline or the baseline, never a straight line through the middle. Half a step closer if he can shoot, half a step back if he drives hard.

看哪儿What to watch看腰。球、眼睛和肩膀都能骗你，腰去哪儿，人就去哪儿。The waist. The ball, the eyes and the shoulders can all lie to you; where the waist goes, he goes.

常见错误Common mistake伸手掏球。手一伸重心就跟着偏，而他等的正是那一下。Reaching in. The moment the hand goes the weight goes with it, and that is the moment he is waiting for.

One pass away: in the lane

站在他和球的连线上，身体侧对着两边，一只手伸进传球线，另一只手和视野留给球。这条传球线越通向篮下，贴得越紧。On the line between him and the ball, body turned side-on to both, one hand in the passing lane and the other hand and your vision left for the ball. The closer that pass would land to the rim, the tighter you play it.

看哪儿What to watch球和人各占半个视野，头不要来回转。转一次头，他就从你背后走了。Half your field of vision on each, without turning your head. Turn it once and he is behind you.

常见错误Common mistake整个人贴到他身上、背对着球。反跑就是这么成的。Getting so tight that your back is to the ball. That is precisely what a backdoor cut is for.

Two passes away: in help

撤到禁区边，站进球和你负责的人围出的那个三角里，胸口朝着场地中间。球离他越远，你站得越靠里。Off toward the edge of the lane, inside the triangle the ball and your man make, chest open to the middle of the floor. The further the ball is from him, the deeper you sit.

看哪儿What to watch球和人同时留在余光里，身体保持开放，不要背对其中任何一边。Ball and man both in the corner of your eye, body open, back to neither of them.

常见错误Common mistake只盯着自己负责的人，等到突破已经进了禁区，才发现该上去的是你。Watching only your own man, and finding out the drive was yours to stop after it is already in the lane.

The last line

弱侧最靠近底线的那个人是最后一道防线：突破一旦进禁区，第一个上去的是他，不是离球最近的那个。哪一侧算弱侧随每一次传球改变，所以这个身份也跟着换人。The weak-side defender nearest the baseline is the last line: when a drive gets into the lane he is the one who steps up, not whoever is closest to the ball. Which side is weak changes with every pass, so the job changes hands with it.

看哪儿What to watch盯球到篮筐的那条线。它一被打开，就轮到你了。The line from the ball to the rim. The moment it opens, it is your turn.

常见错误Common mistake两个人同时上去补。篮下反而更空，而且两个人负责的人都空了。Two defenders stepping up at once. It empties the rim anyway, and now two men are open instead of one.

Who covers the helper

上去补的那个人留下的空位，由下一个人接替，通常是交叉着补：底角的人补进内线，弱侧顶端的人下来补底角。补位顺序要在开球之前就说清楚，不是在场上现商量。Whoever steps up leaves a man, and the next defender takes him, usually crossing as they go: the corner takes the man inside, the top of the weak side drops to the corner. That order is agreed before the game rather than argued about during it.

看哪儿What to watch看球的下一次传球，不是看你刚放掉的那个人。轮转永远追着球走。The ball’s next pass, not the man you have just left. Rotations chase the ball.

常见错误Common mistake补完之后站着不动，等于场上少一个人。轮转是连锁的，最后一个人也得动。Helping and then standing still, which is playing a man short. A rotation is a chain, and the last man in it moves too.

When not to help

你负责的人正在底角、而且他会投，那就别离开半步：一次协防换来一记空位三分，是这一页里最亏的交易。突破的路已经被人挡住，或者进来的是不擅长终结的人时，同理。Your man is in the corner and he can shoot: do not leave him. One help that concedes an open corner three is the worst trade on this page. The same holds when the drive is already walled off, or when the man driving cannot finish anyway.

看哪儿What to watch先看清你身后底角站着谁，再决定要不要收进来。Check who is standing in the corner behind you before you sink.

常见错误Common mistake所有人都往球那边收，弱侧底角空着一个射手。这是野球场上最常见的丢分方式。Everybody sinking toward the ball with a shooter alone in the weak-side corner. It is the most common way a pickup team gives points away.

补防之后，场上就少了一个人After the help, you are a man short

协防从来不是一个人的动作，是三个人的：上去的那个、接替他的那个、以及最后被留在某处的那个空位。下面这张图画的是一次底线突破引发的轮转顺序，蓝色编号就是这个顺序。Help is never one defender’s action but three: the one who steps up, the one who takes his man, and the gap that ends up somewhere. The figure shows the order a baseline drive sets off, and the blue numbers are that order.

场上速查：协防与轮转Cheat sheet: help and rotate

一次底线突破引发的三步轮转：谁补、谁顶上、被过掉的人去哪儿One baseline drive, three rotations: who helps, who covers behind, and where the beaten defender goes

这张图上还有Also on this diagram

红色虚线是沿底线突破的持球人，轮转就是被他逼出来的The red dashes are the drive along the baseline, and it is what forces the rotation
离篮下最近的弱侧防守人上前挡住上篮The nearest weak-side defender steps up and takes the layup away
他身后的人补上他留下的位置The defender behind them covers the player they just left
被过掉的人不追球，直接补最后那个空位The beaten defender does not chase the ball; they fill the last empty spot

场上要用的那一版在速查页The version you use on the floor is on the cheat sheet

这一页是解释：为什么是那个人上去补、补完之后谁接替、什么时候干脆不补。上场前十秒钟要看的三条一句话版本，在场上速查页，那里的卡片可以直接照着做。This page is the explanation: why that defender is the one who steps up, who takes his man afterwards, and when not to help at all. The one-line version, the one worth reading in the ten seconds before a possession, is on the cheat sheet, where the cards are made to be acted on.

场上速查：盯球还是盯人Cheat sheet: ball, you, man

站对了，还得跟得上Standing right, then staying with him

站位决定你在不在正确的位置上，脚步决定你到位之后还留不留得住。封抢步、滑步、后撤步写在防守脚步页。Position decides whether you are in the right place; footwork decides whether you are still there a second later. The closeout, the slide and the retreat step are on the footwork page.

防守脚步：8 种脚步Defensive footwork: 8 moves

常见问题Common questions

什么时候该协防，什么时候该守住自己的人？When should I help, and when should I stay with my man?: 看两件事：突破的人到没到禁区，以及你负责的人在不在底角。已经进禁区了就必须有人上；还没进就别提前动。你的人是底角射手时，把这次协防让给离得更近的那个人。Two things decide it: whether the drive has reached the lane, and whether your man is in the corner. Once it is in the lane somebody has to step up; before that, do not move early. If your man is a corner shooter, leave the help to whoever is closer.
一传之遥要贴到什么程度？How tight should I play one pass away?: 看这条传球线通向哪儿。通向篮下就贴紧，一只手插进传球线；只是外线之间的一次转移，就退半步，站到能同时看见球和人的地方。把场上每一条传球线都封死，等于把所有协防位置一起放弃。It depends where that pass would go. Deny it hard, with a hand in the lane, when the pass leads to the rim; when it is only a swing between two perimeter players, drop half a step to where you can see the ball and your man at once. Denying every pass on the floor means giving up every help position on it.
轮转之后对位全乱了怎么办？Our matchups are a mess after a rotation. Now what?: 先守住球，再在下一次死球或者球权转换的时候对回来。轮转之后所有人都换了人是正常的；抢着换回原来的对位，反而会在那两秒里把篮下让出去。Guard the ball first and sort the matchups out at the next dead ball or change of possession. Everyone holding a different man after a rotation is normal; scrambling to swap back is what opens the rim for the two seconds it takes.

回到防守入门：防守要做的 6 件事Back to defence: the 6 things it asks of you

整页只有一条线：球、我、人 · One line runs through the page: ball, you, man