Wizards Toughen Up Defense on Dwight Howard

I took in the Magic game against the Wizards tonight. I was looking for some dominating Dwight Howard clips to take but instead wound up taking some clips of great defense against Howard.

There really wasn't anything special in the way they defended Howard. It was a lot of subtle things though. First off, they were very physical with him, they bumped him and forced him outside of the box. Since Howard is a power post player and not really a quicker forward, they could double on the dribble and swipe at the ball when he put it on the floor. Finally, the Wizards did a great job of getting in the passing lanes and intercepting entry passes. Here are a few clips from the first half,



So, as you can see, nothing major but just tough physical defense. In the second clip, Howard pivots to the middle for the left hand baby hook. I like teaching post players the power drop step instead because I think it is much more effective. Going into the middle from the post means having to shoot over your defender(s).

I didn't take a clip of this, but here is a screenshot that shows Hayward fighting Howard for position forcing him to make a swim move and setting up outside of the box,


The Wizards actually didn't double-down on Howard all that much. They played him physical and on the offensive end, they went right at Howard and got him to pick up a few quick fouls.

For more great ideas on the post-defense amongst other defensive topics, check out Jeff Lebo's DVD on defending the post. Coach Lebo is the head coach of Auburn University of the SEC. Be sure so check out the X's and O's Basketball Forum to discuss your favorite basketball topics.