This topic contains 17 replies, has 15 voices, and was last updated by AvatarAvatar Wavy Bagels 12 years, 1 month ago.

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  • #36734
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    Wavy Bagels
    Participant

    So today was a beatiful day. 55 degrees in February in NYC, so I decide to make use of this day and play some basketball. Now (Hubie Brown voice), I played a pick-up game (3-on-3) and my matchup was agains this kid who is about 6 inches taller and 35 pounds bigger than I am, which would make him 6’2, 265 lbs. There was times when I had a few good defensive stops against him (ie. outrebounded, smack the ball out of his hands whenever someone in the perimeter passed it out to him, etc.), but other than that, the kid was straight dominant in the post. No matter how hard I boxed out, he would get the rebound over me, block a few of my shots, and there were times I’ve shown frustation because he was giving me such a hard time. My teammates were too small to attempt to guard him, hence the reason for him being my assignment. So, with that said, I come to you guys. Has anyone ever been in this predicament? How did you deal with a much bigger opponent and is there a way to work around their strengths and size advantage?

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  • #640174
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    aamir543
    Participant

    I am a big guy, and normally I am taller or just as tall as my opponents, but two years ago, when we were playing a really big game in middle school, there was this kid that was like 6’2, 190(Saw him play the other day, much improved but still has a long ways to go, he’s about 6’4, 210 now), but he wasn’t very good. At that point, I was probably 5’10, maybe 5’11, and about 140. I was a scrawny kid that could box out well but couldn’t jump to save his life, but I was still a good rebounder. The guy didn’t dominate me, but he was pushing me around and was getting all the boards. At halftime coach took me into a corner and asked me if i could jump, I said "yes" and he told me to jump, he told me to do that like 10 more times, and then told me jump in the game. In the second half, I blocked him three times and got all the boards, and made some post moves on him. We were down by 7 with a minute and half left, and our press won the game for us. I usually don’t have a speed advantage, infact I’m usually at a disadvantage in that catagory, but this guy was even slower. I got two steals, and a "block" in the last 90 seconds, but evena blind man could tell that that was a foul. I swear, the whole building probably heard the slap, even myself, but not the refs. We ended up winning, and that propelled us to an improbable run that almost ended up in a championship.

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  • #640178
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    The Scare Crow Returns
    Participant

    “Whip His Ass at an Early Age”…In basketball terminology, beat your man to those crucial spots on the floor and beat him there often…I stand at a healthy 6’1, which means I usually always play The 5 whenever I play 5 on 5, I will always get matched up with players taller and heavier than myself, I’m only 175 pounds mind you…My secret to success(which is nothing more than the respect I get by playing hard) is This, I bang as hard anybody on the inside and I do it on the first play until the last play, I start boxing out while the Pg is still bringing the ball up the court LOL, and I make it a point to let the other guys know I’m doing it…U see in street ball much like pro ball there is an epidemic of soft A$$ players, so if you hit them in the mouth the very 1st possession they know what type of game they’re playing and if they are as soft as I believe them to be they’ll be emotional crushed by the time he breaks a sweat…when playing behind bigger post players I usually try to out think them, if they like to Bull Doze their way to the basket I pull the chair or wait for the shot attempt and play the ball, I like to think I have good hands and get a lot of strips and blocks…I also rebound very well for my size because Im usually fighting for the rebound as the PG brings the ball up LOL…I believe everything in Basketball is about effort and consistency, if you play hard 100% of the time out on the court you will find success, you just have to know how to value success,sometimes it means limiting your man to 1 rebound and 1 basket in a win while scoring once yourself…

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  • #640179
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    kngojc
    Participant

    Yeah I played some intramurals the other day, 4v4 coed. I was the biggest guy on the team (mind you I’m about 6 feet tall and 155 pounds) and so I had to guard the other team’s biggest guy. Oh yeah it was real fun when I realized I had to guard a 6’8 250 pound 33 year old (I’m 20..). He dunked on me twice because "I blocked his teammates, and that makes him angry." There wasn’t much point in trying to box him out because he could get the ball over me so whenever he entered the post I just slapped the ball away from him everytime to make him think twice about going into the post because he couldn’t score on me that way. That forced him to go out to about the free throw line extended where he couldn’t really knock down a shot..

    Just use what you got. If you’re quicker, faster, taller, or stronger than your matchup, use that. If he’s all of that and more talented than you are, out hustle him. It’ll frustrate him and force him to work harder and tire out quicker.

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  • #640181
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    providencefriars1
    Participant

    Wow aamir you guarded someone who was 3 inches taller than you were, good for you. If you play real basketball you probably guard bigger guys everytime you play especially since you are a 5’11” big man.

    I’m a 5’11” guard and I have guarded guys 6 or 7 inches taller than I am many times. What you need to do is be as physical as possible without fouling. If the guy posts up front him in the post and try to deny him from getting the ball. You must keep working and make it hard for him to score, but dont be discouraged if he makes a few baskets because its going to happen.

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  • #640189
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    WinterSoldier
    Participant

     You have to take them out of there Game, you can either be really phsyical(do a hard foul, but not a cheap one on the first posession) push them out of post and make them shoot jumpers over you, make so the game isn’t fun for them even if they score. The other option is to play mind games with them, tell them every 30 seconds to watch there fouls or hands or whatever to get them angry and unfocused, get up in there face if they do anything(just for the psychological effect) try and steal the ball constantly. I am only 5’9" but I have out played a lot of bigger guys doing these tricks.

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  • #640194
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    NYCrealdeal
    Participant

    just be physical and show you wont get pushed around. another way to play bigger players is try and hurt them with your offense. you should be quicker then them so take him to the hole for layups or put the step back in his mouth.keep the ball out of his hands would be your best way to play him lol.

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  • #640196
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    llperez

    55 degrees??? Damn thats cold, it was a decent 83 at work today, not too bad I guess. Southern cal for the win

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  • #640199
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    aamir543
    Participant

     Ok, If you’re looking for major height disadvantages, than in that same seaason in the preseason tourney, I had to guard a 6’7 guy. He was really lanky and fast, and before I started guarding him, he was getting all these easy layups, but it was because they kept running backdoor screens for him. When I was guarding him and he was posting up, I fronted him, and his teamates were too scared to throw the ball, even though there was more than enough room to throw the entry pass.

    The key is to get very, very physical, that means shoving your knee up their a$$, and slightly pushing them without the refs seeing. When you box them out, always have one arm back to feel where they are, and if they have a really big height advantage then make sure they don’t go over you. And try to make it look like an over the back if they get over you.

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  • #640202
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    butidonthavemoney

    I’m 6’1" with long arms, and most of the people I play with are a few inches shorter than me. Because of that, I usually get the toughest defensive assignment. Every once in a while, this guy plays with us who is easily five inches and 140 pounds bigger than I am. He’s a pain in the ass to guard, but there are several ways that I can try to get the better of him.

    The first thing I do is keep him away from the hoop. Typically, big guys are easy to beat down the court. So learn where his spot is and get in his way. If he likes the right side of the hoop, force him to the left side. Body him up as far away from the rim as possible. If he’s stronger than you, then you’re going to have your hands full, but resist as much as possible and eventually, you’ll make him uncomfortable.

    If he does get inside, you still have a few last ditch efforts to stop him. Slap the ball if he exposes it. If he goes right up and you don’t have a chance to block it, put a hand in his face, and try to out-time him in the event of a miss. With my guy, I was basically screwed when he got to the right block, because even if he missed, his height gave him the first shot at a rebound. What I would do is box-out for the other side, and hope that the ball bounced my way.

    Learn what he likes to do. Often, big guys are slower, and you have more reaction time to get a swipe or block in (gambling can be death though). I learned that the big guy I was guarding liked a baby-push shot when he turned over his left shoulder, and a turnaround jumper when he turned over his right. Knowing this increased my chances significantly of getting a clean block. If nothing else, a good challenge on the shot made things harder for him.

    A lot of bigs are so used to getting their way down-low, so they aren’t very polished shooters. Take advantage of this by giving him some room on the perimeter. He may get cocky and fire away. He might make it, but his chances of scoring decrease the further away he gets from the hoop (generally).

    Have a good attitude about it. You don’t have to foul him every time or be a complete douche. Just try to take him out of his offensive element. Oh, and try to wear him down when he’s playing defense by being super-active and making a ton of cuts.

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  • #640207
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    Hale
    Participant

     http://www.nbadraft.net/forum/defensive-tips

    I routinely guard players 6+ inches taller then me, but I’m usually able to keep them out of the lane because my legs are really strong. I just try to keep active, and really bug them by bumping them and getting physical before the ball gets there.

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  • #640208
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    Da1pot
    Participant

    Haha yeah I’m 5’9 and 160 right now (was about 140 when this happened) and I have been dunked on before while playing some pick up games in D.C. This one guy was probably about 6’5 with a muscular build. He was obviously very difficult for me to guard overall- Just about as outclassed and overmatched in my entire life. I was in the position to take a charge on a fastbreak (my thought was who takes charges in a pick-up game), and instead I tried to strip him as he rose up off of two feet. The rest is history, as he dunked on me one-handed and knocked me over in the process. My friend said this guy was a player on Gilbert Arenas’ team for the DC Nike Pro City summer league, so he must have been a good college or overseas player at some point. However, my friend could have just been saying this to make me feel better for getting yammed on.

    Another one: Back when I was a jv player in high school the other team suprisingly had a guy who was a legit 6’10 on their jv team as well. Obviously anyone who is 6’10 and on the jv team must really not be coordinated and suck at the game of basketball. So I went baseline on him and double pumped, and the rose up for a two-footed layup. He missed the ball entirely when he tried to block my shot and b!tch smacked me in the face with his enormous hand instead…. 

    Bottom line, I hate going against players who are much bigger than I am

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  • #640328
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    ItsVictorOladipo
    Participant

    razorSHARPE does that mean you’re about 5"8 230 lbs? You tank!

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  • #640331
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    Tongue-Out-Like-23
    Participant

    Does anybody else think Aamir is lying about these stories? lmao

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  • #640348
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    providencefriars1
    Participant

    I think Aamir should stop sharing these stories

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  • #640349
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    JunkYardDog
    Participant

     as a pg (5.11 / 160) I …love being in the post against taller player thinking they can outplay me there. I usually take advantage (off and def) by surprising my opponent being agressive and taking the initiative first.

    On D you have to make the classic "remove the chair" move (always effective) :

    be real low on your leg, be ready to resist and create the physical challenge (it will surprise your opponent),  then get back a little in order to "remove the chair" he was sitting in (that is to say your body he was expected to confront). Simple and smart but it always works : players finds themselves in a bad position taking unbalanced shoot, being blocked by the defensive help or whistling for a traveling violation. 

    It creates a lot of frustration…. then the next time you can play the steal. The most effecctive defense against matchup like that is collective with lots of helps and compensation of your teammates. 

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  • #640394
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    JoeWolf1

     If this is an organized game then you need to front him, try to deflect and intercept passes that come to him, because if he’s dominant and your just at his back, he’ll eat you alive all day long.  When you front then your other defenders know they must stay aware to slide over on help side defense.  This allows you to have a better chance of keeping him from getting the ball in the first place and you in front ( so you have the ability to slap the ball out of his hands ) and another defender behind him so he doesn’t have a clear lane.

    If this is a pick up game ( because help side D is usually pretty crappy or in some cases non existant)…Body up, play physical and make him work for it.

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  • #640395
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    Wavy Bagels
    Participant

    Thanks for the advice, guys.

    I will make sure to "whip his ass at an early age" and "remove the chair". LOL

    And yes ItsDwight, I am 5’8 230, but I am no tank. As big as I am, my upper body strength is still a work in progress.

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