A strong zone offense utilizes all players on the court, both in the post and outside the arc, to get open shots. Your team needs to have a foundation offense to use against a zone, but also quick hitting plays to compliment your offensive game plan.

Teams may run a zone defense for an entire game or they may just use it for a single possession throughout the game, but either way, your team needs to be ready and know what to do. Your offensive goal is to break the zone and get the defense to change back to a man-to-man defense.

In this article, we’re going to cover exactly how to break the zone and give you some plays and quick hitters to use on the offensive end. We’ll share our favorite Coach Lason Perkins’ zone DVDs that detail everything you need to know and do to beat the zone and score.

• Ready to score against any defense. Your opponent will always be looking for a way to throw you off your game - and switching to a zone defense will be one of their strategies. If you spending time practicing your zone offense then your team will know what to do when they see this defense in a game.
• Team effort. For this offense to be executed successfully, your team has to work together to find a way to score. Spreading the defense, ball movement, overloading on one side, and finding the gaps - all of these things have to be done as a unit. With this type of game plan, it’s not one player that beats you, but an entire team effort on the offensive end.
• Offensive Rebounding. Offensive rebounding should be an emphasis when you’re covering zone offense. If you’ve gotten the zone spread or overloaded then be aggressive on the offensive boards because you’ll have an advantage at getting second-chance points.

• Take you out of your game plan. The whole point of a zone defense is to throw something at your team it hasn’t seen before and neutralize your offensive strengths. This is exactly why preparation is to crucial because your team has to know what to do in order to bust the zone up and score.
• Rush shot selection. To beat the zone you have to emphasize good shot selection and Work hard to get the best shot opportunity. You won’t be successful on offense (and you’ll be playing right into the defense’s hands) if you’re rushing or forcing shots.

Every team can benefit from having a zone offense ready to go when your opponent switches things up on the defensive end. Preparing your zone offense is an important part of the game, but one of the least practiced. A zone offense is built for a smart, patient team that can work the ball inside and out to find the best shot.

A team successful with a Zone Offense needs fundamentally smart players and multiple scorers. Players who know how to use skip passes and ball fakes are going to do well in this offense. If your team also has players who can score on the low block and players who can knock down an open jump shot or three-pointer then you will be able to beat any zone defense.

A team successful with a zone offense must be able to know what offense tactics to use and execute the game plan accordingly for their team. If each player can understand what to do in the zone offense then there’s going to be an opportunity to score on every offense trip down the court.

There are five basic concepts to include in your zone offense that will help you get the best shot opportunity every single time.

1. Transition Quickly. Get out and run every time you get the ball. Beat your opponent down the court and get into your offense before they can get their defense set up.
2. Attack the Gaps. Use your dribble to attack the spacing of the zone that requires multiple players to guard. This will allow your team to make the zone move and have to recover to stop your offensive attack. Zones never recover the same way which means if you keep attacking then an open shot should open up.
3. Overload. By overloading the offense on one side of the zone it will cause the defense to try and guard multiple players in one area. One defender will not be able to guard the overload which should open up shots for your offense.
4. Skip Passes. One pass to use in your zone offense is a skip pass which is a pass made across the court. Skip passes make the defense cover a bigger area in a short amount of time which is exactly what your zone offense needs to get open shots.
5. Fakes. Use shot fakes and pass fakes to keep the defense on their toes. A simple fake from the offense shifts the defense and allows you to maintain control to see where there are gaps or openings to score.

• DO know zone strengths and weaknesses. If you know both of these things then you’ll know exactly what the defense is going to be doing to stop you and exactly what you need to do on offense to score.

• DON’T go without practicing against a zone. The best way to learn how to run your offense against a zone is to practice. For your team to know what to do to get open looks they have to be drilled on it often so they’ll be prepared for this type of defense in a game.

• DO get second chance points. Offensive rebounds are easier to get out of a zone offense because the defenders have a harder time figuring out who to box out when a shot goes up. Be aggressive on the board and second chance points will happen!

• DON’T settle for an outside shot. A quick shot after a few passes plays right into the defenses’ hands. Work your zone offense to find the best shot - it may still end up being an outside shot but working your offense makes the defense move and use energy to defend.

It’s good to have a few set plays to use against a zone. Coach Perkins outlines great options in his Zone Killers DVD. Here’s a preview of a set play in the half-court and an inbounds play.

Set Play - Middle and Middle Continuity

Starting Positions

• 1 - Point Guard - with ball left side at top of the key
• 2 - Guard - right side top of the key
• 3 - Guard - ball side corner
• 4 - Forward - ball side block
• 5 - Center - opposite side block

Actions

• 1 passes to 3 who immediately reverses the ball back to 1
• 4 steps up and screens the top defender of the zone
• 1 uses their dribble to drive off the screen to the middle of the lane
• As that occurs, 2 fades to the wing area and 5 flashes into the middle of the lane
• 1 has options to score in the lane, kick to 2 for a jump shot, or 5 posted up in the lane

Continued Actions

• After passing to 1, 3 sprints to opposite corner
• 4 rolls down to block for a good rebounding position
• 1 has more options to pass to 2 who can pass to 3 for corner shot or set-up to run offense from other side of the court

Continued Actions - from other side of court

• 3 passes back to 2
• 5 comes to screen top defender of the zone
• 2 uses their dribble to drive off the screen to the middle of the lane
• As that occurs, 1 fades to the wing area and 4 flashes into the middle of the lane
• After pass, 3 runs to other corner
• 2 now has options the same scoring options

Inbound Play - Ohio

Starting Positions

• 1 - Point Guard - inbounder with ball
• 2 - Guard - opposite side top of the key
• 3 - Guard - opposite block
• 4 - Forward - stacked on block behind 5 in front of the ball
• 5 - Center - stacked on block in front of 4 in front of the ball

Actions

• 5 steps out to corner on the ball side
• 1 passes to 5
• 1 comes around to receive a handoff from 5
• 1 dribbles ball up towards top of the key and looks for scoring opportunities

Continued Actions

• 2 fades to the wing
• 4 flashes to the high post
• 5 comes in to screen back of the zone
• 3 cuts across to come off 5’s screen
• 1 has options to hit 4 flashing or 3 in corner for a jump shot

Quick hitters are ways to get your offense going - it may lead to a fast bucket or simply make the defense move around before getting into your set zone offense. Zone Quick Hitters with Coach Perkins has 24 quick hitters at your disposal. Check out these three quick hitters!

Florida

Starting Positions

• 1 - Point Guard - top of key between key and jump circle with ball
• 2 - Guard - left side wing
• 3 - Guard - right side wing
• 4 - Forward - high post (free throw line)
• 5 - Center - left side low block

Actions

• 1 passes to 3 then cuts through to the opposite corner
• 4 comes to screen zone and 3 uses screen to attack the game in the lane
• 5 flashes to mid-post to occupy defenders

Continued Action

• 4 rolls to basket after screening
• 3 can kick to 2 who can swing ball to 1 for shot in corner

Continued Action

• 1 dribbles up towards top of key
• 2 and 3 shift over as 1 dribbles upward
• 4 slides over to short corner
• 1 has options of passing to 4 in short corner or 5 in post

Ohlone

Starting Positions

• 1 - Point Guard - top of key between key and jump circle with ball
• 2 - Guard - left side wing
• 3 - Guard - right side wing
• 4 - Forward - right side low block
• 5 - Center - left side low block

Actions

• 1 passes to 3
• 2 and 1 slide to shift - 2 shifts to corner and 1 shifts to wing
• 5 sprints across to set ball screen for 3
• As this occurs, 4 goes under rim to fill opposite block
• 3 comes off ball screen trying to get to middle of the lane and has option to score, pass to 4, or hit 2 or 1 on the perimeter for a jumpshots

Outside

Starting Positions

• 1 - Point Guard - top of key between key and jump circle with ball
• 2 - Guard - left side wing
• 3 - Guard - right side wing
• 4 - Forward - left side low block
• 5 - Center - right side low block

Actions

• 3 screens outside defender as 1 dribbles to the wing
• 5 flashes to mid-post
• 4 flashes to short corner
• 3 pops out high to top of key after screening
• 1 has options to score, pass to 5 at mid-post, 4 in short corner or reverse ball to 3

If you want to more set plays and quick hitters to add to your arsenal check out both of Lason Perkins’ DVDs Zone Killers and Zone Quick Hitters. Perkins takes you through an incredible collection of plays step-by-step on the whiteboard then follows it up with excellent demonstrations to help you instruct your players on the court correctly. By the time you finish both DVDs you’ll know the most efficient ways to attack any zone that is thrown your way.