Defending a Beast

There will be times that you will be defending someone much taller, bigger, stronger than you(unless your name is Shaquille Oneill). When this happens, you must outsmart him and you must use your advantages as a smaller player. When battling for post position, get low! You are much stronger the lower you are. If he is still pushing you back, then use your quickness to beat him to the ball. If he gets too low of post position, front him. Or you can do the Rick Mahorn trick and "pull the chair" on him. That's when you make body contact with him, then when he feels comfortable, you pull away at the last second. Often times he will lose his balance.

Many times if I'm guarding someone bigger, or if I just got caught on a switch, I will actually avoid body to body contact. That's what a bigger player wants, body contact, because he can feel where you are, can control you with his strength. Use your quickness to disrupt him, as the post entry pass comes, slip around him and get your fingers on it. If he gets the ball, anticipate, get in position, take the charge. If you're playing streetball, anticipate, get in position, strip the ball as he goes up with it.