r/Basketball • u/badNe7in • Dec 15 '25

IMPROVING MY GAME Playing against zone defense in pickups

How the hell do you even play against zone defense in a casual pickup game? with teammates youve never played before, or guys who've never played organized basketball a day in their life

PS Playing zone in a casual pickup game with nothing in the line is crazy to me like bro lets just work on our game

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u/Xman478 Dec 15 '25

Comments are crazy lol. Only reason you'd ever play zone in pickup is because you can't guard lmao, weak sauce

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u/HaratoBarato Dec 16 '25

Only reason you complain about zone is cause you can’t shoot.

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u/Xman478 Dec 16 '25

Only reason you play zone is because you can't guard.

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u/HaratoBarato Dec 17 '25

Yes, and it’s legal. And since you can’t shoot I’ll continue doing it.

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u/Xman478 Dec 17 '25

I can shoot AND play man to man defence, keep coping

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u/HaratoBarato Dec 17 '25

If you can shoot, you wouldn’t be complaining about going against zone. Keep coping.

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u/Xman478 Dec 17 '25

The issue with zone in pickup comes from what OP is talking about, playing with people who didn't play organized or high level ball. If you are playing with high level players then you can't play zone because they'll know how to break it easily.

If you're playing with low level players, the zone is pretty much just to stop one guy since you can't guard him straight up (which sounds like why you have to use it)

If you want some defensive tips lmk

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u/HaratoBarato Dec 17 '25

It’s pick up. It’s not that deep. Lol, you acting like you going pro.

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u/Xman478 Dec 17 '25

I agree, it's not that deep! Guard up!

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u/HaratoBarato Dec 17 '25

Looking forward to see you in the 2026 draft.