Though not
specified anywhere within the rule books that there are certain
positions which must be filled on the court, basketball has evolved
into a very structured game where such positions have become an
integral part of the game. Throughout the years, the positions have
become more specific. During the first fifty years of the sport,
teams generally populated the court with two guards, two forwards,
and one center.
In the 1980’s the positions became more clearly defined, being
renamed as five separate positions. The five men on court were now
the point guard, the shooting guard, the small forward, the power
forward, and the center. In certain plays, the center may be
replaced with a third guard for a “three guard offense”.
There are two major defense strategies employed by professional
basketball teams, one being a zone defense and the other a
man-to-man defense. The zone defense strategy calls for players to
maintain certain positions on the court and guard whichever player
from the other team enters their “zone”. In a man-to-man defense,
each player is assigned a specific opposing team member to guard and
follows his actions all over the court in an attempt to keep his
actions under control.Peter Portero writes for
easybaseballbetting and much more
his articles can be found there. |
