In the book "Stuff Good Players Should Know" playing defense is more of a mental kind of thing. They explained how thinking about the player with the ball is more important even when your own man you are guarding does not have the ball. The most important thing on defense is to protect the basket and the only way is to protect the basket is to stop the person with the ball. Help defense is when you leave your man and slide over to cut off the person driving to the hoop. To "help" your teammate that got beat. In the book "Stuff Good Players Should Know" by Dick Devenzio it says, "On defense, when you need to pick up a dribbler and help a teammate who is being beaten, remember to pick up o help across from your man, not up from him." (pg. 20)
Helping across is important because it doesn't give your man a chance to cut towards the basket as you leave him for a short amount of time. Cutting is running towards the basket to score and or create more space. If you help up it gives your man a chance to cut behind you and score and you wont have enough time to return to him/her.
In the picture above i am behind my teammate Morgan. After she got hit by a screen (another person basically building a wall for the defense to try and get around) i (#22) come and help to make sure she doesn't go to the basket. Also, #44 is playing in help defense because she has left her man to make sure that the offense does not get a chance to go to the basket on us.
Below is an example of helping or as they all it "hedging" off of a screen. It is simple and smart basketball and a good way to cause a turnover for the offense.
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