Before 2001, the NBA did not allow zone defenses. If a defender was caught defending space and not on an offensive player or instead had two defenders on someone without the ball, they were whistled first with a warning then a technical if caught again. In 2001, the rules were changed.

Since then, zones help teams hide weak defensive links or someone who is in foul trouble. It is also used to pack the paint against teams that aren’t a threat from deep. Plus, switching between a zone and man-to-man defense can keep offenses off kilter and should pay dividends in the playoffs: The Boston Celtics used a lot of zone principles in their championship run in 2008 by overloading the strong side of the court, making it difficult for teams to attack the paint consistently. The 2011 Dallas Mavericks used a 2-3 zone and rode it to the NBA championship against the LeBron James-led Miami Heat.

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And it could also be particularly useful against a potential playoff opponents such as the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks are so dependent on drive and kicks to the rim to create offense starting with Giannis Antetokounmpo beating his man. Against the Raptors’ zone, Antetokounmpo will have to drive against several defensive levels to either get to the rim or find a passing lane. The Miami Heat used a zone against the Bucks for 13 plays and came up with 10 stops at the end of the game to get a win.

The Heat used a 2-3 zone to stonewall the Bucks, which is a different formation from the Raptors’ zone. The 2-3 zone does a better job of packing the paint because it assigns one player to protect the paint. But with the way the rules are in the NBA, it also opens the door to possibly more three-second defensive technical fouls. The Raptors’ 1-2-2 alignment avoids that pitfall and is better suited in the NBA because it dedicates all five players to defending the perimeter. Their zone allows them to clog lanes while also defending the three-point shot.

Toronto has their zone setup with Pascal Siakam at the top using his length on guards. The next level of the zone has the guards Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet at the elbows ready to switch out if there is a high ball screen onto a guard or rotate to the wings. The last level features Serge Ibaka and Kawhi Leonard on the blocks ready to protect the rim or rotate to the corner threes. In this example against the Hawks' ball screen, VanVleet switches onto the guard and Siakam goes with the roller. From there, they clog every driving lane and Atlanta has to settle for a deep Trae Young three up against the shot clock.

Toronto’s zone also forces drivers to have to go up against several levels of defenders. On this drive Jeremy Lin has to get by Siakam and VanVleet and Ibaka waiting on the block, which forced Lin to kick it out. On the same possession Justin Anderson has to drive through the three levels, this time against Lowry up top, VanVleet after him before finally forcing up a difficult shot against Siakam.

In their 12 zone possessions, Toronto got eight stops against Atlanta. It completely flustered the Hawks who have seen a zone employed against them less than one percent of the time (50 out of 5100 offensive possessions) this season.

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The Raptors’ half court man-to-man defense is strong, allowing 0.9 points per possession, but having the ability to switch to a zone defense that allows only 0.7 points per possession will give their opponents a different look, keeping them off balance. Of the top Eastern Conference teams, the Bucks and Celtics struggle the most against zone defenses. Milwaukee’s offense goes from scoring one point per possession against man defenses to 0.85 points per possession versus zones. The Celtics score a below league average 0.94 points per possession against the zone this season.

There is a very good chance Toronto will see at least one if not both of these teams in the playoffs. Having that ability to switch back and forth between man and zone defenses can give it an edge in those series.