Closing out on a shooter without fouling or getting beaten
Defence
The sprint, the chop step and the hand position that lets you contest a shot and still stay in front of a drive.
A closeout is what you do when the man you are guarding receives the ball and you are several feet away from him. Done badly you either arrive too slowly and give up an open shot, or arrive too fast and get driven past. The technique exists to let you do both jobs with one movement.
Phase one is the sprint. As the pass leaves the passer's hands, not when it arrives, run at the receiver in a straight line. You are covering ground while the ball is in the air, and that half second is the whole budget. Most beginners wait until the catch, at which point they are already late.
Phase two is the brake, and this is the part that needs practice. About two steps away, shorten your stride into quick choppy steps and drop your hips. Your feet should be chattering, not planted. This lowers your centre of gravity and lets you change direction, which a long final stride does not.
Phase three is the hand. One hand goes up high, straight above you, on the side the shooter's shooting hand is on. Not waving, not reaching toward the ball. A vertical hand in a shooter's line of sight is the contest, and it keeps you out of foul trouble because you are not moving into him. The other hand stays low across your body, ready for the ball going down into a dribble.
Phase four is the stance you arrive in. Feet staggered, one slightly behind the other, angled so you are pushing the ball handler toward the sideline or toward help rather than toward the middle of the floor. You are not trying to be square to him. You are trying to take away one direction completely.
Two errors cover most bad closeouts. Flying at the shooter with both feet leaving the ground means any shot fake gets you in the air and puts him at the free throw line. Pulling up two steps too early means a comfortable open look that nobody contested.
Against a player who cannot shoot, you simply do not close out that hard. Stop short, stay low, and invite the jump shot. The closeout is a cost, and you only pay it for people who can punish you from out there.