I played from the age of about 8 to 34, just retired last March due to a 2nd & final knee injury. Let me just say that I always hustled my tail off & played the hardest defense I could play. I can't remember a time where the guy I was guarding got a free or easy basket.
With that being said, in most cases, my aggressiveness & tenacity on defense usually made my teammates work harder or play smarter defense. But, it's all in the way you do it. One example, if the guy I was guarding wasn't really trying to set a bunch of picks & cut to the rim, I could help a teammate out if he got beat on a drive. This would usually lead to a teammate helping me out if / when I got picked. Assume for the sake of this example that my teammates weren't helping out a lot on defense prior to me helping them when they got picked or beat.
So, it just depends on how the game goes. As far as pressing, sure, I pressed, but not all the time. And when I did, I'd let my team know & ask 1 of them to join to improve the odds of snagging a steal & getting a layup or a dunk.
I was always a communicator, so I called out picks, helped on picks, asked for help when I switched on a pick, etc. You ask any D1 or NBA coach how important communication is on the court, & they'll say that next to playing good, smart aggressive defense, it's number 2 or tied for number 1.
You don't want to make a fool out of yourself though & be the only one pressing or being overly aggressive, so I agree with some of the sentiments regarding the flow of the game. For me, my teammates just fed off my hunger / desire / willingness to win, so I didn't have to do a lot to get them going. Timing is important too. For example, if you're going to help a teammate on D, you can't just leave your guy free to take the lane on an easy layup, you need to make sure he won't have free access.
Always check the perimeter before you leave your guy to help, or he's gonna go back door, probably on a pick or back screen & have an easy reverse layup. So know your surroundings before you just start leaving guys to help out on D. Sometimes you might think you're helping the team by helping your guy who got picked, but instead your hurting the team because your guy had an easy layup or short jump shot.
On offense, it's good to be aggressive too, especially with setting screens. Even if you don't plan on scoring a lot of points, set a ton of picks & make the guy guarding you have a miserable game. I'd probably set at least 8 picks, on average & have 3 assists, with maybe 6-7 points in a 15 pt. game. Make sure you "Go" every time you pick, even if you don't think you'll get the ball. If you don't "Go", you're making it too easy for your guy to double team your teammate, so you have to "Go". Cut the lane every time, who knows, maybe you get the ball 20% of the time. You start making those layups & you'll get the ball 75% of the time.
Anyway, that's my .02 for the game I played for most of my life & still love today...miss it every day...