It's going all wrong. Win or lose, the team is playing poorly. What constitutes bad basketball/playing poorly?
Easy Baskets
Energy
Selection
Sticking
Silence
Everyone won't agree, but most know bad basketball when they see it.
1) Surrendering easy baskets. Disallow bad transition defense, poor defensive rebounding, fouling (especially bad shots), layups (no help). "The help cannot be beaten."
2) Low energy defense (energy crisis). No ball pressure, easy paint penetration, uncontested shots.
3) Poor shot selection. "Me, too" or "my turn" shots, "shot turnovers", out of range and closely guarded shots. Avoid "Night at the Opera" (me-me-me) basketball.
4) Ball sticking. High quality chances come from ball and player movement.
5) Silent movies. "Silent teams are losing teams." - Kevin Eastman
Back in the day, the 8 mm grainy black and white had no sound. Blind fans should hear the enthusiasm, and deaf ones should see it.
Respond. Adversity is our companion. Find solutions. "Track practice" isn't the answer. We can condition within drills and scrimmaging.
A) There are many ways to coach 'shell' defense to emphasize positioning, help, and recovery.
B) The coach and point guard can NEVER have a low energy day. Create tempo. Three little words...my daughters had great AAU coaches (Shawanda and Eric Brown) who demanded "DON'T BACK DOWN." That meant ball pressure, no free cutters, no free rebounders.
C) Better passing creates better shots. Every player should know what a good shot is for her and for each teammate. Shots should be player and situationally appropriate.
D) Use the two-second rule. The ball should be moving every two seconds. Get paint touches and ball reversal. Defenses wear down and make mistakes when the ball moves.
E) Talk has to be early, loud, and often. This has to be non-negotiable.
Here's a brief digression to Barry Ritholtz and "what is your value proposition?" It applies to every domain. Basketball is no exception.
