Sports share similarities and differences. Carlin’s classic “Baseball and Football” highlights the latter. There are even more. Baseball defense routinely puts the ball in play and games are untimed.
What about basketball and football?
The 'paint' is analogous to the Red Zone.
Both have the ground (drive) and aerial (perimeter) attack. Screening and ball containment mimic blocking and tackling.
Both sports value separation and nuanced ways to do so. Pick plays (rub routes) skirt legality challenging both defenses and officials.
But screeners must be stationary in basketball...unless they're not.
Brush screens live in that neighborhood.
Coaching staffs in basketball grow to include offensive and defensive coordinators, quality control coaches, advance scouts, player development coaches, and video coordinators.
The point guard and quarterback thrive or struggle according to their decision-making and accuracy. But the next generation point guards are scorers, too.
Strength of the entire roster plays a smaller role in basketball because everyone is a two-way player.
Organizational mantras like the Heat's reminds us of Bill Walsh's Standard of Performance.
Both sports use the extra defender (sideline) and strategies like double coverage. And maybe "five out" is today's West Coast offense.
Basketball defenders load to the ball while footballers rally to the ball. But the cost of a defensive mistake in football can be a high scoring play. Each team has six to ten times the number of possessions per game in basketball, while there's no equivalent to "three and out" in football.
Lagniappe.
Multiple options to execute off this:
1) Backscreen for guard off high post
2) Handoff back to guard after fake away
3) Illustrated option
4) High post fakes screen for corner and basket cuts
