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Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Basketball: Playing with Force

"Playing with force" manifests both physical and mental toughness. Bad teams and good teams on bad nights find ways to lose by not "playing harder for longer."

Watch any game and list the ways teams fail to play with force. Forceful play includes both the physical and the mental. The list reflects common issues but is not all-inclusive by far. 

  • Lack of ball containment - playing off, playing soft, fouling
  • Not contesting cuts to the ball
  • Poor transition defense - effort, focus, organization
  • Bad fouling - perimeter shots, poor technique, bailout fouls
  • Allowing scorers easy access to the ball
  • No talk
  • Poor blockouts
  • Standing around on offense
  • Lack of setting up cuts or urgent cutting
  • "Settling" by not attacking the basket
  • Bailing out against contact
  • Low "compete level" on 50-50 balls and rebounding
Coaches want teams to reflect their philosophy and the way they played. "Giving away" games through poor decisions, poor possessions, or low effort foster frustration. 

Lack of force includes the dreaded 3 S's - selfishness, softness, and sloth (laziness). 

Lagniappe. Reid Ouse shares drills. Against pressure, screens and back cuts offer relief. 

Lagniappe 2. Box back cut.  

Lagniappe 3. Make compete your brand. 

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