Clinic notes help coaches to expand their knowledge base and to organize their thoughts. Here are excerpts from LA Clippers clinic notes and I provide annotations.
Offensive goals are to score easy baskets and take high percentage shots.
Defensive goals are to force hard shots and to defend the rim.
Comment: symmetry exists between what we want offensively and what we want to prevent defensively. Coach Pete Newell reminds us that "we want to get more and better shots than our opposition."
The Rules of Transition Defense:
Stop the offense for two passes.
1. Point guard gets back and defends the paint first
• He must fight the running big for 3 seconds until the 5 can get back to help him
• IF the ball gets thrown inside, the guards objectives are to get a STEAL or a CHARGE
2. The 2nd guard is responsible for picking the ball up at half court
Comment: defense commences the moment the shot is taken. Everyone has an assignment. It's not enough to 'get back', as you need to play with purpose, especially taking away layups and uncontested threes.
*If you can get two guys back, TANDEM
*If you can get three guys back, TRIANGLE
Comment: Shape up, geometrically. Deny (penetration) and delay (until help comes).
Successful coaches are coaches who have responses to changing situations
and should always strive to be able to counter the moves of opposing coaches.” – Pete Newell
Comment: Kevin Eastman notes that when your plan isn't working - do it harder, do it better, change personnel, and then consider strategic change.
We have 5 defensive MUSTS:
1. Sprint back and set your defense
2. Shrink the floor and the protect the paint
3. Close out hard and contest the shot
4. Help the defense by eliminating needless fouls
5. Block out and gang rebound. Rebound as a team.
Comment: Pressure the ball, no paint, challenge shots without fouling, and allow only one bad shot. I'm only guessing, but (number 4) I think our team fouls more shots that have no chance of going in than higher percentage shots.
Pick and Roll Coverage:
In an NBA game, on average, there are 94 possessions… 74 of them will have a P&R action in them. Therefore, your Pick and Roll defense will have a direct impact on how good of a defensive team you will be.
Comment: In studies of college players, less than a third understood what the coaching staff was trying to accomplish and similar numbers cared. You need to get and give feedback to recognize whether players 'get it'. Are you going to show/hedge/fake trap, trap, or ICE?
Be PATIENT! “The only way to beat patience is with more patience.”
Comment: Although the article discusses patience in terms of pressing, it has more general applicability. Mastery or even competence requires belief (in yourself and your system) and time.