Basketball continually dispenses lessons and "industrial justice". We played a competitive game and despite trailing by double digits in the second half, lost by two. We turned the ball over late with a chance to tie, but that really wasn't the point.
What went well? The team overcame adversity but incompletely so. Every coach preaches playing hard for 32 (or whatever) minutes.
Ball movement works. 5 cut from behind the zone to the foul line and 3 relocated. 5 made the quick recognition and passed low for an easy shot from the short corner.
What went badly? Transition defense failed on about four possessions. On several occasions players had failed awareness but worse, some players had low effort. Our first rule is "no easy baskets" and transition hoops lead the list. Bad fouls (poor hand discipline) followed closely behind.
Passing to nowhere. We threw perhaps ten passes...to nowhere...or even worse, to the opposition. A missed shot is a missed opportunity. Turnovers mean no opportunity. Sulking. We had several players who allowed offensive struggles to affect their whole game...despite repeated counseling.
What can we do differently? I don't know whether the effort reflected conditioning or mental toughness. When players play faster on offense than defense, I believe it's attitude. We'll be running more at practice tomorrow. Play with purpose. Too much dribbling. We will play more 'no dribble' offense.
What enduring lessons exist?
1) When one part of your game struggles (e.g. shooting), then you have to compensate with effort-dependent play - ball pressure, defense, block outs, setting great screens, taking charges.
2) Effort is non-negotiable.
3) Attitude is everything. You can't feel sorry for yourself when things don't go your way. Control your destiny.